Sick chickens, bacterial or virus?

[Vwfarmllc]

Hello all. We bought some chickens from an auction the day before thanksgiving. Some were full grown and some were feathered pullets but not mature enough to lay eggs yet. We noticed one was getting sneezy so we added rooster booster poultry cell to their water and added electrolytes. We had one pass unexpectedly and figured it was just stress from the move and auction. The sick one kept getting sicker and eventually after a week passed. She showed symptoms of sneezing, gurgling while breathing, swollen eyes, and eventually curled her head inward like a duck and then passed.

Shortly after the rest of them got sick, sneezing mostly, and we keep giving poultry cell and poultry electrolytes but not sure they are getting better. At first I thought it was viral, but now I'm thinking bacterial?

The gentleman who bought them said his son bought chickens from the same auction and his got sick too but recovered so I don't think it is a location problem. We isolated them from our flock and out of the 6 we are down to 3. 2 seem ok, and the third is still sneezing quite profusely. We don't have a farm animal vet close by anymore and the one they recommended are not accepting new patients for farm visits. Any help is sincerely appreciated. Thank you

 

[dawg53]

Welcome to BYC.
Unfortunately it sounds like you purchased sick birds. At first, they dont appear sick, however, stress brings out the disease symptoms that you are seeing.
I suspect you're dealing with Mycoplasma Gallisepticum (MG). Here's a link for you to read about it:
https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/mycoplasmosis/mycoplasma-gallisepticum-infection-in-poultry
I recommend that you cull the birds or you will be treating them with antibiotics that will possibly require eggs to be tossed in the garbage for a period of time. Even if treated with antibiotics, birds remain carriers for life and can easily spread the disease to other birds. Stress will easily bring out symptoms again.
It would be best to order chicks from a reputable hatchery and raise them yourself and practice strict biosecurity.