Chicken colds?

[LawGray17]

hey guys I am new to this forum and recently started raising chickens. One of my roos has got a "cold" he has a runny nose, and his crow sounds different due to the mucus in his throat. This is the first time I have seen this, but I have done some research and found that VETRX would work along with Tylan 50 injection? I am not so sure and would like to know if anyone here may know how to treat this? I have used VETRX so far which seems to help, but today I noticed some yellowish crusty stuff on his face, does anyone know what this is? Are there any prevention tips for other chickens? I know fall/winter is coming but i am not sure if this may have something to do with it.. any help would greatly be appreciated.

 

[Pyxis]

Well, chickens don't get colds. They get respiratory infections caused by disease. Tylan 50 will work if it's something caused by bacteria, like mycoplasma or coryza. However, if it's one of those diseases, you can treat the symptoms, but your flock will always have the disease and you will need to treat again every time they have a flareup. You also would never want to sell or give away birds or hatching eggs so that you don't infect someone else's flock.

It also could be a virus, like infectious bronchitis. That you cannot treat, you just have to wait for it to run its course. Antibiotics will do nothing.

Have you recently introduced new birds?

 

[LawGray17]

Well, chickens don't get colds. They get respiratory infections caused by disease. Tylan 50 will work if it's something caused by bacteria, like mycoplasma or coryza. However, if it's one of those diseases, you can treat the symptoms, but your flock will always have the disease and you will need to treat again every time they have a flareup. You also would never want to sell or give away birds or hatching eggs so that you don't infect someone else's flock.

It also could be a virus, like infectious bronchitis. That you cannot treat, you just have to wait for it to run its course. Antibiotics will do nothing.

Have you recently introduced new birds?

I have not introduced any new ones. I just started noticing his eyes were slightly swollen(probably due to congestion) then his crow started changing.. so Would it be better to get cull him? I am unsure if any of the other ones may also have this issue. Is it spread in the air or contact? Better yet how can any of this be prevented?

 

[Eggcessive]

Many people handle this sort of thing differently. Since you have not added new birds recently, consider all of your birds to have already been exposed to this virus or bacterial disease, possibly by wild birds. It sounds like MG, but could be infectious bronchitis (IB.) IB causes the flock to be carriers for up to a year, so do not hatch or add new birds until after that. With MG, they may be carriers for life, and some may occasionally have a relapse if stressed. Tylan 50 injectable given orally or as a shot, can help treat MG symptoms. Testing for those diseases can be found by contacting your local NPIP or extension agent. If you do cull, you can send the refrigerated body into the state vet for a necropsy and testing. MG is very common in backyard flocks. I would advise you to close the flock until all birds are dead. That may be many years from now, but after waiting a few weeks when the flock is all gone, you may safely add new healthy chicks. Sorry you are dealing with this sort of thing. It can be common.