Can eating moldy food cause respiratory symtoms?

So I've been nursing some sick pullets for a little over a week now. Coughing, wheezing, rattling in the lungs, watery eyes..... Was thinking maybe I was dealing with infectious bronchitis or mycoplasma of some sort. Another thought just occurred to me though. The chickens that are sick were housed in a tractor coop and their feed was in the run during the day. I noticed on several occasions that moldy spots were showing up in the grass where food had spilled out of the feeder. Dew in the morning caused a white mold to grow, which I just raked up and forgot about. Could this be what is making 3 of the 7 chicks so uncomfortable? Since symptoms began to appear the entire flock has been given duramycin 10 for a week and now denagard, with some improvement. No deaths, but no full recovery yet either. Could I be dealing with poisonous mold instead of respiratory disease? If so, what can I do for them? I hate to cull for something that is not a true problem. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated!

Oh yes absolutely!!! Eating moldy feed can cause LOTS of problems. I would make sure the feed is disposed of and maybe start keeping the feed on some sort of droppings board. Make a square out or 2x4s and attach hardwire cloth put a tray underneath to catch feed/droppings and set the feeders on top it works wonderfully

maidenwolfx80 said:

Oh yes absolutely!!! Eating moldy feed can cause LOTS of problems. I would make sure the feed is disposed of and maybe start keeping the feed on some sort of droppings board. Make a square out or 2x4s and attach hardwire cloth put a tray underneath to catch feed/droppings and set the feeders on top it works wonderfully

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great idea - thanks....just was wondering what to do for this situation.

What treatments have you already tried and for how long have you been treating?

mcgillagorilla said:

great idea - thanks....just was wondering what to do for this situation.

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That is a great idea. I'm on it! Thank you so much!!

And what about the sick birds.... what would you recommend I do for them?

Like I said, after a week and half on antibiotics, they are starting to come around again. Although one in particular feels super light when I pick her up. Just wish I knew what I was treating here....

maidenwolfx80 said:

What treatments have you already tried and for how long have you been treating?

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Duramyin 10 for 7 days, with minor improvement. Now trying denagard. They are looking and sounding better, which is good. Just not sure where to go from here!

Try some ACV in the water and probiotics, when they have antibiotics it kills bad and good bacteria so they will need some of those live active cultures, you can buy a powder that goes in water or you can feed them yogurt, they love it lol... If they duramycin was showing alittle improvement you could have kept on with that. Hopefully they start getting better soon

Need some help here too. My chute I used to feed my chickens leaked water inside and food got moldy. I lost two chickens and now out of the 7 left, only one is laying. What do I need to do? Took the chute off and tossed it. Just filling pan everyday right now. They appear healthy, just not laying. Thanks.

Blackfeet1 said:

Need some help here too. My chute I used to feed my chickens leaked water inside and food got moldy. I lost two chickens and now out of the 7 left, only one is laying. What do I need to do? Took the chute off and tossed it. Just filling pan everyday right now. They appear healthy, just not laying. Thanks.

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Moldy feed is a big problem. Here's some more reading: http://www.mycotoxins.info/myco_info/animpy_sr.html
This link has more information and treatments at the bottom: http://birdhealth.com.au/flockbirds/poultry/diseases/mould_infections.html