Chickens Dying

[PhilHarries]

I've never posted in the Farming Forum but I have a problem I could do with some advice on. This is not even Thailand but chickens are chickens wherever you live, in my case Viet Nam.

We have a few chickens that the good lady keeps for no particular reason except that everybody keeps chickens here. A few weeks back I came home Friday evening and did my usual check on the birds making sure they had food and water. One had some plastic cord wrapped around it's foot and had swallowed the end of it. So I sorted that one out then noticed one of the others was looking a bit odd, it's wing was hanging down as if it were injured but wouldn't let me close for a look. Night time it got up on the perch okay and looked a bit better however by Satruday morning it was all but immobile, just managing to flop around a bit before rolling on it's back. it went steadily downhill from there and ended up almost paralysed and in a position like it's spine had been shrunk causing it to look constantly upwards. We had the poor little mite put out of it's misery and the rest of the flock got on with there lives as normal.

Until tonight when another has suddenly gone down the same way. It's almost like a siezure or a stroke, if chickens can suffer from such things. I've tried a few other web sites and searched the internet but can not come up with anything helpful. I've said we must get the others out of the chicken house and scrub it thoroughly with a strong disinfectant.

Has anyone any idea what could be the cause and what else we could do? Veterinarian attention here is very hit and miss and sometimes I get the impression they just give human medication just to be seen doing something.

[sbk]

Hi Phil

I had chickens years and years ago and my chickens got hit with something like this. For the life of me I can't recall what it was but am pretty sure we fed them antibiotics to fight it. But if someone has a better idea, I would accept it because, like I said, this memory is going back at least 15 years, sorry I can't be of more help

[Thaddeus]

Newcastle.

http://www.thepoultrysite.com/diseaseinfo/111/newcastle-disease-paramyxovirus-1

[PhilHarries]

Thanks sbk, not only do I have to cope with the questionable quality of vets but also my lack of the lingo. I do know the Vietnamese for chicken pox, bênh thuy ðâu, as i went down with it last year but that ain't much good.

Thanks for the depressing link Thaddeus,

Treatment: None, antibiotics to control secondary bacteria.

but at least I know what it is and it is sensitive to disinfectants and fumigants, I just hope we can save the rest of them.

All I have to do is make sure we clean the house out more rigourously as

The virus survives for long periods at ambient temperature, especially in faeces and can persist in houses (in faeces, dust etc). for up to 12 months.

Thanks again both of you.

[PhilHarries]

Well it's ten thirty and I have been scrubbing out the chicken house for the last three hours, had to start early to get it done before the heat sets in. The sick chicken looked a bit perkier this morning but, based on the info in that link, I don't hold out much hope for it.

Next stage is to write down the name of the sickness and get my lady to go see a vet and find out what else we can do. Again according to the info the answer is not much, but at least we can try.

The problem has been a lack of a secure chicken run so they kept escaping and in Vietnam chickens on the loose "disappear". So the poor things have been shut in the house since before Tet waiting for a new pen to be built. Thus they have been living, eating and sh*tt*ng in the same close confines. But things can move fast here, not often I'll readily admit but they can, and a man is on site as I type building what I hope is the solution.

[Thaddeus]

Phil,

The only reason I knew the name of that disease is because of a mate here (Brit) he had over 100 chickens a couple of weeks ago, after 5 days of the first signs the number dropped to around a dozen. He used to keep poultry in the UK and is very experienced.

I hope it isn't what you guys have got, as there is no treatment, the birds that are going to survive will just survive, but it will only be around 10% of the poor buggers.

Good luck mate.

[bina]

drunk and off balance = newcastle.... please also take care of human hygiene as it is a zoonoses i.e. humans can get it albeit it is fairly difficult to get and the signs are a bit different -- mostly flue like...

basic good hygiene (washing hands with running water and chicken shoes dont go in the house area)... quarantine the chickens, treat symtomaticaly or knock them off and start again. its very spreadable, and i think and obviusly causes much economic damage in flocks/

there is a vaccine that comes with other vaccines for chickens that livestock places may have,ot innoculate your chicks, maybe u can buy over internet.

the best antibiotic for chickens btw is baytril liquid to be put in their water (read isntructions for time frame to eat eggs or chickens afterward... its a good broad spectrum antibiotic for many animals (given in various forms) usually used as a last resort when nothing else works.. check out their website for all relavant info..its one of the only antibiotics that i would keep around for use as it can be used on dogs, goats, chickens etc... (some by injection and some oral, read isntructions per animal).

chicken innoculations are usually sold in bulk for large chicken houses so maybe u can aquire some from someone who keeps large amounts of chickens in a neighbhhoring country? we used to buy leftovers from a zoo, the vaccines need to be refrigerated so shipping can be problmatic ...

bina

israel

[PhilHarries]

Thanks bina, baytril, I'll make a note of that and maybe will find somebody who can help out.

We've lost one more but the remaining ones are looking okay and it's been a week now so we're hoping for the best but still prepared for the worst.

According to the link Thaddeus supplied the only way it gets to mammals is conjunctivitis so, having had that once in Thailand, I'm taking great care especially sweeping the yard kicking the dust up.

We always do scrub up after handling the chickens and shoes never come into the house period so we should be safe on that front. However, being the tropics, dust is the main problem and for that reason I am glad we don't have a window in the kitchen area.

[Foreverford]

Thanks bina, baytril, I'll make a note of that and maybe will find somebody who can help out.

We've lost one more but the remaining ones are looking okay and it's been a week now so we're hoping for the best but still prepared for the worst.

According to the link Thaddeus supplied the only way it gets to mammals is conjunctivitis so, having had that once in Thailand, I'm taking great care especially sweeping the yard kicking the dust up.

We always do scrub up after handling the chickens and shoes never come into the house period so we should be safe on that front. However, being the tropics, dust is the main problem and for that reason I am glad we don't have a window in the kitchen area.

How's your water situation? You may be able to plant some grass around the house on a trail from the coop to the house. Seaside paspalum and Zoysia are two that do well and don't require a bunch of water as a thought possibly