Help please! Chicks with respiratory sickness!

[rosemarysugar]

I've been treating 3- fourish week old chicks for coccidiosis with sulfa/trimethoprim as instructed by doctor. Now they are sounding cruddy and sneezing. Doesn't that same med help with resp. Problems too? I have no clue what to do for chicks with this problem! Adults, yes but chicks, no. Can they have vet rx, moonlight mile respiratory drops...anything???? The vet is not in today. Please help!!

 

[chickens really]

@Wyorp Rock

 

[Eggcessive]

Can you give some background on where the chicks came from, and describe their brooder and conditions, including air circulation? Brooder conditions, such as wet bedding from water spills that mix with feed spills can cause mold that can lead to aspergillosis or brooder pneumonia. Ammonia odors from droppings can also affect breathing and cause eye problems.

Sulfa antibiotics can help treat coccidiosis, and can treat coryza, a respiratory disease. Mycoplasma (MG) may respind better to Tylan50 injectable given orally to chicks. Dosage is 1/4 ml per pound given 3 times daily fo 3-5 days. Many feed store sell that, or your vet may prescribe Tylan powder for the water, or another antibiotic.,

 

[rosemarysugar]

The chicks are from a small, family owned hatchery. They are currently in a cardboard enclosure, indoors, with pine shavings, and a heat lamp.

The dr just changed them to baytril for respiratory and albon for the tummy bug. Hopefully that will get things going in the right direction.

 

[Eggcessive]

Baytril is very good for many types of bacteria, and that should really help symptoms. I hope they get better soon. Many respiratory diseases can make survivers carriers for the rest of their lives. The usual common respiratory diseases include infectious bronchitis, mycoplasma gallisepticum, coryza, and ILT, along with aspergillosis from mold. Here is a good link to read about those and other diseases:
https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

 

[rosemarysugar]

Thank you very much. I'm super stressed out. Everytime I turn around there's something else wrong! I guess this is precisely why you don't just throw new chickens in with the others. I can tell you right now that I'm not adding anymore in in this fashion ever again. I absolutely adore my chickens but this is going to give me an ulcer!!!

 

[lifeteacher]

I've seen different things said about respiratory illness and I am wondering, if hens recover and are ever after "carriers" will they lay? Why would you need to cull your flock if you are not planning to sell birds?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I've seen different things said about respiratory illness and I am wondering, if hens recover and are ever after "carriers" will they lay? Why would you need to cull your flock if you are not planning to sell birds?

Yes, hens that have recovered from respiratory disease can lay eggs.

Each disease can impact the laying hen's health, productivity and egg quality even if they recover.
Most all respiratory diseases make the flock carriers for life, with the exception of Infectious Bronchitis which can make them carriers for up to a year.

Let's look at Infectious Bronchitis as an example - birds can recover, but the virus damages the reproductive system. As you can see in the photo below, egg shell quality is impacted.
IB is also thought to be a cause of Salpingitis (Lash Egg) in laying hens as well. Reproductive problems like prolapse, Internal Laying, Egg Yolk Peritonitis, etc. could very well be common too since the reproductive system is damaged.
Egg looks appetizing doesn't it?

Ref: https://www.betterhensandgardens.com/infectious-bronchitis-in-chickens/
https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poul.../overview-of-infectious-bronchitis-in-poultry

Let's quickly look at Mycoplasma - this disease makes birds carrier for life. It also damages the reproductive system. Egg productivity and quality is impacted as well. Eggs may look "normal". This disease is one that is transmitted both vertically (into the embryo of hatching eggs) and horizontally (bird-to-bird, dust, dander, etc.)
MG is also a cause of Salpingitis in laying hens and likely the cause of other reproductive problems as well.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/what-is-this-salpingitis-warning-graphic-photos.1136522/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...-dust-one-by-one.1270059/page-2#post-20420498

As you can see, even when recovered, these diseases impact the productivity of hens, also the quality of eggs and hatchability of the eggs they lay, not to mention their overall health.
A lot of people do treat bird that have respiratory illness and they keep a closed flock. They are aware if new birds are added, there is a risk the new bird will become ill (the new birds are also considered carriers when exposed).

If you are a breeder, you show, you hatch/sell/give away - then culling would be a practical solution. Starting over would be both costly and heartbreaking, but some have done it to prevent the spread of disease.

I have just glossed the surface to your questions - there's a lot of information here on BYC about disease. If you google each illness there is even more information to be found. There is so much to learn and something new to discover about these diseases, it's hard to keep it all straight.
Here's a link to get you started - List of common poultry diseases: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

 

[Cragg Klefor]

 

[lifeteacher]

Very informative...and depressing. I have no way to know what type of illness my birds had this summer. It appears I need to cull my entire little flock of 9 and start over. They had the resp. Before they were of laying age and only 2 are laying. So their reproductive systems apparently have been damaged.