A Whole Flock Of Sick Chickens :/

[WRVgirl]

I am 100% new to chicken ownership and I purchased a handmade coop from a couple in my area. I also purchased 5 chickens from them; 1 6month Red Sexlink [Char Sui], 2 8 week Delewares [Parmesan and Marsala] and 2 6 week Barred Rocks [Broiler and Blackened]

Within the first week of owning them, one of the 6 week old Barred Rocks [Blackened] came down with bubbly eyes and a lot of head shaking. She was gurgly sounding so I immediately took her to the only avian vet in my area, who does not specialize in chickens but she said she'd take a look.

In the end, we put the chicken down, she wanted me to take a $300 antibiotic route and I just couldn't afford that amount of money for a $3 chick.

None of my other chickens were affected so I assumed that it was a fluke, we did expect to lose one or two from the get go.

The people we bought the chickens from said that they had all been vaccinated and I believed them.

Today I noticed that all of my chickens sound gurgly and one of the Delewares has the bubbly eyes.

I'm not sure what I should do. I was prepared for a certain expense with owning chickens, but it seems like every single chicken I own is ill.

The coop has good ventilation and I clean it every other day. All chickens have access to fresh water and good food, and they are free range during the day.

Everything I've read online has pointed to an URI...I have some doxicyclone and I was thinking of crushing it and giving it a shot, as it is used to treat URI in humans. I figured that before I started self medicating my chickens, I'd check with some other people.

I don't want to lose my entire flock, but I don't know what else to do for them...they all have the same symptoms.

Any information would be helpful and much appreciated....I feel like I'm in way over my head with all of this :/

[Sorry for the crazy long story!]

 

[bj taylor]

i really hope a knowlegable person responds to this. maybe people will keep bumping it up until someone catches it that knows about these things.
from what i've read, there is significant risk in backyard flocks for ilness. the hatcheries have their flaws, but you have a pretty good chance of healthy birds coming from them. they vaccinate & are ruthlessly diligent about bio-security.
for me personally, i have decided that if i ever take a bird or birds from other than a breeder or hatchery, i will quarantine the bird(s) for a month prior to introducing to the rest of the flock. they will be separated by being on the other side of my property. losing the whole flock because of one (or more) bird(s) that is sick is awful.

sure wish you luck & hope someone gives you some good advice.

 

[toomanydogs]

I'm not a real experienced chicken owner but I did have a problem with wheezing and gurgling not long after I got my chickens. What I did was move the sick ones inside and used Duramycin-10 that I got at Tractor Supply. Followed the mixing directions on the label but also twice a day I took an eyedropper of the solution and gave each bird a dropper full. They got better but I don't think I left them on the meds long enough. A few days after they went back out I noticed another one with similar symptoms but not quit as bad as the first ones. I used the Duramycin again with everyone this time for 14 days. I lost a couple of them during the first go round but after the second I've had no more problems. Hope that helps and I'm sure some more experienced folks will have some more ideas for you

Lisa

 

[WRVgirl]

All of my chickens came from the same place...we didn't have any prior to the delivery of the coop and chickens.

I do, however have 2 Orphingtons that I've been raising by hand indoors [my bedroom] since they were 3/4 days old. I'm so in love with them that I would just be crushed if I lost them.

I'm going to head to tractor supply and pick some of the duramycin-10 first thing tomorrow morning. I'm hoping that I can do something to save them. I don't want any of my chickens to die, but I guess this is going to be a learning experience and from here on out, if I don't hatch and vaccinate them myself, I won't be taking anyone's word on it in the future.

 

[DeannaOR]

I don't have answers for you, I'm sorry this is your first experience =(
I wanted to point out though..that vaccinating does not guarantee that your birds won't get sick. They may have been vaccinated. Also some diseases can live in the soil for long periods of time.

 

[ChinoChix]

I'm new too and dealing with a sick baby Polish I started them all on the antibiotic from the feed store last night. I brought a few new babies in from a local person...never AGAIN. I think one of them brought this illness in. I sent them back. My little polish is sneezing and picking at his rear end. Eating and drinking but obviously not breathing right. NO, I can't *cull* him...I take FISH to the vet!!!
I did all my homework, researched everything, feed them great food, wash my hands constantly and still, the sickness.
I had no idea chickens were so fragile. I've been boarding/rescuing dogs for 15 year and NEVER had anything like this.
I'm heartbroken This was supposed to be a fun new hobby for me and it's been nothing but stress.

I hope your chickens will be OK, WRVgirl.

 

[WRVgirl]

Chinochix, I'm with you on that one! Everything I read and prepared for said that it would be relatively easy to own a backyard flock, and this has really been an eye opener for me!

I just can't believe that they're all sick....

I talked to my husband a bit ago [he's deployed right now] and he said that if they don't make it that he doesn't want me to buy any more chickens from people, he wants me to hatch them myself...hopefully it doesn't come to that, but I'll try the new antibiotic starting tomorrow to see where it gets us.

I'm the same way, I would never have the heart to cull a bird....my husband would be in charge of it. With the last bird that died, I paid the vet $75 to euthanize him because there was no way that I was going to be able to do it myself.

Hopefully they all get better :/

Good luck with your chickie.

 

[Suzierd]

WRVgirl it sounds like you have a respitaory diease and if you do you don't want to put your buff orphingtons in with them. Even if you manage to get it under control with antibiotics they will look healthy and still be carriers of the disease for life. Keep in mind you can carry the disease on your shoes and clothes, hair. Be careful always care for your BO first before going to the sick chickens pen. You should have Oxine on hand and spray the hell out of everything.
http://www.shagbarkbantams.com/oxine.htm
I would get them tested to see what your dealing with. If one dies get a necropsy done.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044
Good luck

 

[Suzierd]

Another thought the people you got the chicks from may have vaccinated for Mareks and other things but as far as I know there is no vaccine for MG and some of the other RD. very sorry your dealing with this. Again I would get them tested. Necropsy if you loose another one.

 

[Lizard Feet]

Look up Tylan-50 or Tylan 200 in the threads ( do a search and get ready to read ). You will prob end up at Tractor Supply seeking needles and Tylan.
In the threads, you will prob learn to seperate the sick also ( they will all get soon enough ). Buy some Oxine as a cleaner and nebulizer ( safe to spray UNACTIVATED *******NO NEED FOR ACTIVATOR ). Good luck.
Im a newbie, so far have saved three on deaths door with the breathing,sneezing,coughing respitory thing BY RESEARCHING THE THREADS IN BYC. Keywords to search are Tylan and oxine, then start reading ( from what it seems, they will always be carriers USE oxine to keep things clean so you dont spread to other birds when you go out...have FARM CLOTHES ).
God speed.