I JUST went through this. As a matter of fact, I still have 1 rooster quarantined. It is likely either Mycoplasma or Coryza.
Trust me, get your sick hen on Tetracycline as soon as possible, as well as the rest of the flock. Quarantine her and any others who develop symptoms. Bleach water their hen house and try to keep all poo cleaned up. I also raked as much poo out of their run as I could get, and bleached every 2 days. Also start feeding medicated feed for the duration of the illness. For lack of anything better, I fed medicated chick starter, mixed 1/2 and 1/2 with their regular laying mash and scratch feeds and it has seemed to do just fine.
With the tetracycline, mix 1 capsule with 1 cup water and give 3ml's to each sick chicken 2-3x a day, depending on severity of symptoms. I would suggest if very sick, go woth 3x a day, until symptoms get better. Then back off to 2x a day. The mixture can be refrigerated and used up to 5 days. Im an EMT with an ambulance sevice, so I get the syringes at work, but you can pick up a 3ml syringe at
Walmart or any drug store. You will notice a HUGE difference by the 2nd morning in the very sick chickens.
My vet also gave me several baggies of tetra to add to the water for the rest of the flock also. Each baggie made 2 gals of water, and he said ONLY offer this water until all symptoms subside. Also offer this same tetra mixture to each sick, quarantined chicken, as their only water, in addition to the 1cap/1cup regimen.
For us, it took about 2 weeks for everyone except the last rooster, to get rid of symptoms, and he is almost there too.
The downfall to all of this, besides the obvious heartache and trouble, is that you cannot eat their eggs during the medicating time. The disease does not pass through eggs, but sadly, the medicine does. After symptoms cease and theyre off of all medication, wait an extra day before starting to eat the eggs again, to give the meds time to clear out of their systems.
Good luck! If you have any questions, my email is
[email protected]
Here is some helpful info:
Mycoplasma gallisepticum
Synonyms: MG, chronic respiratory disease (CRD), infectious sinusitis, mycoplasmosis
Species affected: chickens, turkeys, pigeons, ducks, peafowl and passerine birds.
Clinical signs: Clinical symptoms vary slightly between species. Infected adult chickens may show no outward signs if infection is uncomplicated. However, sticky, serous exudate from nostrils, foamy exudate in eyes, and swollen sinuses can occur, especially in broilers. The air sacs may become infected. Infected birds can develop respiratory rales and sneeze. Affected birds are often stunted and unthrifty (see
Table 1 ).
There are two forms of this disease in the turkey. With the "upper form" the birds have watery eyes and nostrils, the infraorbitals (just below the eye) become swollen, and the exudate becomes caseous and firm. The birds have respiratory rales and show unthriftiness.
With the "lower form", infected turkeys develop airsacculitis. As with chickens, birds can show no outward signs if the infection is uncomplicated. Thus, the condition may go unnoticed until the birds are slaughtered and the typical legions are seen. Birds with airsacculitis are condemned.
MG in chicken embryos can cause dwarfing, airsacculitis, and death.
Transmission: MG can be spread to offspring through the egg. Most commercial breeding flocks, however, are MG-free. Introduction of infected replacement birds can introduce the disease to MG-negative flocks. MG can also be spread by using MG-contaminated equipment.
Treatment : Outbreaks of MG can be controlled with the use of antibiotics. tetracycline, erythromycin, tylosin, spectinomycin, and lincomycin all exhibit anti-mycoplasma activity and have given good results. Administration of most of these antibiotics can be by feed, water or injection. These are effective in reducing clinical disease. However, birds remain carriers for life.
Prevention: Eradication is the best control of mycoplasma disease. The National Poultry Improvement Plan monitors all participating chicken and turkey breeder flocks.
Mycoplasma synoviae
Synonyms: MS, infectious synovitis, synovitis, silent air sac
Species affected: chickens and turkeys.
Clinical signs: Birds infected with the synovitis form show lameness, followed by lethargy, reluctance to move, swollen joints, stilted gait, loss of weight, and formation of breast blisters. Birds infected with the respiratory form exhibit respiratory distress. Greenish diarrhea is common in dying birds (see
Table 1 ). Clinically, the disease in indistinguishable from MG.
Transmission: MS is transmitted from infected breeder to progeny via the egg. Within a flock, MS is spread by direct contact with infected birds as well as through airborne particles over short distances.
Treatment: Recovery is slow for both respiratory and synovitis forms. Several antibiotics are variably effective. The most effective are tylosin, erthromycin, spectinomycin, lincomycin, and chlorotectracycline. These antibiotics can be given by injection while some can be administered in the feed or drinking water. These treatments are most effective when the antibiotics are injected.
Prevention: Eradication is the best and only sure control. Do not use breeder replacements from flocks that have had MS. The National Poultry Improvement Plan monitors for MS.
Infectious Coryza
Synonyms: roup, cold, coryza
Species affected: chickens, pheasants, and guinea fowl. Common in game chicken flocks.
Clinical signs: Swelling around the face, foul smelling, thick, sticky discharge from the nostrils and eyes, labored breathing, and rales (rattles -- an abnormal breathing sound) are common clinical signs. The eyelids are irritated and may stick together. The birds may have diarrhea and growing birds may become stunted (see
Table 1 ).
Mortality from coryza is usually low, but infections can decrease egg production and increase the incidence and/or severity of other diseases. Mortality can be as high as 50 percent, but is usually no more than 20 percent. The clinical disease can last from a few days to 2-3 months, depending on the virulence of the pathogen and the existence of other infections such as mycoplasmosis.
Transmission: Coryza is primarily transmitted by direct bird-to-bird contact. This can be from infected birds brought into the flock as well as from birds which recover from the disease which remain carriers of the organism and may shed intermittently throughout their lives.. Birds risk exposure at poultry shows, bird swaps, and live-bird sales. Inapparent infected adult birds added into a flock are a common source for outbreaks. Within a flock, inhalation of airborne respiratory droplets, and contamination of feed and/or water are common modes of spread.
Treatment: Water soluble antibiotics or antibacterials can be used. Sulfadimethoxine (Albon
, Di-Methox
) is the preferred treatment. If it is not available, or not effective, sulfamethazine (Sulfa-Max
, SulfaSure
), erythromycin (gallimycin
), or tetracycline (Aureomycin
) can be used as alternative treatments. Sulfa drugs are not FDA approved for pullets older than 14 weeks of age or for commercial layer hens. While antibiotics can be effective in reducing clinical disease, they do not eliminate carrier birds.
Prevention: Good management and sanitation are the best ways to avoid infectious coryza. Most outbreaks occur as a result of mixing flocks. All replacement birds on "coryza-endemic" farms should be vaccinated. The vaccine (Coryza-Vac) is administered subcutaneously (under the skin) on the back of the neck. Each chicken should be vaccinated four times, starting at 5 weeks of age with at least 4 weeks between injections. Vaccinate again at 10 months of age and twice yearly thereafter
Table 1.
Table 1. Possible clinical signs for common
respiratory diseases of poultry.
Clinical signs
pox1 Newcastle2 IB3
Quail
Bronchitis
AI4 coryza5 LT6 TRT7 Chlamydiosis SHS8 MG9 MS10 MM11 Aspergillosis
Coughing X X X X X X X X X
Sneezing X X X X X X X X X X X
Shaking head X X X X X X X
Rales (abnormal breathing sound) X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Gasping X X X X X X X X X
Discharge from eyes X X X X X X X X X X
Nasal discharge X X X X X X X X X
Swelling of face and/or
wattles
X X X X X X X X X X
Bluish-purple discoloration
of face
X X X X X
Retarded growth X X X X X X X X X
Lameness X
General diarrhea X X X X X X X
Green, watery diarrhea X X X X
Swollen joints X
Paralysis X
Twisting of head and neck X X X X X
Red/white spots on legs
and comb
X
Warts/scabs X
Conjunctivitis X X X X X X X X
Prostration X X X X
1
Fowl Pox
2Newcastle disease
3Infectious bronchitis
4Avian influenza
5Infectious coryza
6Laryngotracheitis
7Turkey rhinotracheitis
8Swollen head syndrome
9
Mycoplasma gallisepticum
10
Mycoplasma synoviae
11
Mycoplasma meleagridis
Hope she gets well soon! Btw, my chickens will take cracked corn over crumbles or pellets any day, I make sure to only give them a little bit to make sure they still get required nutrients from their reg food 
