Suspected CRD

BrowncoatChicks

In the Brooder
7 Years
Apr 12, 2012
14
0
22
Last year around this time one of my two hens (a now circa 7 year old hatchery EE) started sneezing a lot. She seemed to be a little worse at breathing, almost like she was "stuffed up," if you know what I mean. Everything else was normal. She doesn't produce a lot of eggs at her age anymore, but she does produce some. I kept an eye on it whilst I was home for Christmas, and it neither got better nor worse, so I thought something infectious was somewhat doubtful, instead thinking it to be an environmental thing I couldn't figure out. The other hen was entirely unaffected. When I last visited home in April, she seemed to have "recovered." I'm home for Christmas again, and my parents haven't said they've noticed anything off with this hen. The other hen has since passed away from what I suspect to be entirely unrelated causes, as there was no respiratory involvement and she pretty much just dropped dead. I've heard that's not uncommon after about 5 years or so with hatchery birds. So anyways, she's not sneezing a lot this time, but if you stand close enough to her and it's quiet you can hear breathing "clicking." Again, no other signs. I now suspect it's Chronic Respiratory Disease. My family certainly doesn't plan on getting any more chickens, so that's not an issue. My question is, should I take her to a vet? Should I get her antibiotics? It's so mild, my concern is if I medicate her every winter for the rest of her life it'll just result in antibiotic resistance, and I want to have the meds as an option in my "back pocket" in case it gets worse and I have to save her life. My family and I have been doing our best keeping the coop and run clean, but admittedly it's hard (poorly-designed coop; I now know for next time if I ever build another one).
 
I would probably not treat her since her symptoms are mild. If you want to medicate, Denagard is an antibiotic available only online that people with CRD (mycoplasma) use to treat and prevent infections. There are dosages for treating an outbreak and a smaller dose once a month for prevention. When she passes away, after several weeks, it would be safe for your parents to get more chicks without the fear of getting CRD. The MG organism only lives outside the animal for a couple of days.
 
I wouldn't treat either.
Are you sure there is enough ventilation?
It's odd that it happens the same time every year. Coincidentally when many people button up their coops, limiting ventilation.
 
Looking back to my previous posts has given me a confusing portrait of her "condition." I guess I have trouble remembering back that far, but still, she's never shown any lethargy, change in food or water intake, or other signs as far as I can tell. It's always been extremely mild. She does it when she's out in the run (very well ventilated) or out in the yard as well. We scoop poop to keep ammonia fumes to a minimum. We haven't "battened down the hatches" for winter, as our winters are sufficiently mild (though extremely rainy) for that to be unnecessary.
 

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