what illness does my flock have?

MegPie said:

Hi, I recently brought a hen home from a swap and two days later her eyes started bubbling. I removed her from the flock and began giving her tetracycline powder in her water. A few days later all of my chickens began wheezing and gasping for air. I had 2 chickens cough up blood and die in my arms from suffocating All of them had been getting the powder in the water, obviously it wasn't helping. Then I got some Tylan 50 and injected about 0.1-0.2 ccs in the skin of the neck for every chicken. I did this for 3 days in a row, all seem to be cured now a few weeks later. A few days ago a hen had an eye crusted shut with discharge and puss. I put penicillin drops in the eye and cleaned it out for 3 days straight, it is not any better. What does she have now and what should I use to treat her?? Also....I am about to be moving my rabbits into the same shed for the winter, can they get anything from my chickens? What do I need to worry about? I heard some diseases can pass to them!

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not an eggspert (haha) but been reading and Googling oodles.
most of the respiratory illnesses say not multi species, but you can read up on edis.ifas.ufl.edu website.
there are some very helpful guys on here too.
Oh and the Tylan-50 injections I've been giving 1cc for adults, .5cc for younger, .25 for my OEGB & Bantam Cochins in the breast.
The Black Sex Link hen had her eye so puffy i almost didn't see her real eye. warm compress, clean goo off, got eye open enough for 1 drop to Tylan-50 directly in eye. (IT BURNS SOME so hold on to her!)

MegPie said:

Hi, I recently brought a hen home from a swap and two days later her eyes started bubbling. I removed her from the flock and began giving her tetracycline powder in her water. A few days later all of my chickens began wheezing and gasping for air. I had 2 chickens cough up blood and die in my arms from suffocating All of them had been getting the powder in the water, obviously it wasn't helping. Then I got some Tylan 50 and injected about 0.1-0.2 ccs in the skin of the neck for every chicken. I did this for 3 days in a row, all seem to be cured now a few weeks later. A few days ago a hen had an eye crusted shut with discharge and puss. I put penicillin drops in the eye and cleaned it out for 3 days straight, it is not any better. What does she have now and what should I use to treat her?? Also....I am about to be moving my rabbits into the same shed for the winter, can they get anything from my chickens? What do I need to worry about? I heard some diseases can pass to them!

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You may be dealing with infectious laryngotracheitis or ILT for short. It is a virus which has to run it's course, and may cause bloody mucus from the beak and nasal passages, along with gasping, wheezing, and gurgling. With ILT or any respiratory infection the chickens can develop secondary infections such as MG, and others. In this link you can read about the different diseases and symptoms. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044
Without testing a chicken by blood test or nasal swab, you can only guess what they have.

Thanks for your responses. I will try the tylan 50 in her eye tonight. Another question, I recently got some baby polish and favorelles from a lady and they have been slowly dying off. I think they have coccidiosis, they have running and very stinky poop. I read online the dosage for them, it says 2 tsp. per gallon of water for 7 days, then 1/2 tsp for 7 days. Does this sound correct? It is liquid Corid. I also need to deworm them, can I use Wazine for this? Can it be used at the same time as the corid?? Whats the dose for the Wazine? Thanks!!

When we lost one of ours to similar symptoms the vet kept stressing over and over and over not to get any more birds, give it at least 6 months of no symptoms before getting more birds and don't get more birds! I think she wanted to make sure I got the point . Luckily none of our others ever developed symptoms so think it was a lot to do with ours being a bird with a history of breathing issues.

My point is though, from her insistence about not adding birds I take it that it's something you need totally cured from your flock for quite some time before bringing anything new in. You seem to be doing a lot of introducing new birds, so if you haven't already you need to put a hold on that for the foreseeable future.

Think this is one of those post and the other in the middle of it that needs to be shared when you see someone poo poo the importance of quarantining new birds for 8 weeks. And quarantine means a set of footwear allocated to wearing in each coop and never between coops and stringent hand washing. Yes some people get away with separating for a couple of weeks or not at all but this is what they are risking.

I am sorry you are dealing with this, if you are reaching possibility of full cull status I think loosing one of the sicker birds to diagnostic autopsy is going to be worth the money. With a proper diagnosis perhaps saving your flock could be doable so it's an expense I would accept in the hope of saving the cost of replacing the whole flock. Doesn't make it any easier I know

All of my adult chickens are doing fine now after the Tylan injections. They are separate from my baby chicks that have the runs. The chicken with the pussy eye is separated from everyone as well. I put some Tylan drops in her eye last night, she seems to be a little better, it is no longer pasted shut at least. Another question though, my baby chicks that had diarrhea and were slowly dying off seem to be a little disoriented, or wobbly and not wanting to walk much. Is this just part of being weak and having coccidiosis or is this something else!!?? Should I add some antibiotic powder to the water along with the corid?? Thanks !! (WHO KNEW CHICKENS HAD SO MANY PROBLEMS!!)

MegPie said:

All of my adult chickens are doing fine now after the Tylan injections. They are separate from my baby chicks that have the runs. The chicken with the pussy eye is separated from everyone as well. I put some Tylan drops in her eye last night, she seems to be a little better, it is no longer pasted shut at least. Another question though, my baby chicks that had diarrhea and were slowly dying off seem to be a little disoriented, or wobbly and not wanting to walk much. Is this just part of being weak and having coccidiosis or is this something else!!?? Should I add some antibiotic powder to the water along with the corid?? Thanks !! (WHO KNEW CHICKENS HAD SO MANY PROBLEMS!!)

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Right on the WHO KNEW! My 1st 8 that we got 2 years ago NEVER had any trouble until this year when we added to the flock. We never dreamed they could have so many troubles AND BE SO HARD TO PIN POINT WHICH ONE!

What are all of your chickens symptoms?
With coxidosis they have a good deal of blood in their poop and sometimes by the time you see it, it's to late to save it. (I read that by day 3-5 most times the chick dies) This is weird but after i found 1 of my 22 new hatchery chicks dead I took and watched each poop to find all the ones that wre pooping blood (or the lathargic). I then kept them isolated (and missed work) constantly cleaning the bedding and nursing them and researching. Luckily we saved them all.
And personaly i'd rather deal with that than this respatory crap! At least I could fix that! Now our plans are on hold for 2 years because we don't have it in us to kill any more of them right now. OH HOW THIS SUCKS! We decided to close flock, kill the worst symptomatic ones and then any that relapse; and we're going to get them tested to make sure what they have.

I haven't noticed any blood in the stools, just really watery and super stinky. They also looked crusty like they were dirty and couldn't keep clean. This is just the baby chicks that have this issue, my adults do not. I have maybe 8 adults and probably 15 chicks only. They are separate from eachother, (chicks in my garage and adults in my garden shed). I will just keep on with the corid and see how they do I guess! Maybe get some medicated feed also. I haven't been home since Friday because of work, but tonight I'm hoping they look ok!!

MegPie said:

Thanks for your responses. I will try the tylan 50 in her eye tonight. Another question, I recently got some baby polish and favorelles from a lady and they have been slowly dying off. I think they have coccidiosis, they have running and very stinky poop. I read online the dosage for them, it says 2 tsp. per gallon of water for 7 days, then 1/2 tsp for 7 days. Does this sound correct? It is liquid Corid. I also need to deworm them, can I use Wazine for this? Can it be used at the same time as the corid?? Whats the dose for the Wazine? Thanks!!

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MegPie said:

All of my adult chickens are doing fine now after the Tylan injections. They are separate from my baby chicks that have the runs. The chicken with the pussy eye is separated from everyone as well. I put some Tylan drops in her eye last night, she seems to be a little better, it is no longer pasted shut at least. Another question though, my baby chicks that had diarrhea and were slowly dying off seem to be a little disoriented, or wobbly and not wanting to walk much. Is this just part of being weak and having coccidiosis or is this something else!!?? Should I add some antibiotic powder to the water along with the corid?? Thanks !! (WHO KNEW CHICKENS HAD SO MANY PROBLEMS!!)

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MegPie said:

I haven't noticed any blood in the stools, just really watery and super stinky. They also looked crusty like they were dirty and couldn't keep clean. This is just the baby chicks that have this issue, my adults do not. I have maybe 8 adults and probably 15 chicks only. They are separate from eachother, (chicks in my garage and adults in my garden shed). I will just keep on with the corid and see how they do I guess! Maybe get some medicated feed also. I haven't been home since Friday because of work, but tonight I'm hoping they look ok!!

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Chickens with a respiratory disease, been on antibiotics, and who have cocci will have diarrhea. Don't do too many things at once, and don't mix medications. Worm them later after giving them some probiotics and vitamins to get their gut bacteria health to normal. SafeGuard Liquid Goat Wormer and Valbazen have to dosed to each chicken, but are better wormers than Wazine since they will get more than just round worm.

MegPie said:

Hi, I recently brought a hen home from a swap and two days later her eyes started bubbling. I removed her from the flock and began giving her tetracycline powder in her water. A few days later all of my chickens began wheezing and gasping for air. I had 2 chickens cough up blood and die in my arms from suffocating:( All of them had been getting the powder in the water, obviously it wasn't helping. Then I got some Tylan 50 and injected about 0.1-0.2 ccs in the skin of the neck for every chicken. I did this for 3 days in a row, all seem to be cured now a few weeks later. A few days ago a hen had an eye crusted shut with discharge and puss. I put penicillin drops in the eye and cleaned it out for 3 days straight, it is not any better. What does she have now and what should I use to treat her?? Also....I am about to be moving my rabbits into the same shed for the winter, can they get anything from my chickens? What do I need to worry about? I heard some diseases can pass to them!

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I see you've been told this by Kim already, but I'll just add some. Coughing up blood is most likely ILT, really a nasty disease, reportable to most every state, I think. This is one where they have to come cull your flock I hate to tell you. Just knew of a woman, an NPIP certified breeder, who quarantined a new rooster she bought from another NPIP breeder, for 3 months and as soon as she put him with her flock, they ALL contracted this disease and the state euthanized her entire flock, two coops' worth. It was heartbreaking and now, the other breeder and probably a few more folks he sold to will lose their flocks (Indiana).

I only tell you this because it's VERY serious! You didn't quarantine this hen, a huge no-no, but you live and learn. I'm so sorry. They will all have it, Tylan won't fix it. If it is ILT, they are carriers for life and your property is contaminated with the virus, a herpes virus. Please don't take birds off your property or bring new ones in! The only way you'll know for sure is to have a vet necropsy one of the birds, but be forewarned, he must report it to the state if it is ILT. Please be careful not to cause anyone else the heartache you're experiencing with this awful disease! Some survive the virus but they will be carriers forever.
Read this article about ILT: http://www.birdhealth.com.au/flockbirds/poultry/diseases/ilt.html and even if you are not dealing with it, you'll be educated a bit more about it.



Quote: I agree with Kim here. Folks don't know what the real problem is so they use the shotgun approach and that might only hurt an already very ill bird.

I'm so depressed over my more than likely MG'd flock.
Finally just contacted Virginia Tech's Vet School, they'll get back to me they said. (located 35 minutes from me)
so far I've lost...
1 blue copper french marans cockerel (original bubbly eyes, came back)
1 cuckoo marans hen, swollen face and snotty, not eat or drink
2 swollen faced bubbly eyed OEGB hens
1 ameracuna roo snotty and bubbly eyed
1 naked neck hen bubbly eyed
and a little hen with dislocated/broken leg, natural causes darn it.

now i inspect everyone at night and cross my fingers.
trying to bio-secure as best as i can, even though too late more than likely.
this is heart breaking!
at least 75% have snotty noses
when i loose everyone i don't think I'll get anymore.