**Warning*** yucky graphic pics! Good news! Update on Page 11!!!!!!

[Harley's girl]

What a relief!!!! I am setting here crying thinking about my Harley. I can not start over. I now have a huge bottle of the Tylan50, so I guess if any others come down with it then I will have it on hand. Thank you so much for all the info. You guys ROCK!!!

 

[speckledhen]

I answered your PM, but Diana is correct. I suspect that whatever he has, the rest have already been exposed. Just know that in the future, the symptoms may pop up again in other birds. Good luck with whatever you do.

 

[MandyH]

If you pick him up and smell his head, does it stink pretty bad?

 

[MissPrissy]

Harley's girl :

So even if this does clear up, he will always have to be separated?

No, it means all of your birds are exposed and can carry the disease. When it is active like now the bird needs to be seperated and treated.

I am sorry this has happened to you. I know you don't want to hear this -

You should close your flock. Do not sell, swap or trade any birds. They will then go to a new home and infect another person's flock. Disease is a viscious cycle.

If you bring in new birds they will eventually get the disease through flock exposure.

Some people think it is wrong to cull of flock. For me if I had disease and knew it, knowing I could never sell or give away birds due to carrying illness that could harm other flocks I would cull the entire flock. Disinfect my barns and let them lay fallow in the heat of summer. Apply heavy doses of lime all over the ground where they lived and leave it for at least a month.

Then and only then would I start over with new chicks.

Good luck with what you decide to do

 

[robinaggie]

Since you love Harley, I think you should keep the birds you have, and just not get any more until Harley dies of old age. Then you can cull the rest and start over if you want to.

I am hatching eggs I bought on ebay and giving away the chicks. How do I know that I'm not spreading diseases? I'm handing four GLWs over to a woman on Tuesday. They will be four and five days old. How can I know if they're healthy?

 

[Half-a-dozen]

:aww Gosh... good luck in your decisions. This all must be very difficult for you.

 

[Wolf-Kim]

If his beak is getting pretty crusted over. You need to make sure to continue to clean his face. I have been told that the nostrils can get blocked if the mucous is allowed to crust over too badly. I was adviced that if you have Vick's Vapor Rub(or any other brand) you can rub it lightly on his comb and wattles and it will help him breathe a little better.

I do not know the hazards associated with this, but it is what I did with my favorite rooster when this happened. It seemed to help him a little bit.

-Kim

 

[Harley's girl]

Quote:
He did smell.

This is a nightmare! This is how I make my money! How can this be happening? I can't kill my pets!! I just bought new chicks today at the swap. And what about ducks? Can they get this? I have ducks and my friend and I just swapped! I can not believe this!!

 

[MandyH]

I thought when I saw the pictures that I knew what it was, and when you said it stank my heart sank. That is Infectious Coryza. All your other chickens that have been near him will show symptoms within 10 days, and there is NOTHING to do for it. You will have to cull everything, spray EVERYTHING down with bleach/water, and let it air dry in the hot, dey weather for at least 2 weeks. The disease itself cannot live outside the bird in hot, dry conditions for over 7-10 days. Anything that has been or does get near him will have it and there is no cure. They will have it for life even if they show no symptoms. It is hard on the birds and it affects their laying and all. Have you introduced any new poultry to your flock in the last month or so, or have your birds been anywhere they may have had contact with any other chickens? If this is Coryza, no amount of treatment will fix them, I went through the same thing and we had to kill HUNDREDS of birds. It sucked big time, but you can't sell these birds, and you and them will be miserable for the rest of their life.
Infectious Coryza (taken from msucares.com, the vet school in my area and the veteranarians I spoke to that told me to cull)
Infectious coryza is a specific respiratory disease in chickens that occurs most often in semi-mature or adult birds. Infection may result in a slow-spreading, chronic disease that affects only a small number of birds at one time, or in a rapid spreading disease with a higher percentage of birds being affected. The occurrence of infectious coryza is not widespread and the incidence is relatively low.

The disease is caused by a bacterium known as Hemophilus gallinarum. Outbreaks usually result from the introduction of infected or carrier birds into a flock. Transmission of the infection occurs by direct contact, airborne infection by dust or respiratory discharge droplets and drinking water contaminated by infective nasal exudate. Susceptible birds usually develop symptoms within three days after exposure to the disease. Recovered individuals may appear normal but remain carriers of the organism for long periods. Once a flock is infected, all birds must be considered as carriers.

The most characteristic symptoms of infectious coryza include edematous swelling of the face around the eyes and wattles, nasal discharge and swollen sinuses. Watery discharge from the eyes frequently results in the lids adhering together. Vision may be affected because of the swelling. The disease results in a decrease in feed and water consumption and an increase in the number of cull birds. An adverse effect on egg production usually occurs in proportion to the number of affected birds.

Diagnosis can be confirmed only by isolation and identification of the causative organism. The organism, Hemophilus gallinarum, is extremely fastidious and often difficult to isolate.

Prevention is the only sound approach in controlling infectious coryza. It usually can be prevented by management programs that eliminate contact between susceptible and infected birds. It requires only separating affected or carrier birds from the susceptible population. In order to prevent the infection, introduce started or adult birds only from sources known to be free of the infection. If infection occurs, complete depopulation followed by thorough cleaning/disinfecting is the only means for eliminating the disease.

A number of drugs are effective for treating the symptoms of the disease although the disease is never completely eliminated. Sulfadimethoxine or sulfathiazole in the feed or water or erythromycin administered in the drinking water can reduce the symptoms of this disease.

 

[pips&peeps]

I think it is either ILT or coryza.

You should get him swabbed and send the sample to an avian lab, either way it's not good.