Adding new chickens after your flock may be carrying a disease? What if the disease is likely present in your soil? (Blackhead)

[Ohio Duck]

Hello,

Does anyone have experience bringing in new chickens after dealing with disease in your flock? There's lots of advice for how to avoid bringing sick birds into a healthy flock, but what if your girls are the problem?

Over the winter I lost three of my six 4-month old pullets to blackhead disease. I dewormed my flock and cleaned out the coop. My adult birds and three of the pullets seem unaffected.

From my understanding, histomonas meleagridis lives in the soil. It may even be present in our earthworms. It's a single-celled parasite like coccidiosis, except there is no approved medicine to treat it. It usually infects chickens through cecal worms. So regularly deworming my flock can help, but it won't eradicate this problem from my property. There's also no vaccine that I'm aware of.

I'm hoping to get more chicks this year - right now I only have 5 birds and I'd like 8-12. However, it's not practical to keep them in my house until they are adults with fully developed immune systems.

I would especially love to hear from any chicken or turkey owners who've dealt with blackhead, but really any experience with managing a flock after disease would be helpful.

 

[Mrs. K]

I have no experience- but I wonder if rototilling the ground of the run would help. And you might look up liming the ground. But I have no experience with either.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I have no experience with blackhead. From what I've read it is really bad for turkeys, you will never be able to raise them. Chickens are less susceptible but that doesn't mean you won't have losses as you have seen.

I assume by your screen name that you are in the US. I'd call your local Extension Service office and chat with them. They should have access to accurate information, not just internet stuff.

 

[NatJ]

I assume by your screen name that you are in the US. I'd call your local Extension Service office and chat with them. They should have access to accurate information, not just internet stuff.

That sounds like a very good idea.

From my understanding, histomonas meleagridis... usually infects chickens through cecal worms.

I'm hoping to get more chicks this year - right now I only have 5 birds and I'd like 8-12. However, it's not practical to keep them in my house until they are adults with fully developed immune systems.

Would it be possible to raise the chickens outside your house, but with no chance to pick up the parasites? I'm thinking something like a coop with no run and no ground contact, or raised cages with wire floors.

Alternately, you could raise the chicks normally but deworm them regularly. If you try that, maybe get extra chicks in case some don't make it, and plan to eat a few if they do all survive to adulthood.

Are you allowed to have roosters and are you interested in raising your own chickens? You could try raising chicks from the survivors, and see if their offspring are also more able to tolerate the situation you have.