Should I medicate my entire flock?

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cmlew99

cmlew99

Chirping
5 Years
Apr 5, 2014
329
15
98
Massachusetts
Hello! One of my hens has been sneezing and sounds congested, with a bit of a watery/somewhat bubbly discharge coming from her eyes. She acts like a normal chicken other than this. When I noticed this on Wednesday I seperated her, and last night I started her on Duramycin 10 diluted in her water. She has been drinking it, and today was her first full day. No changes yet.

Should I use the duramycin 10 on the rest of the flock? Even If they don't already show symptoms? Should I be providing an alternative source of water without the antibiotics?

Thanks in advance!
 
I never treat any birds that are not sick or showing symptoms. And if you treat in the water that should be the only water source, if you offer an additional water source you are only diluting the amount of medication they are getting. Delivering meds via the water is already an imprecise method at best, don't want to make it even less effective. Whenever possible it's always best to treat each bird orally or injected, that way you know it got the exact dose it needs each day. Birds may drink more or less on any given day depending on several factors.
 
It sounds to me like she has a respiratory ailment. It's hard to tell the difference between the different kinds of respiratory issues because the symptoms are similar, however respiratory diseases are VERY contagious. I would give the Duramycin to all the flock members as a preventative measure. I don't like to use antibiotics either because of resistant issues unless I have to but in cases like this where the whole flock was exposed to a highly contagious ailment, I would. Duramycin is put in the drinking water so it would be easy to treat the whole flock.
 
@myfinefeatheredfriends even if none of the other birds are showing symptoms after three days? Also, It's snowing here (slightly)- should I feel bad about leaving her in her small crate in the basement? She seems so much happier outside, but would the cold hurt her?
 
Last edited:
If you only have one sick hen, then separate her from the other chickens and just medicate her. The rest of the flock does not need medicated unless they show symptoms.
 

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