Cheap ways to treat respiratory symptoms

[Eggcessive]

Most respiratory diseases including MG, coryza, and ILT will make carriers of your whole flock for life. Infectious bronchitis (IB) will make birds carriers for up to a year. The symptoms they have may be a clue to which disease they have, but some diseases have similar symptoms. They do recover from IB, biput the other diseases are there for life.

If you cull or lose a sick bird some states will do a necropsy for as little as $20, although most are more. Calling them to ask about a test or a necropsy will get you the info. Antibiotics are expensive, and they only treat the bacterial diseases, MG and coryza. The viruses have to run their course. If you are not going to treat them, culling a very sick bird would be the kindest thing.

Have you already added the sick birds to your flock? If so, it may be too late. It is always less expensive to get baby chicks from a hatchery or feed store in the spring, and raise them up yourself, to have healthy chickens laying eggs in 5-6 months. At 3 dollars a chick, that is pretty inexpensive.

 

[backyard pigeons]

CULL THEM is the CHEAP WAY or your pigeons and quail will be next, GUARANTEED.

Thanks for the advice.

Good luck.

thanks!

would help to know exactly what is causing the respiratory problems.

hard to say, as they were that way when I got them.

However, some respitatory problems respond well to Oxine.
Whether you can get it where you are and how you administer it are further problems.

thanks for the advice! Ill look into that.

Stuff your chickens full of nutrients so their immune system is as strong as possible. Give them apple cider vinegar (look up a recipe), as well as diatomaceous earth to take care of the mites. Make sure not to breath in on yourself as it can cause damage to your lungs. If you have ever heard of homeopathics, I would try those too. I hope all works out for you

thanks! I have been giving ACV, as well as other immune boosters.

Birds with respiratory diseases are carriers for life, IF they survive.

may I ask what this means? They are sick their whole life? They carry it without symptoms? They spread it without showing symptoms? Do you have sources?

Next time, try to get a GOOD look at the birds. And quarantine any new birds before introducing them to your flock.

thanks for the advice.

Most respiratory diseases including MG, coryza, and ILT will make carriers of your whole flock for life.

what does this mean? They are sick and coughing their whole life? They are carriers but no symptoms? do you have sources?

If you cull or lose a sick bird some states will do a necropsy for as little as $20, although most are more.

neat! Where could I call?

It is always less expensive to get baby chicks from a hatchery or feed store in the spring, and raise them up yourself, to have healthy chickens laying eggs in 5-6 months. At 3 dollars a chick, that is pretty inexpensive.

yes, that's what I have been hearing. That is what I originally tried, and sadly the chicks I bought at TSC were sick with coccidiosis, and despite treating with corvid like all my research showed, they cuntinued to die. I am now not sure about buying chicks, as they are very fragile.

 

[Eggcessive]

Here is a list of state poultry vets, where you can ask how they charge to do a necropsy:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm
The body must be kept cold, but not frozen and driven in or sent overnight shipping via Fedex to the lab right away. They may offer testing at your state lab on live birds as well.

When chickens get a respiratory disease, it is chronic. It remains in their bodies all their life. They can possibly come down with symptoms again later during times of stress, including milting and severe cold weather. They might never get sick again, but there can be damage to their lungs or other organs. They may not achieve their full potential or be the best layers.

You might be interested in reading a few articles about MG:
https://www.thepoultrysite.com/dise...tion-m-g-chronic-respiratory-disease-chickens

https://extension.umd.edu/sites/ext... Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) Infecti....pdf

 

[78753]

DE can be effective at controlling external parasites, but for leg mites I don't think it works. coat their feet in vaseline daily 9at bedtime) to kill the mites. Huffle is right, you NEED to be quaranting new birds- e.g. in your bathtub/indoor dog crate (sometimes people discard ones when they get rusty) or garage.
Some people raise chickens to eat. If you're not going to use/afford antibiotics, perhaps consider these eating birds? Then with the money you save not having to buy 4 whole chickens (unless you're a vegetarian) you can save for some healthy chicks.

Respiratory disease is NOT something you want reappearing and killing your birds on a regular basis. I'm faced with the same challenge currently, from a bird I bought. Guess I"m never buying adults again... I should have taken it back immediately. Now she needs antibiotics.
Depending on what it is some or all of your existing birds may die, or may just become chronically weaker. If you can't afford to buy new chicks, you certainly can't afford to deal with sick ones. That old saying "Never look a gift horse in the mouth" was wrong.

For yours, VetRX $10, may ease their breathing temporarily, but won't kill the stuff causing it, and meanwhile it is likely to spread to all your birds. Eventually some are likely to die. So, is it cheaper to pay $30 for a bottle of antibiotics that might work or might not Or spend $30 to buy 4 healthy chicks and raise them?(Can buy antibiotics (or healthy chicks?) from tractor supply online- and DON'T get penecillin. It won't do a thing for respiratory infections.) Putting these out of their suffering may be a good idea.


Good luck.

 

[backyard pigeons]

you NEED to be quaranting new birds-

thanks for your reply. I don't know why people think I'm not quarantining them, but the sick ones are apart from my current flock. Do not worry.

If you're not going to use/afford antibiotics, perhaps consider these eating birds?

I ended up culling the two sickest ones, leaving me with four healthy ones. I would never have considered eating them. A sick bird that came from unknown conditions and care being fed unknown things and being treated by unknown medicine is too risky.
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I'm faced with the same challenge currently, from a bird I bought. Guess I"m never buying adults again... I should have taken it back immediately. Now she needs antibiotics.

sorry to hear that! Its no fun. I never knew getting adult chickens was so risky.

If you can't afford to buy new chicks, you certainly can't afford to deal with sick ones.

I can afford to buy chicks, as well as medicine. The reason I did not want to treat chickens is because I think that poultry keepers over treat their birds. I don't want to buy medicine that is very expensive and last very few treatments. Besides, I don't think that treatments work as they are said. I have never cured any chicken sickness because of medicine. I know opinions vary greatly here, but I don't want to treat a weak bird. I will cull sick ones if that's what it comes to. I want tough birds that don't need treatment, and you don't get those tough birds by treating.

 

[78753]

Thanks for your explanations. Interesting perspective, trying to choose those who survive. I did the same thing with plants when I moved to Texas. I bought 10 small plants of different species, and after a year I went back and bought more of those 4 that had survived my care and still looked good. Selecting those who seem to have the best immune systems for keeping and breeding certainly makes sense. More sense than the crazy fancy breeds of chickens, dogs, and cats which have been created mostly for human-pleasing/amusing looks. Not that I don't gravitate towards some of them, but in the end it's survivors we need for free ranging.
Good point about not knowing their origins so not eating.
Ours are pets, so tough to cull, but we've had one we had to cull due to injuries incompatible with any future enjoyment of life. I'm amazed at the injuries birds _have_ recovered from. But in 10 years we've never had sickness before.

When I got to the store to buy the expensive antibiotics for my gurgling hen, the poultry fellow there convinced me that it was likely that my hen wasn't actually sick with a respiratory illness, but more likely experiencing allergies. Maybe anthropomorphizing, since everyone here in Austin seems to have allergies, but...he made a good case that she was not acting sick or looking sick in any other way, and her extra sleeping might be residual weakness/recovery from the earlier illness (coccidiosis) she came with when we got her two weeks ago. (Store offered to take her back but we decided to treat with Amprolium instead. Since it deprives the parasite (and the chicken) of the vitamin B-1 it needs to reproduce that might explain her frequent sleeping without needing to assume new illness. I don't know if I buy the allergy idea or not, but I'm willing to give it a day or two and keep a close eye on her.

Hope all your remaining birds continue to be healthy.