UP-DATE: Watery Eyes, Snot, Swollen Face+Eyes. Its getting worse! Help

[jonichole]

UPDATE

Day 9 : The two RIRs seem to have been doing a lot better today (and last night). Another egg from the big Red Star.

Day 10: they ALL seem to be so much better! They are ALL running out of the coop when I open it, dusting, running, flying, eating, drinking, running to me (the bread carrier)... and I had 3 eggs today. 1 from each of the Red Stars and another from one of the RIRs??? the Two RIRs do seem to still have watery eyes (and are squinting) even though their behaviors seem to be so much more lively and feeling better and not as lively as the other two. For example, the Red Stars were scratching and dusting all day under a tree where as the RIRs did it also but to a lesser extent and went back to the coop earlier and the smaller of the two RIRs still has water-like poo...but maybe thats in part due to the greens they've recently eaten????


I'm having a tough decision here but I think I am going to have to cull. As much as I dont want to do it, this just seems like something a chicken owner may have to do at one point or another. I also dont want to pass this on to the new ones which I should be getting at the end of the month.
I'm going back and fourth with it though...I'm pretty sure its a respiratory thing and if I introduce new (young) birds to this flock will it be that they will just get sick for
a few days like these??? Not to sound cruel, but I've been sick for a few days before, whats the difference to these birds of possibly getting sick from these "carrier" birds???? Is it really that bad to be sick? or will I be running a greater risk here... death? or affecting their egg production?...something else???...

I have tried to get a hold of the guy who sold these birds to me... 4 calls, 3 voice mails, a conversation with the wife, and a long detailed email later (much like my daily log posts), STILL no response! None of the messages or the email were accusatory or demanding... more of a plea for help and info. The exception of that was today's msg when I realized that I'm about to cull the flock after having them for 10 days! My voice was shaking in it.
I'm so PO-ed, I want to show up on his porch with the birds, shame him for selling these to me and not responding to my messages which lead me to believe that he knowingly sold me sick birds. But that of course would be ANOTHER 4-5 hr drive! Is there any agency to which I can at the very least report him?

ALSO!
thank you all for the helpful info!! <3

 

[tcbfan5]

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Thanks For The Link! Very Helpful!

 

[jonichole]

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YES! I smelled yesterday... smells almost like "death" YUCK!

 

[RedneckChikns]

At day 3 or 4 etc you really cant blame the seller....THO by not answering calls thats kinda a bad sign. Try Sulmet...works GREAT. Yes they could be carriers for life. BUT if you remove now....you need to disinfect EVERTYHING and then wait about 3 months before its truly safe to introduce new chickens. End of the month chickens will still be at risk even if these are removed/culled. SOME breeders will expose chickens to other chickens with the FUNK (like MG or IC) which is really common in larger poultry ops. and just write off the losses, the strong wil survive. And if you have pet or wild birds at your home (who doesnt) your chickens will always be a risk...just something to consider...chickens sadly arent like dogs and cats and even vaxed birds get sick with something they werent vaxed for. You have a tough decsion...I hope it all works out for you.

 

[pips&peeps]

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WHAT???? This definately came with the birds. Per the Merck Vet site:

The incubation period is 1-3 days, and the disease duration is usually 2-3 wk.

Get your money back!! Turn them into the State Vet!​

 

[speckledhen]

At day 3 or 4 etc you really cant blame the seller....

Yes, actually, you most likely can. They were probably carriers of something respiratory and moving them stressed them, bringing symptoms to the surface. That's why we see so many heartbreaking stories here on BYC-- Sellers who treat symptoms so the birds appear healthy, then sell them, thereby bringing their latent disease to the surface.

Here is one reason to quarantine: if you do quarantine for 4-6 weeks, then when the new birds become ill, you can most likely say they came to you as carriers. If you do not quarantine, then you have no way of knowing if the new birds are carriers or your current birds gave something to the new ones.​