Got 20 New Girls That Are About 3 Months From Laying Who Came Down With Something. Not Sure What It Is!

[Gabriangel]

Chickens don’t get colds, but they get respiratory diseases from carriers and some through hatching eggs. Infectious bronchitis and mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) are the 2 most common. One is a virus and the other MG, can respond to antibiotics, such as Tylosin or Tylan. IB last about a month and the chicks most all would get sick, and be carriers for up to a year after. They can have some egg shell problems or reproductive issues in the future. With MG, they would remain carriers for life, and could get sick again during periods of stress. Coryza is more serious with severe symptoms, and it smells rotten.

Sorry that you got sick chickens. The stress of moving them could have brought about symptoms. The breeder may have healthy birds at her place, but she may have one or more carriers that have recovered. You probably paid a lot for started birds. If they will take them back, that would be good. You could get a diagnosis with a necropsy by your state vet on the sickest one or two birds, if you sacrifice them. Or you could close your flock for the life of the birds , and treat them if they get sick. Tylan 50 injectable which most give orally to chickens, is found in some feed stores. Tylosin is found easily at Jedds.com, and it is put into the water.

Thank you so much for the information and clarifications. Infectious Bronchitis seems the most likely at this point (based upon the difference in symptoms between that, MG, and what the "teens" are showing so far). Thanks for sharing the disease names, too, just to try and gain a feel for what they might have and be able to research them a bit.

They haven't gotten any "worse," but they also haven't gotten better and I think the sneezing and labored breathing is a little more present today. I set up a heated diffuser with some VetRX for the night just to see if that might have any positive results. Unfortunately, I caught one of our adult hens, who is in another room that is separated by a wall, sneezing tonight and who sounded a little bit congested, so I gave her an RX rubdown and will have to check all of the adults closely tomorrow. We're going to contact the seller (who asked for updates on their health), but I'd be surprised if they were willing to take them back (or pay us back for that matter). It's in God's hands.

Thanks again for your time and help!!

 

[Eggcessive]

Vet RX would be similar to Vicks—it doesn’t have any antibiotics or other things to treat a respiratory disease. If you feel it helps, that is fine. It contains camphor, oregano, rosemary, and pine oil. Respiratory viruses just have to run their course for a few weeks. Maintaining good air circulation, keeping down dust, and preventing ammonia odors are good habits. When my chickens had IB, I finally quit hatching eggs and buying new chicks for a year after the last chicken recovered, and it went away from my flock. If you ever would lose a chicken, your state vet can perform a necropsy, and can identify many diseases.