Respiratory illness

[Momma-Hen-Misti]

Hello y'all! I need some advice. Instagram friends & Google has helped thus far but I'm at a road block. About 6 weeks ago, I added 4 new hens to the 8 I've raised from chicks in May 2020. I was told the new hens were tested & good to go. (Newbie mistake) I kept them in a wire dog crate in the coop with my original flock & put the 4 new ones in a large dog run inside my large backyard that my original flock free ranges in. Well, less than 1 week later we have a full blown respiratory illness. I went thru 2 bottles of Vetrx, added vitamins, electrolytes, probiotics...you name the supplement, I probably tried it. I finally decided to purchase penicillin & I learned to give injections. They each had injections for 4 days. Last injections were Thursday night, July 28th. Everyone is acting normally but I can still hear phlegm when several breathe & there are still sneezing from at least 3 or 4 that I've noticed. Do you think the penicillin will kick whatever this is? Or should I already start giving Tylan 50 injections? I thought I'd wait a week before starting another round of antibiotic injections but figured I'd run it by others who may have more experience. Thank you in advance for any advice you may have!

 

[Aunt Angus]

Hello y'all! I need some advice. Instagram friends & Google has helped thus far but I'm at a road block. About 6 weeks ago, I added 4 new hens to the 8 I've raised from chicks in May 2020. I was told the new hens were tested & good to go. (Newbie mistake) I kept them in a wire dog crate in the coop with my original flock & put the 4 new ones in a large dog run inside my large backyard that my original flock free ranges in. Well, less than 1 week later we have a full blown respiratory illness. I went thru 2 bottles of Vetrx, added vitamins, electrolytes, probiotics...you name the supplement, I probably tried it. I finally decided to purchase penicillin & I learned to give injections. They each had injections for 4 days. Last injections were Thursday night, July 28th. Everyone is acting normally but I can still hear phlegm when several breathe & there are still sneezing from at least 3 or 4 that I've noticed. Do you think the penicillin will kick whatever this is? Or should I already start giving Tylan 50 injections? I thought I'd wait a week before starting another round of antibiotic injections but figured I'd run it by others who may have more experience. Thank you in advance for any advice you may have!

Is a vet an option? They can test and tell you what you're dealing with. If it's viral, antibiotics won't help. If it's bacterial,they canprescribe the right meds for whichever bug they have.

I'm so sorry.... We've all made rookie mistakes. Heck, I STILL make them.

 

[Momma-Hen-Misti]

Is a vet an option? They can test and tell you what you're dealing with. If it's viral, antibiotics won't help. If it's bacterial,they canprescribe the right meds for whichever bug they have.

I'm so sorry.... We've all made rookie mistakes. Heck, I STILL make them.

I've contacted a vet but they never got back to me. Our dog vet was honest with me & said poultry class was at 7 am & he chose to sleep instead.

 

[Aunt Angus]

I've contacted a vet but they never got back to me. Our dog vet was honest with me & said poultry class was at 7 am & he chose to sleep instead.

Oh, that just stinks! It can be so hard to find avian vets. Grr!

You can try the Tylan, then. See if it works. Just be sure to follow the dosage directions and finish the course. If you don't see improvement, it's most likely a virus (if penicillin and Tylan don't fix it,for goodness sake) and will have to run it's course.

Lots of fresh water. Maybe electrolytes in their water. Maybe a little Nutridrench once you finish the meds.

 

[Ponypoor]

I've contacted a vet but they never got back to me. Our dog vet was honest with me & said poultry class was at 7 am & he chose to sleep instead.

That's just horse doodoo, tell her take a swab, send to the lab, and they will do their magic and even tell HIM whatnot is AND suggest any antibiotics of its bacterial.

You need to understand if you're dealing with a gram-negative or gram-positive bacteria and be prescribed the proper antibiotic

If it's viral you have to let it run its course.

Silly Vet.

 

[Momma-Hen-Misti]

Oh, that just stinks! It can be so hard to find avian vets. Grr!

You can try the Tylan, then. See if it works. Just be sure to follow the dosage directions and finish the course. If you don't see improvement, it's most likely a virus (if penicillin and Tylan don't fix it,for goodness sake) and will have to run it's course.

Lots of fresh water. Maybe electrolytes in their water. Maybe a little Nutridrench once you finish the meds.

Thank you so much for your advice!

 

[Momma-Hen-Misti]

That's just horse doodoo, tell her take a swab, send to the lab, and they will do their magic and even tell HIM whatnot is AND suggest any antibiotics of its bacterial.

You need to understand if you're dealing with a gram-negative or gram-positive bacteria and be prescribed the proper antibiotic

If it's viral you have to let it run its course.

Silly Vet.

I asked my dog vet about a previous injury a hen had. I haven't asked him about this illness. I didn't think about him sending a swab off for testing. This is great information! Will I swab their mouths or nares? Do I just ask them to run the swab to know if it's positive for a bacteria? Correct?

 

[Ponypoor]

I asked my dog vet about a previous injury a hen had. I haven't asked him about this illness. I didn't think about him sending a swab off for testing. This is great information! Will I swab their mouths or nares? Do I just ask them to run the swab to know if it's positive for a bacteria? Correct?

The vet would do the swab to ensure there is no contamination, they can swab any discharge that is present or a throat/mouth swab. Unless you are trained in aseptic technique you need a vet to do it.

The lab can run a culture for any bacteria, and a pcr for any virus if you wish to have that done. I personally would just do a culture for bacterial infections , if it comes back as negative for any infections then your likely dealing with a virus.

But if it is a bacterial infection you will know eggs-actely what antibiotic to use!

How are they today?

 

[Momma-Hen-Misti]

The vet would do the swab to ensure there is no contamination, they can swab any discharge that is present or a throat/mouth swab. Unless you are trained in aseptic technique you need a vet to do it.

The lab can run a culture for any bacteria, and a pcr for any virus if you wish to have that done. I personally would just do a culture for bacterial infections , if it comes back as negative for any infections then your likely dealing with a virus.

But if it is a bacterial infection you will know eggs-actely what antibiotic to use!

How are they today?

The new ladies sound the worst. You can literally hear every breath. My original ladies only 3 out of the 8 are sneezing & can occasionally hear that phlegm rattle when they breathe. I don't want to cull the new ladies since they are more active & all eating & drinking. They still look terrible & they are still super thin! (They were rescued from a kill facility & sold by that company to the public for $3 each) These "cheap" birds have costed me more than I would've spent raising chicks. I'll NEVER buy anything but chicks & raise them myself!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

You can have a respiratory panel testing through Zoologix if you want to find out more.

There's a few common respiratory illnesses chickens can have. Infectious Bronchitis (Virus), ILT (Virus), Mycoplasma (Bacteria-Like) and Infectious Coryza (Bacteria-Like).

Mycoplasma seems to be the more common. It has no cell wall, so Penicillin would not be an effective treatment. You can try treating the symptomatic birds with Tylan50. Dose is 0.25ml per pound of weight given orally 3 times a day for 5 days in a row.

Alternatively you can treat the flock's water with Tylosin, you will have to order it online. https://jedds.com/products/tylosin-powder?_pos=1&_sid=4c29a7f0d&_ss=r

If it's MG, then birds will remain carriers for life. Here's some reading about illnesses
https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/PS044