Chickens bleeding through the nose/mouth, dying

[comp6512]

Found a dead hen on Sunday. Then another, young rooster, died in front of me (separated from the flock), bleeding through the nose or beek.

I put them on Duramycin yesterday. So far no more deaths, but two chickens bleeded on the roost at night, I found blood on the roosts. They are both hardly walking, just sitting around looking sick. Their heads turned sort of greenish color.

Is this some kind of respiratory disease? Will Duramycin take care of it or need I do something else? Thanks!

 

[viktoriacl]

Could they have gotten into rat poison? It causes bleeding as it stops the bloods clotting ability from working.

 

[ND]

Have you added new birds recently... or been around other poultry where you could've 'tracked' something home?


It kinda sounds like it could be Infectious Laryngotracheitis. Coughing and sneezing up blood is pretty classic of that. There are milder forms, and more severe forms of it.
Morbidity is pretty high... mortality is sorta high, but also depends on the strain you've got. Sounds like you might have a more aggressive strain, if that's what it is...

There is nothing to treat it with... you will only be treating the secondary infections, if any. If it's ILT, it'll have to 'run it's course', of about two weeks once a bird is infected. Any antibiotic will only help if they develop secondary bacterial infections from it.

They'll be carriers of it, and can pass it on to new birds.

I don't think the durmaycin will hurt anything, but not necessarily help anything either. I'd use a stronger med for secondary infections of something like this anyway... like Tylan 50 injectable or even baytril. But again, it's not going to cure them of the ILT, IF that's what it is... only manage secondary infections.


Any new birds you get will become sick with this... even if your remaining flock 'heals' and starts acting healthy again. They'll shed the virus, infecting new birds.

The only way to get rid of ILT would be to cull the entire flock, sanitize like crazy...and wait enough time that the virus would die off in the environment. I'm not sure how long ILT can live outside of it's host in the environment... that'd be something you'd want to look up if you decide to try to cull and start a new flock with better bio-security.

 

[comp6512]

Quote:
There is no coughing or sneezing, just quite a bit of blood comes out of the chicken's mouth. I witnessed when one died. The other two incidents I did not see, but saw blood on the roosts.

I only added pekin ducks from McMurray, about 7 weeks ago. No other birds, I incubate my own.

 

[comp6512]

Quote:
Originally I suspected rat poison. Our neighbours all of a sudden became hateful of our chickens. I thought they might have thrown some rat poison pellets over the fence, which will be easy to do, it's a chainlink fence. But would not that cause blood coming from the anus, not mouth? I don't know. What are symptoms of rat poisoning? And, are there cures, outside of moving, of course.

 

[slackwater]

rat poison causes massive internal bleeding, and it would come from all orificies. I don't know anything about ILT...but I agree it sounds like rat poison cases that I've seen/heard about. Unfortunately, I do not think there is a chicken-reasonable cure (ie - there may be one for people, but not for animals).

Pen everyone up IMMEDIATELY. If it is rat poison, and they can't get into it anymore, you should have your losses quickly, albeit dramatically.

Whatever it is - so sorry you are going through this!

 

[Crack N' Egg]

What is it with people!

That is horrible that your neighbors would do something like that! I'd go and put rat poisoning in their food!! (oops that was my inside voice)

I'm so sorry that you have to go through this. I wish you all the strength and I hope you don't loose anybody else!

 

[viktoriacl]

I believe it is vitamin K. Dont think it matters what eats it Vitamin K is the antidote. I'm going to look it up now.

 

[lynxs1981]

I'd give everything I quick walk around and look for any blue-green pellets; this would be rat poison.

 

[viktoriacl]

This sit has nothing to do with chickens but lots of good info on rat poison!
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_rat_poison.html