Hello JMartinz,
This is something that I have talked about with Dr. Gallardo about, quit a bit. It’s becoming a trend, but I doubt most know the true consequences of using Copper sulfate. Would I use it to cure coccidiosis, no. There is no need to use Copper Sulfate, when Amprolium (known as Corid) works just fine.
Copper Sulfate is a very stringent chemical, which is very hard on internal tissues and causes burns.To show you how harsh it can be, cattle breeders use it to kill footrot in the hooves. If you give Copper Sulfate to chickens, in their drinking water, you will upset all the mucosa and microbiota, within the digestive system of the bird. So, it’s really not made for birds and chickens, and not a great idea for your strain.
Now, it’s true, it does kill everything, and yes, it will kill coccidia, but you might end up with another problem, such as necrotic enteritis, which is very hard to cure, due to the interruption within the mucosa. With that said, coccidiosis can be bad, but if you use Copper Sulfate, you could cause a more severe effect on the mucosa in the intestines, than coccidia can even cause by itself. And, the younger the bird, the worse it is. It’s really bad for young chickens and baby chicks.
I would be very careful about using chemicals, such as Copper Sulfate for your birds.
Most use Copper Sulfate out of desperation, mainly for the fact that they always have sick chickens, and they are looking for that medical golden bullet, which doesn’t exist.
My approach is through prevention and selection. I practice really good biosecurity and farm management. This way you won’t need medications and chemicals. I also practice a method of breeding, known as, Breeding for Improved Disease Resistance.
Great news, I’m presently working on a Program and Masters Class Video to show you how to improve your strain to be more disease resistant.
I hope this helps!
Kenny

Great show on pox, I especially liked the idea of double vaccination to make sure the vaccine took. Have you done a show on CRD yet? Would love to learn more about that one.

I have learned so much from these interviews! Great content! Easy for a backyard hobbyist to follow and understand. I feel very empowered having this knowledge where as before, illness in my flock frightened me into making bad choices. Thank you and Dr. Gallardo!

Hey Cody,
No, we can’t ship birds here in California yet. They just found 20 more cases of Newcastles Disease in the Riverside, San Bernardino and LA areas. These guy just don’t have a clue. They will never learn. We need 6 months of no new cases before The CAFA will lift restrictions on shipping and moving birds. Even after they lift restrictions, it will take the post office many more months before they open shipping again. This is going to take a while.

Absolutely. If they are not careful, they are going to force the state to go to extremes, and that will hurt those that are doing it right.

I’m curious, what steps are you talking to keep your fowl safe? The Newcastle disease is deadly, and it’s not worth taking chances. Make sure to practice good biosecurity.