What more could I have done?

[gagirl02]

I purchased a young hen and two pullets from another backyard chicken owner. When I got them home I separated them in another pen from my established flock. They were about 250 feet apart.
The day after I got them one of the pullets started sneeting, slinging her head with clear liquid coming from her nostril. I kept her for about a week and after much despair and advice from here decided to give her back. I got a hen in her place. Then the other pullet got fowl pox. After she got over it, the young hen I got originally of the 3 got fowl pox. I waited until they were healed and about 5 weeks passed (still separated) before I put them with the established flock. Two weeks later, my 3 yr old roo starts sneeting and wheezing. I took him to the vet. His lungs were clear and was diagnosed with URI. He got a shot of Baytril and sent home with 10-days of baytril. But the vet asked me if I added any new birds. I told him I had, AFTER they had been separated for 5 weeks. He said that is why he was sick - the introduction of new birds. I kept him in the house in a large dog cage Thursday - Sunday. It had warmed up Sunday and was dry so thought it would do him good to get some fresh air. I let him stay with his girls (where there was no draft) overnight. I went out this morning to get him to give him his daily dose of Baytril, but I could hear him wheezing with each breath. I got him and put him back in the house. He's still wheezing some and sneeting some. I don't know what else I could have done to ensure the new birds were well enough to not infect the others. How do you add to a flock if introducing new chickens will make your established flock sick. That's question #1. Question #2 - is my roo going to get over this or will he be forever altered because of the URI? He's eating, drinking, crowing (even at 4 in the morning - waking up the whole house), and acted fine yesterday when he was back with the flock. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[sourland]

A lot depends upon the specific respiratory infection. Many recovered birds remain as carriers for life and will show no visible symptoms. Buying from NPIP flocks is a better assurance of healthy birds, but is not 100 %. Keeping a closed flock and breeding from within or adding chicks periodically are generally safer methods of increasing flock size.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Fowl pox is spread from chicken to chicken through the bites of mosquitos that have fed on an infected chicken or other feathered animal. Since skeeters can easily cover 1,000 feet in one night bio-security against fowl-pox requires more than 250 feet of separation.

 

[gagirl02]

A lot depends upon the specific respiratory infection. Many recovered birds remain as carriers for life and will show no visible symptoms. Buying from NPIP flocks is a better assurance of healthy birds, but is not 100 %. Keeping a closed flock and breeding from within or adding chicks periodically are generally safer methods of increasing flock size.

What is NPIP. Not familiar with this.

 

[sourland]

What is NPIP. Not familiar with this.

National Poultry Improvement Plan - a voluntary testing program. Do an on line search on NPIP for more information.

 

[Folly's place]

Have your bird tested to find out exactly what he has; with a diagnosis, you can have a plan to move forward. You need to know!
This is why I NEVER add birds from outside, except for Marek's vaccinated chicks from very good hatcheries. It's just not possible to know for sure that a new bird is really free of infectious diseases! It's also about impossible to actually isolate birds from each other in a home environment.
Mary

 

[gagirl02]

Fowl pox is spread from chicken to chicken through the bites of mosquitos that have fed on an infected chicken or other feathered animal. Since skeeters can easily cover 1,000 feet in one night bio-security against fowl-pox requires more than 250 feet of separation.

I wish I could have kept them further apart but that's the best I could do with them. I took the pullet to the vet when the fowl pox showed up to make sure it wasn't "wet" pox. He said there was no way to keep the established flock from getting it because it is from mosquito bites so it was not if but when it happens. Thank you for replying.

 

[Folly's place]

It's possible to vaccinate your 'healthy' birds in the face of a fowlpox outbreak, and help them. I do hope that's the problem, not something else.
Mary

 

[gagirl02]

National Poultry Improvement Plan - a voluntary testing program. Do an on line search on NPIP for more information.

I will research this. Thank you. About a month and half ago I ordered 3 pullet chicks from Meyer Farms. They arrived last week the day after they were born, but unfortunately when I picked them up from the USPS, they were dead. I understand it's better to get them as chicks from somewhere like that instead of getting them from other backyard people, but when those showed up without life (and it was my first time ever getting day old chicks), I don't have the whatever it takes to do that again.

 

[gagirl02]

It's possible to vaccinate your 'healthy' birds in the face of a fowlpox outbreak, and help them. I do hope that's the problem, not something else.
Mary

I will look into that. Thank you