3 now down with respiratory symptoms-- I'm scared

[chickmamato7]

Started last weds after mite treatment.

Bird 1 started honking & sneezing the next day, also developed crop issue & vent gleet. Thought she had aspirated some fluid & ordered Fishmox & Tylosin powder, but despite paying extra for 2-day shipping, neither is expected to arrive before Tues-Thurs. She is still holding on, but not eating or pooping much, so it's not looking good. Honking stopped, just a rattle & wet sneeze now.

Bird 2 is not very active, but still eating & drinking. Her symptoms started yesterday AM. Her breathing is raspy and she has the same honking sound that #1 started with.

Bird 3 seemed fine yesterday, except she laid a shell-less egg. She does like to hang with bird 2, though. Today I noticed she was not out of the coop & found her there gasping with beak open & wings spread. I moved her outside in the shade with a fan on her, but the coop did not seem hot enough for heat stroke. She does not have the raspy or honking sound, but appears to be in serious condition-- likely dying

As mention in my last 2 threads, I very recently added new birds from 2 different NPIP certified breeder thinking they were safe. Within a week the mite problem began & now this. My birds do not free range & have never had any health issues. All the new birds appear to be doing fine-- it's just mine that are getting sick.

I have the 3 birds separated from the flock and added electrolytes & vitamins to their water. I don't see foam in their eyes, and no swelling or sores around the face. It's just raspy breathing, listless behavior, honking sound, increased feather loss & not laying.

My thoughts: both sets of birds came down with theses symptoms a day after being treated or re-treated with mite powder. Other birds were treated with the same powder and did not get sick, but maybe I got overzealous with some & they breathed too much in while roosting with head under wing?

Another thought is that some birds may have ingested mold? I have a dog crate liner to collect any feed that drops from the feeder to prevent moisture contact with feed. But when I moved the feeder back more snug against the wall today, I found a disgusting mound of smelly, moldy food under the feeder where there is space for spilled food to collect. It is possible that the birds may have ingested mold from this situation. This might explain the variety of symptoms I'm seeing and the different severity from bird to bird.

Possibly the new birds are life carriers of a respiratory disease that only shows under stress. They may have more immunity than my birds that have never been exposed to other birds or the outside world.

What should I do while I wait for the antibiotics and which med should I use-- Mox or Tylosin Powder?

**Update: Hen 2 & 3 show some improvement. Still not sure hen 3 will make it. She is still open mouth breathing and just laying still, not walking around. She drinks water on her own if it is within reach. Food has to be something she loves or no appetite. Got them both to eat scrambled eggs & drink water before bed. I have to work all day tomorrow, so not sure how it will go. I will try to get some more eggs in them before I leave. Am I missing anything I could be doing while waiting for meds to arrive?

 

[Tookie]

How are your chickens doing? Something respiratory is going on.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would keep watching for symptoms, such as bubbles or foam in an eye, nasal drainage, crackles with breathing, gasping, etc. NPIP doesn’t mean a lot in preventing getting a chronic respiratory disease in new chickens. They only test once a year I think, and mostly for pullorum. The new birds or even wild migrating birds could have brought in a disease. The best way to know what it is, would be to get a sick bird tested or a necropsy by your state vet if you lose one. Most people don’t do this, and use antibiotics, even though a virus won’t respond to antibiotics as MG or coryza might. Tylosin powder would be good for MG (mycoplasma,) and amoxicillin is best for wounds or reproductive disorders. If you are dealing with a virus, it will have to run it’s course over weeks or a month. Make sure that your sick birds are drinking enough of the Tylosin or they won’t get a proper dosage. Dosage is 1 tsp per gallon of water for 3-5 days. Good luck.

 

[chickmamato7]

I would keep watching for symptoms, such as bubbles or foam in an eye, nasal drainage, crackles with breathing, gasping, etc. NPIP doesn’t mean a lot in preventing getting a chronic respiratory disease in new chickens. They only test once a year I think, and mostly for pullorum. The new birds or even wild migrating birds could have brought in a disease. The best way to know what it is, would be to get a sick bird tested or a necropsy by your state vet if you lose one. Most people don’t do this, and use antibiotics, even though a virus won’t respond to antibiotics as MG or coryza might. Tylosin powder would be good for MG (mycoplasma,) and amoxicillin is best for wounds or reproductive disorders. If you are dealing with a virus, it will have to run it’s course over weeks or a month. Make sure that your sick birds are drinking enough of the Tylosin or they won’t get a proper dosage. Dosage is 1 tsp per gallon of water for 3-5 days. Good luck.

Thank you! I got them both to eat and drink before work and to my surprise, both are doing so much better today. The one I thought would surely die is now walking around, eating, drinking, and breathing with a closed mouth. Her energy is not 100% back, but I think she is probably going to survive. The other one has no more honking sounds and is breathing close to normal. Her energy has perked up quite a bit and she is looking great. I'm beginning to wonder if it was just an environmental issue (like from the mold I found under the feeder or overzealous mite powdering) that caused the symptoms on the last 2 birds. No other birds are showing any signs of illness (yet ) and I have 15 chicks of varying ages in my coop. Maybe the first bird with vent gleet has pneumonia from aspirating and the cases are unrelated.

I will definitely get a panel done on these birds as soon as I can get in touch with the only vet in my area that sees poultry. I have been calling for days and for some reason they are closed. I really need to know what I'm dealing with as I was planning on breeding these birds and have 22 incubating eggs about to hatch and another 12 eggs under a broody. Really bad timing and I am completely to blame for this mess!

 

[chickmamato7]

I would keep watching for symptoms, such as bubbles or foam in an eye, nasal drainage, crackles with breathing, gasping, etc. NPIP doesn’t mean a lot in preventing getting a chronic respiratory disease in new chickens. They only test once a year I think, and mostly for pullorum. The new birds or even wild migrating birds could have brought in a disease. The best way to know what it is, would be to get a sick bird tested or a necropsy by your state vet if you lose one. Most people don’t do this, and use antibiotics, even though a virus won’t respond to antibiotics as MG or coryza might. Tylosin powder would be good for MG (mycoplasma,) and amoxicillin is best for wounds or reproductive disorders. If you are dealing with a virus, it will have to run it’s course over weeks or a month. Make sure that your sick birds are drinking enough of the Tylosin or they won’t get a proper dosage. Dosage is 1 tsp per gallon of water for 3-5 days. Good luck.

2nd Update (not looking good):

The first bird to show symptoms has developed swelling around the eyes (which are now watery & half closed) and is sneezing wet, clear fluid. She looks to be shutting down. In the 2nd group of 2 birds, one has perked up and the other has relapsed. She is now presenting with the exact same symptoms as the first bird-- squishy sour crop & vent gleet, listless, sneezing & wheezing.

The Tylosin Powder finally arrived and I have mixed it with the drinking water-- 1 tsp per gallon. I'm assuming this is MG at this point. It's been over 3 days and no other birds are showing any symptoms, so I'm hopeful I have this contained. Is that even possible? Or are they just asymptomatic? My new chicks just hatched and I have been taking all precautions to prevent contamination. Is it safe to sell them off quick to keep them healthy or are they possible carriers just from hatching from eggs that were in the pen 21 days ago?

I have not been successful in reaching any vet that handles poultry in my area for testing. Even the state lab at Cornell has the wrong number listed. That number was reassigned to a different Cornell office and the person answering the phone did not know how to direct me. I can see why people don't bother with testing panels, as they certainly don't make it very easy! I just contacted a local veterinary diagnostic lab to see if they could test. Hopefully they will call me back. Otherwise I will cull the sickest bird that does not appear to have much time left and send it out for testing.