2 of 3 chicks are sniffling

[astridmanzo]

Hello,

I have 3 chicks and I think they have some kind of respiratory issue. One of them is doing like sniffles, breathing heavy and shaking her head and one of her sisters started doing the head-shaking recently. I've been making a lot of research and I'm giving them doxycycline, Bird Biotic. It says to give the bird one packet of 100mg in 8oz of water. Is that enough/too much for 3 one-month-old chicks? We're on day 3 of antibiotics and I'm not seeing any improvements yet. They're acting normal apart from those things I just mentioned, they eat a lot and they are very active and friendly. Also, they're not drinking all the water and it seems a lot of the medicine is going to waste, I could just give it to them with a syringe but I can't find how much to give to each chick.

Please help!

 

[astridmanzo]

Anyone? please?

I was also thinking it could be gapeworm? The main affected chick shakes her head., like one single quick shake. She also scratches her head a lot.

 

[LaFleche]

Hi astridmanzo, just found your thread.

Your chicks are much too young for gapeworm.

Breathing heavy can also be caused by too much heat in the brooder. Did you check with a thermometer?
The head shaking and scratching is often seen due to the pinfeathers coming through and the loosening fluff just tickles.

Sometimes by scratching their head they try to get rid of something stuck in their beak/throat. So maybe take a close look into their beak to make sure that everything is clear.

Do you see some discharge from their nares or watery eyes or a swelling around their eyes?

 

[astridmanzo]

Hi astridmanzo, just found your thread.

Your chicks are much too young for gapeworm.

Breathing heavy can also be caused by too much heat in the brooder. Did you check with a thermometer?
The head shaking and scratching is often seen due to the pinfeathers coming through and the loosening fluff just tickles.

Sometimes by scratching their head they try to get rid of something stuck in their beak/throat. So maybe take a close look into their beak to make sure that everything is clear.

Do you see some discharge from their nares or watery eyes or a swelling around their eyes?

Thank you so much for your reply! She breathes like that all the time, I don't think it's because it's too hot, I put her outside or sometimes I turn off the heat lamp and she keeps breathing the same.

I don't see any discharge from eyes or nares at all but Olivia did sneeze on me the other day and I saw some clear liquid. There's no swelling either. They look and act really healthy apart from the sniffles/sneezing and Greta's heavy breathing.

I'm really worried that it's something contagious and that my older girls will get infected too because Greta has been doing that since day one and now Olivia is doing it too. Not the heavy breathing, only mostly the one quick head shake.

I also have vetRX and I've been putting a little bit in their beaks and their water.

I don't know if I'm worrying too much and it's nothing. I wouldn't be worrying at all if wasn't for the labored breathing. What else should I try? We're on day 4 of antibiotics but I'm really not sure if they're getting the right dose or if it's even the right thing to do. I saw that injecting some penicillin under their wings might be a better way to treat respiratory infections, what do you think?

Thank you!

 

[LaFleche]

We're on day 4 of antibiotics but I'm really not sure if they're getting the right dose or if it's even the right thing to do. I saw that injecting some penicillin under their wings might be a better way to treat respiratory infections, what do you think?

As respiratory infections are often caused by virus, the use of antibiotics might not help at all but weaken their own immune system.
So, before using any antibiotic I would take a swab sample and have it analyzed to make sure what is causing the issue. And in case it is bacteria it would be important to know what kind so to use the proper antibiotic for treatment.

 

[astridmanzo]

As respiratory infections are often caused by virus, the use of antibiotics might not help at all but weaken their own immune system.
So, before using any antibiotic I would take a swab sample and have it analyzed to make sure what is causing the issue. And in case it is bacteria it would be important to know what kind so to use the proper antibiotic for treatment.

Hello again, so I was trying to find where to send the swab sample. I'm in Florida and I found this https://www.fdacs.gov/Consumer-Reso...Fees/Poultry-Non-Poultry-Avian-Tests-and-Fees and there are all kinds of tests. Which ones should I get? Do I need multiple swabs, one for each test? Also, where do I buy those swab things? I'm sorry I'm asking so many questions but I have no idea! Maybe someone from Florida could help me here.

So tomorrow is the last day on antibiotic Bird Biotic, I don't know if they even needed that but I didn't want to stop the treatment before the 7 days. I heard that's not good.

The 2 sisters are now doing the head shaking and even one of my adult girls is doing it! I do have a mite problem so I was wondering, maybe I have 2 different situations happening?

Maybe Greta has some type of respiratory problem AND mites? I was looking at other threads and it seems they shake their heads when they have mites. What kind of respiratory could be this slow? She's not getting any worse and sometimes she looks better. She doesn't have any type of nasal discharge or any other symptoms so I'm very confused! I was thinking maybe there's something in the room where I was keeping them so I put their cage in a different room and I'm letting them spend more time outside. They love the sun.

I also ordered oxine AH to disinfect everything, I read that if it's a fungus that might help.

 

[LaFleche]

Hi astridmanzo,

how are your chicks today 5 days after the antibiotic treatment?

So tomorrow is the last day on antibiotic Bird Biotic, I don't know if they even needed that but I didn't want to stop the treatment before the 7 days. I heard that's not good.

Could you determine if it is lice or poultry mites or maybe even both? It is very important to get a handle on the mite infestation as these parasites not only suck the chickens blood leaving them anaemic, but also can transmit quite a bunch of diseases.

The 2 sisters are now doing the head shaking and even one of my adult girls is doing it! I do have a mite problem so I was wondering, maybe I have 2 different situations happening?

Maybe Greta has some type of respiratory problem AND mites? I was looking at other threads and it seems they shake their heads when they have mites.

As I live in Europe/ Germany I am not familiar with the modus operandi of your state laboratory services. But I know that some states provide poultry testing as well, sometimes even without fees.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/-necropsy-and-disease-testing-state-lab-website-info.1236884/#post-19849025

Hello again, so I was trying to find where to send the swab sample. I'm in Florida and I found this https://www.fdacs.gov/Consumer-Reso...Fees/Poultry-Non-Poultry-Avian-Tests-and-Fees and there are all kinds of tests. Which ones should I get? Do I need multiple swabs, one for each test? Also, where do I buy those swab things? I'm sorry I'm asking so many questions but I have no idea! Maybe someone from Florida could help me here.

 

[astridmanzo]

Hi astridmanzo,

how are your chicks today 5 days after the antibiotic treatment?



Could you determine if it is lice or poultry mites or maybe even both? It is very important to get a handle on the mite infestation as these parasites not only suck the chickens blood leaving them anaemic, but also can transmit quite a bunch of diseases.



As I live in Europe/ Germany I am not familiar with the modus operandi of your state laboratory services. But I know that some states provide poultry testing as well, sometimes even without fees.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/-necropsy-and-disease-testing-state-lab-website-info.1236884/#post-19849025

Hi! Thank you for asking. They're still the same even after this:

1. I dewormed them with Safeguard.
2. I've been fogging them with Oxine AH for 20-30m 3/4 times a day. I know the recommended time is 10-15 min but I don't have an actual fogger, only a vaporizer and it's not as strong.
3. I thoroughly cleaned the main coop and the crate where I keep the chicks and also sprayed all the adult chickens and the chicks with a liquid product and a powder. I haven't seen any more mites since then.

Greta is still the same or maybe slightly better? She is growing fast and she's the hungriest one so I have hope she'll get through this eventually. However, she still sneezing, shaking her head, breathing heavily. Her sisters are also shaking their heads and I noticed some nasal discharge too but they don't have any trouble breathing and they act perfectly fine.

The adult chickens are doing fine, maybe some head-shaking here and there but nothing alarming.

So it's not worms, it's not something fungal that the oxine could kill and it's not mites...

I'm going to ask in the local Facebook chicken group about the testing, I just haven't because I don't even know where to find the swabs I'd need.

I just bought some Tylan 200 (I couldn't find Tylan 50 anywhere, it's completely sold out) but I don't know if it's too soon to give them antibiotics again. What do you think? I'm also worried because I'm leaving on vacation for a week starting next Friday and I wanted to try Tylan and see if that can finally solve this problem before I leave (it's too late to cancel now)

Thank you!

 

[LaFleche]

I just bought some Tylan 200 (I couldn't find Tylan 50 anywhere, it's completely sold out) but I don't know if it's too soon to give them antibiotics again. What do you think?

Well, I am not into giving antibiotics to chicken just on spec and without a proper diagnose and prior sensitivity testing. And as I stated before, respiratory infections are often caused by virus.
But maybe someone else will chime in with just the right idea for your problem.

Have a nice vacation.