Bubbles coming from nose and this poo (pic).

[quackydoodle]

I have an easter egger that had a rumble in her lungs a few weeks back. I have been giving everyone garlic powder in their food and ACV in their water ever since. She's gotten better (not completely, though). Now a handful of my other chicken have the same snotty nose issue. Everyone is acting completely normal, they just have a crust around their nostrils, a mild cough/sneeze, and a big bubble coming out of their nostril. All symptoms are occasional. Not all birds have them all, or consistently. The EE that was the first to show symptoms also has weirder poo than the others. I took a picture this morning. There are no worms in it, it's just a different consistency than the others. I'll find other birds have poo that look like this occasionally, but the EE's looks like this all the time, and has since I got her 2-3 months ago. What are your thoughts? I've done a ton of research and am stumped. I don't want to give the whole flock antibiotics if it's unnecessary. I also have 3 ducks. Everyone is in the same 75'x75' fenced area. They all share food (in a metal bucket feeder) and water (from a hen hydrator to keep it clean from the ducks, and they all drink the ducks' pond water. Ew.), but don't share sleeping quarters. The ducks have never shown any symptoms.

 

[MrsBrooke]

Try crushing a few cloves of fresh, peeled garlic between your fingers and adding them to the water, rather than the garlic powder. You can also add chopped dill and fresh basil to their feed. Those herbs are great for respiratory upsets.

Good luck!

MrsB

 

[quackydoodle]

Would it work as well if I made rice and put a ton of fresh garlic, basil, and dill in the water i use to boil it?

 

[Eggcessive]

Herbs won't cure a respiratory disease. What you have sounds like either infectious bronchitis or maybe MG. They and other respiratory diseases are contagious and make carriers of your flock for life (IB for up to a year.) Antibiotics such as Tylan 50 or oxytetracycline in the water may treat the symptoms you are seeing or at least help prevent a secondary bacterial infection. Here is a good link to read about the symptoms of these diseases: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

 

[quackydoodle]

I've read through everything and can't seen to find a 'perfect match' for what I'm dealing with. They all have voracious appetites, drink plenty of water, and seem to be growing fine. I only have 2 old enough to be laying and their egg production hasn't slowed in the slightest. I have noticed that their egg whites seem to be a bit watery, but I think they're 3 or 4 years old so I figured that was why.
The most similar thing on that list was IB. If my flock will be a carrier for 1 year, does that mean every new bird I introduce will get it? And since there's no treatment, do I just try to boost their immunity and hope they'll kick the symptoms on their own?

 

[Eggcessive]

A symptom of infectious bronchitis is runny whites and wrinkled egg shells. It is a virus that has to run it's course over 3-5 weeks. There can be complications of secondary bacterial infections. They can be carriers for 5 months to 1 year after recovery. So I wouldn't add chickens for a year to make sure. Usually most of the chickens will be exposed to it since it spreads through the air. Here is a link to read: http://www.thepoultrysite.com/diseaseinfo/78/infectious-bronchitis-ib

 

[quackydoodle]

Here's the EE that's had it the longest. She was thrilled I was holding her, ha ha. And the 2 eggs I got today from my 2 or 3 yr old EE's. They look pretty much like they usually do. The bigger egg doesn't usually have dark specks. I don't know what those are. They usually have a couple of rough bumps (pimples?), but I wouldn't say they've ever looked wrinkled. I'll crack one open tomorrow for breakfast and take a picture so you can see the whites. I don't know if that's even helpful. I don't know what a 'sick chicken runny white' actually looks like.

 

[quackydoodle]

Egg white from this morning. I cracked it into a hot pan and it spread all the way into the other egg. It's the one on the right.

 

[Eggcessive]

You can get testing for IB from your local USDA or dept. of agriculture. Here is a good link to read about egg problems: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/common-egg-quality-problems

 

[quackydoodle]

Does it cost a lot for testing?