Respiratory illness advice needed

[marcigray70]

Hi everyone, I'm struggling and need some help and advice.

1) What type of bird , age and weight - I have a mixed flock. 20 in coop 1, and 22 in coop 2. Coop one is Leghorns, Buff Rocks, Barred Rock, Easter Eggers, Ameraucana, Polish, Isa Browns and Blue Wheaten Maran. Most are less than a year and started laying in the fall or just in the last month or so. We do have a few old ladies that are a year or two. Coop 2 has Rhode Island Red, Barred Rock and Isa Browns that are 18 week old pullets. Each coop has one rooster.
2) What is the behavior, exactly. - I have coughing, sneezing, bubbly eyes, runny beaks, some diarrhea, and raspy breathing.
3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms? - Two weeks ago I had a Blue Wheaten Maran with raspy breathing I treated using TerraVet 200 on (.5cc once per day) for 3 days and she recovered quickly and is laying again (her eggs are being withheld). Then a Buff Rock with bubbly eyes early last week that i Isolated to our heated pole barn and have been giving the same treatment. She got better for a few days and then relapsed. She's eating and drinking fine and I have been giving her electrolytes also.
4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms? - Yes. I have lost a Black Copper Maran I isolated with the Buff Rock. She did not respond to the TerraVet and stopped eating despite me trying to hand feed and syringe feed her. I lost her yesterday. I have a barred rock with raspy breathing and bubbly eyes, and an Easter Egger with bubbly eyes both are in with the Buff and are on Terra Vet 200. The easter egger is better and about to be put back out in the coop with the others. I am hearing coughing/sneezing/raspy breathing in both coops now randomly and having a hard time figuring out which birds are sick.
5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma. - The sick birds don't appear to have any injury. Some of the longer single combed birds got frost bite during our cold snap. Leghorns mostly but one of the Isa Browns too.
6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation. - We have had some extreme temperature swings. -18 at night and then a week later its in the 50's and all of our snow is melted away.
7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all. Everyone is eating and drinking normally.
8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc. No blood, but some runny poop.
9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far? TerraVet 200 for 3 days for most but the Buff is not responding well. Also Terramycin ointment in the eyes for the bubbly eyes which most end up crusted shut, and sometimes their nostril too.
10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet? - I don't have access to an avian vet so I am treating myself.
11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help. - no pics to share
12) Describe the housing/bedding in use Coop 1 is a converted 8 X 8 shed with pine shavings for bedding. Coop 2 is a 8 x 10 converted shed as well, also pine shavings for bedding. both are dry and draft free. Both have large attached and covered runs. The chickens in Coop 1 free range when we are home. The coops are next to each other on the property.

Sorry if this is long. I'm worried about the Buff Rock and that she's relapsed so quickly, or its possible she wasn't fully over it and I put her back with the others too soon. The weather also went from 50 to 16 as she was put back out, and that may have been part of the issue as well. I have Tylan and could try dosing her 2 times a day with Tylan rather than the TerraVet. I'm wondering if she's just doesn't do well with TerraVet. People develop resistance to drugs, so can't birds too? The Easter Egger and Barred Rock in with her are responding fine to the TerraVet200. Should I add Probiotics to her food/water and see if that helps? Just looking for suggestions and experience from anyone who's dealt with something similar.

I had a younger easter egger with bubbly eyes I treated and put back in Coop 1. She responded quickly to treatment and is acting normally. So is the Blue Wheaten Maran that was patient #1. My sick pen is maxed out and I know there are other sick birds out in both coops. I'm having a hard time determining which ones though. I do have some TerraVet 10 and could treat everyone in their water.

Coop 2 is just now 18 weeks and will be laying soon. I've heard sneezing and coughing in their run when I'm out feeding them but with so many birds of the same breed in there I can't seem to figure out which are sneezing. I've not seen bubbly eyes or runny beaks in their coop and i've tried checking at night when they are on the roosts the last two nights to see if I can wait them out and hear a sneeze or cough from the birds.

Because nothing can be simple....my partner in crime and chicken keeping had ankle surgery just before Christmas and I'm taking care of him as well. He's not easily mobile and not weight bearing on the ankle, so its on me right now to keep things going. We heat with wood in the house and pole barn, so this crazy weather is making that a challenge as well. AND we adopted a flock of 11 Silver Laced Wyandottes and Black Autralorps from a family friend and neighbor who died in a tragic accident just before Thanksgiving. He was 31 and the nicest kid. Very sad. Those birds are in a coop on the property next door, which is ours but we don't have anyone living there currently. The rooster developed pretty bad frost bite and he was inside recovering for a week just before this respiratory illness hit. He was doing great until this last temp drop yesterday. His comb was bleeding last night when I went over there to close the coop. I did put vaseline on his comb and wattles to try to prevent more frost bite or chapped and cracking skin. He's a big beautiful bird and he loves his ladies! I did bring one of the girls in with him while he was recouping from the frost bite and she was a trooper. Laid her eggs and kept him company, but his other girls sure did miss him. They told me about it when ever I was in their coop or run!! I am changing clothes/coats/gloves/boots when I go see them so they aren't infected with this respiratory stuff going through the other two coops. Thank goodness for Udder Balm and Bag Balm. My hands are chapped and cracking.

So, what do I do about the Buff who's relapsed? And what do I do about Coop 2 where I'm having trouble figuring out who's sick? I want to get treatment going as quickly as possible. Also since my sick pen is full any suggestions on how to treat if isolating the sick birds is not an option. Is there something else I can or should do?

Thanks in advance! I've learned a lot reading other posts on the forums and really appreciate the help!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I have coughing, sneezing, bubbly eyes, runny beaks, some diarrhea, and raspy breathing.

This sounds like you may have Mycoplasma, but without testing, there is now way to know for sure. There are other respiratory illnesses like Infectious Bronchitis that can have similar symptoms. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

Blue Wheaten Maran with raspy breathing I treated using TerraVet 200 on (.5cc once per day) for 3 days and she recovered quickly and is laying again

Terravet Dosage for respiratory illness is 1.5Tablespoons per gallon of water. Tetracyclines can be given up to 14days. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/oxytetracyline-and-tetracycline-powder-doses.1022878/

Buff Rock with bubbly eyes early last week that i Isolated to our heated pole barn and have been giving the same treatment. She got better for a few days and then relapsed. She's eating and drinking fine and I have been giving her electrolytes also....I have Tylan and could try dosing her 2 times a day with Tylan rather than the TerraVet. I'm wondering if she's just doesn't do well with TerraVet.

You can try giving her the correct dosage of Terravet or you can use injectable Tylan50 given orally. Tylan50 has a wide dosage (10-40mg per Kg 2-3 times a day) so if you want to go with a "happy medium dosage" give her .10ml per 1lb of weight at least 2X a day for 5days in a row.

Coop 1 is a converted 8 X 8 shed with pine shavings for bedding. Coop 2 is a 8 x 10 converted shed as well, also pine shavings for bedding. both are dry and draft free.

Ensure that you have plenty of ventilation in the coop, even though it's cold, you want air flow to help with respiratory illness. Chickens are dusty, so if there is excess dust, try to vaccuum the excess out - this may eliminate some irritants.

I'm very sorry that you are having troubles.
Treat only the birds that have symptoms if possible, try to keep them drinking and eating. If separating out the birds is not an option, then try to house all the sick birds together. It may be difficult to treat a large number of birds with Tylan by yourself, so having help would be good. If not, then provide the Terravet at the proper dosage and see how it goes. For your sickest Buff, if she does not respond, then you may want to treat her singly with Tylan.

A lot depends on the respiratory illness that you are dealing with. Antibiotics only help with secondary bacterial infections. Mycoplasma is bacterial and usually responds fairly well to treatment. If you are dealing with something like Infectious Bronchitis or another virus, then antibiotics really won't make a difference unless the birds develop infection.

 

[azygous]

Your issue with the relapsed bird is probably more about the cell structure of the bacteria that is causing the symptoms. Some bacteria respond to a specific antibiotic because they lack a cell wall and the antibiotic can easily penetrate it.

However, another opportunistic bacteria may come along after the first treatment and if the cell structure is hard shelled, then a different antibiotic will be necessary, such as amoxicilin or penicillin which are broad spectrum and can more easily penetrate the cell of the bacteria.

Therefore, you might try one of these broad spectrum antibiotics on the individual showing relapse symptoms. Tylan is a good all purpose antibiotic to treat most respiratory symptoms.

I wouldn't recommend treating the entire flock, only the ones displaying symptoms. The risk is bacteria in birds resistant to it becoming resistant to that antibiotic, decreasing the effectiveness in the future.

 

[marcigray70]

Your issue with the relapsed bird is probably more about the cell structure of the bacteria that is causing the symptoms. Some bacteria respond to a specific antibiotic because they lack a cell wall and the antibiotic can easily penetrate it.

However, another opportunistic bacteria may come along after the first treatment and if the cell structure is hard shelled, then a different antibiotic will be necessary, such as amoxicilin or penicillin which are broad spectrum and can more easily penetrate the cell of the bacteria.

Therefore, you might try one of these broad spectrum antibiotics on the individual showing relapse symptoms. Tylan is a good all purpose antibiotic to treat most respiratory symptoms.

I wouldn't recommend treating the entire flock, only the ones displaying symptoms. The risk is bacteria in birds resistant to it becoming resistant to that antibiotic, decreasing the effectiveness in the future.

Thank you AZYGOUS! I'm going to try Tylan with her twice a day and see how she does. Everyone else is doing well and i'm hearing less sneezing today. I did give everyone electrolytes and probiotics today in their water to see if that would help.