I received the autopsy and it shows they are suffering from a virus called Marek's disease. It's a herpes virus. I think I kissed them when they were baby chicks but I am told it does not transfer to humans so I am good to go. BLAH. I am just glad this is over. It's not a mystery anymore. I feel so bad for the chickens who are not even sick yet because they have to be put down. It's only a matter of time before they also get it and they will just pass it along to the others. I have gone through almost 30 birds...ridiculous.
I was told to clean out the hen house and wait six weeks before I brought in new chickens. I have to order pullets that have been vaccinated against Mareks because it's very hard to get rid of. I knew hatcheries mailed baby chickens but I had no idea they would mail teenage chickens.
This will be my last attempt. If they keep dying after this I will hang up the egg endeavor just like I gave up on fish. So far I can't keep plants, fish, or chickens alive. Now my next step is to say goodbye to last three chickens and then start researching hatcheries.
SIGH.................
I love how Havensong babbles. She sounds so cute because she is SO serious but not one word is real. I had to post a video so you could know what it feels like to be melted. But MAYBE...I am just another mom who thinks EVERYTHING her baby does is hilarious and amazing.
Naaaaaa, I just watched it again.... she really is that hilarious and amazing.
I hate that I have become known as the dead chicken lady. But it's really not my fault. I have given those chickens the world and they still die. All I want is to see my dream of farm fresh eggs realized. It's to the point now where I barely look at the chickens I have. I can't because I know their fate. My Mother in Law and I have a different view on how to deal with these sick birds. I tuck them in their little boxes and let them slowly perish because if I was sick I would not want someone crunching my neck. Also while I appreciate her desire to not let it suffer, she is new at it and I don't want a novice killing my chickens. She is brave to do it and has a good point in wondering how she will get better if she doesn't practice. Still, I can't take the thought. I want it swift and sure. I am sure Mary Queen of Scots was horrified when her executor missed the first time on her poor neck and that is all I can think about when I imagine it happening. (By the way, Mary was so unjustly murdered, but that is another story. I just had to have my little say in that.) ANYWAY, we have had more than a few discussions about how a chicken will or will not die. It has been stressful and humorous all at the same time.
I finally got a hold of the head (haha) avian vet of Washington state. He was sympathetic to my situation. He had an Australian accent too so he sounded very sincere when he said he was sorry I was losing all of my birds. He told me to overnight the next dead bird and they would test it to find out what was going on. As luck would have it, the chickens kept dying on a Friday so we couldn't ship them out.
FINALLY one died on a weekday so my mother in law packed it up and we took it to the post office. They were not all that thrilled about mailing a dead chicken through the US postal service. He didn't think it was even allowed. You can view the conversation below. He had to look through the manual to see what the rules were. Believe it or not he had never mailed a dead chicken to anywhere before. Evidently you can mail a dead WILD animal but it didn't say if you could mail a dead domestic animal. He finally asked his manager and got the OK from him. I am not thrilled at hearing my voice on the video but I will share it anyway because I am quite sure that I do not sound so annoying in real life. ha.
Now we wait to see what results come in. I just pray it's not the Bird Flu or all of this will stop being funny really fast.
My Mom stopped by today on our way to get a haircut for Chase. She was here to groom Rosie and said she could do Chase too. I thought that sounded wonderful so I drug the kids back into the house. Well, that saved me twelve bucks! In this economy you have to cut corners wherever possible. Chase was a good sport and it turned out great. I think my mom could start a mobile pet/kid hair cutting service.
I got such a kick out her even using the dog combs. She disinfected first, of course. Chase's big eyes were priceless. I am telling you, I felt so happy to not have to leave the house with the baby and go to Great Clips. Ahhhhh....
So if you have Poodles or Kids... my mom can groom them all.
