please help

[samarina]

I have a flock if young pullets at point of lay...when they were chicks I made the mistake of bringing home an adult hen. Being a newbie, this hen has cost me alot of grief. she brought in leg mites which I am still battling; brought in lice which I got rid of, but most disheartening, she brought in something else too. The majority of my birds is 5mths old now. They have been sneezing for over 3mths. I have tried vet rx, tetracycle, tylan powder and dewormed them with ivermecton. They are still sneezing though not quite as much and one has raspy breathing...what can I do besides cull? We are very attatched these girls. They have never had runny eyes or swelling anywhere. but two have had once or twice some clear runny nose.... I just dont know what else to do

 

[QueenMisha]

So sorry this has happened to you. Mostly likely what you are dealing with is a contagious respiratory disease; the most common form of this being the bacterium Mycoplasma. I would strongly suggest having your birds blood tested by a vet to confirm exactly what you are dealing with. This usually costs 20-$40 and is well worth the cost.

Denagard is much more effective than Tylan and will treat all the birds that Tylan can't. It is effective on the majority of respiratory diseases.

Here are some facts regarding contagious respiratory diseases:

- They are not curable, only treatable. They will remain within the flock for the life of all birds exposed and you may see symptom relapses multiple times a year.

- Even birds who never showed symptoms should be considered carriers and able to spread and transmit the disease. You should not sell or transfer any birds out of the flock or you risk infecting other people's flocks.

- You can still eat the eggs and meat from infected birds, but they may be poorer producers of both.

As for whether or not to cull... that's a personal choice. My personal recommendation would be to cull, because the alternative is going through the hassle of caring for an infectious flock for years... it's far less stressful to start over, in the long run. But I can also see exactly how impossible that can be to do when the birds in question are pets and friends.

As for leg mites - use DW-40. Really. It kills them within 3-4 applications (I apply every 2-3 days). I've never had another product be nearly as effective or quick to act.

 

[samarina]

Thank you for your sympathy..I wish people were honest in selling things, especially animals. This is just a horrible introduction to chicken keeping. I traveled over 4hrs for these birds on a few diff occasions..So if I cull them now hubby may not like me starting over. Cost me too much money to cull yet without getting egg rent first. Sadly all the vets tell me they know nothing about chickens and was quoted approx $300 to have an exam, fecal tests and possibly meds with a vet that knows nothing. The closest vet that does is 4hrs away.

I will be culling them in approx 2 yrs as our place will be going up for sale soon so we can by more property.When we move I dont want to bring this diaease with us.

How do I get my hands on denagard without a vet? my vet wont sell me anything more with an exam. I live in BC.

 

[QueenMisha]

Thank you for your sympathy..I wish people were honest in selling things, especially animals. This is just a horrible introduction to chicken keeping. I traveled over 4hrs for these birds on a few diff occasions..So if I cull them now hubby may not like me starting over. Cost me too much money to cull yet without getting egg rent first. Sadly all the vets tell me they know nothing about chickens and was quoted approx $300 to have an exam, fecal tests and possibly meds with a vet that knows nothing. The closest vet that does is 4hrs away.

I will be culling them in approx 2 yrs as our place will be going up for sale soon so we can by more property.When we move I dont want to bring this diaease with us.

How do I get my hands on denagard without a vet? my vet wont sell me anything more with an exam. I live in BC.

Two years isn't too long to live with it. In that case, not culling not is probably fine. Just make sure to maintain careful biosecurity to make sure it doesn't spread to anyone else's flock.

Hmm. I can't be sure about BC, but here in the US I can find it online, no prescription needed. I purchase from qcsupply, not sure if they'd ship to you though?

 

[samarina]

not sure either. I emailed the companies I could find online to see if they will ship to me so fingers crossed.there are no flocks near me so we are good

 

[samarina]

My girls had denaguard for 5 days now....Its been two days since we finished the meds.. They are still sneezing and still cough once in awhile.. How is this possible? I feel like I have tried everything aside from culling which is not an option for me for at least a couple yrs anyways...what else am I to do?

 

[QueenMisha]

That's interesting. Denagard usually knocks out all symptoms. Try keeping them on it for another 2-5 days, that may help knock out the symptoms. If that doesn't work, the only thing stronger than Denagard is Baytril, but that stuff is very strong and not technically supposed to be used in poultry, so it can be hard to source. Some pigeon supply places will sell it, as racing pigeons aren't really considered poultry in the same way.