One of my red star hens (about 2 years old) was coughing and sounding very congested. For the past 3 or 4 days I've had her in one of my rabbit hutches for the past 4 days. I've been giving her duramycin. She has stopped coughing and her breathing sounds fine now. How much longer should I keep her on the duramycin? Should I be giving her anything else?
I've heard of Duramycin, but I've never used it before. So I don't know anything about the dosage or the duration of the medication. I'm just hoping that my response will bring you back to the top of the list and someone who knows will see your post. You did the right thing by separating the sick hen from the others. Some yogurt with active cultures would probably be good for her. Antibiotics can be hard on the digestive system.
Chickens do get IBD (infectious bronchitis disease) that could cause the symptoms you mentioned. They become very congested, wheezy & ill for a few days and then quickly rebound in most cases. They do however, remain infectious for around 3 weeks. If it is EBD, the rest of your flock will also probably get it. Antibiotics do not really help except when you suspect the possibility of secondary infections like E-Coli. Supportive care is the only treatment. AFter the 3 weeks, birds do not become carriers and develop some immunity to the disease. IBD can attack the kidneys or joints in some cases, causing lameness if joints are affected and probably death if it effects the kidneys. This would show itself within about a week of initial symptoms. Bear in mind that other illnesses can also cause similar symtpoms in birds.
