Help please! My hen has a respiratory disease.

[IncognitoMode4723]

The last day we gave Bertha Tiagard was Saturday 4/27/2024. Since then, Bertha’s symptoms have decreased significantly. She sneezes occasionally, and around the same time when she sneezes she will wheeze a little. Otherwise she is fine.

Is it okay to continue giving her Tiagard for a few more days? We have already finished the 5 day recommended treatment time for Tiagard. We are worried that she will get worse again when we stop giving it to her. If it is mycoplasma will it become resistant to Tiagard, in which case we would need to give her a different antibiotic?


One of our three hens, Mary, died on Sunday 4/28/2024 at about 12:28 PM. We thought she was eggbound, and we were going to soak her in an Epsom salt bath, but then she thrashed around and died within a matter of seconds. We will make a full post about this soon.

 

[coach723]

I would follow the instructions and dose according to those. For chickens it's usually 3 - 5 days treatment, I wouldn't go longer than that. Instead I would retreat when symptoms return. If it's MG then it is chronic and will recur, particularly during times of stress. The medications help treat the symptoms but it does not cure it. Some treat monthly to keep symptoms controlled. It's also very contagious, so if that's what it is you may need to treat all the flock.
If vet care is an option, they can test and tell you for sure. If you can get a necropsy on the one that died, they can do labs and tell you if it's present in that bird.