Chickens dying - rasping breath, gaping mouth, nasal discharge one day and dead the next

[Cyprus]

This is not trolling.

You've made a serious statement, I'm simply asking where you heard this information.

I'm sorry, but I don't feel like talking to you.

 

[duluthralphie]

This is not trolling.

You've made a serious statement, I'm simply asking where you heard this information.

Here is what the USDA says:

Maybe the USDA forgot to mention Utah

 

[MistiRose]

So sorry for your losses. Is a vet an option?

It's possible that they have a bacterial infection, not a virus. Unfortunately, penicillin won't treat the majority of respiratory bacterial infections that poultry get (mycoplasma, E. Coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Infectious coryza,
Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale).

If you can't take them to a vet you could try a different antibiotic, like Tylan 50, Tylan 200, or oxytetracyline. Call you local feed stores and ask what cattle antibiotics they have.
Tylan 50 dose = 0.2 ml per pound of body weight orally 3-4 times a day.
Tylan 200 dose = 0.05 ml per pound of body weight orally 3-4 times a day.

If you have any leftover human, dog, or cat antibiotics, you could use those too. Just let me know what you can find and I will look up the dose for you.

This place does testing on live birds via trachea swabs:
https://www.zoologix.com/avian/Datasheets/PoultryRespiratoryPanel.htm

Thank you!! I hate to think that the best I can do for these birds is absolutely nothing. Your reply was very helpful. I have Tylan 200 and Procaine. I don’t have any amoxicillin but I do have Fenbendazole. I will start her on Tylan 200 first thing in the morning if she makes it through the night. I have had no deaths for almost 24 hours now but I do have a Faverolle pullet that is in pretty bad shape. Same symptoms as the first two birds. I did treat the water with Nutri-Drench today. The sick pullet isn’t leaving the coop so I drizzled some on her beak and got her to take five or six swallows. She was distressed that I was holding her so I put her back on the roosting bar after that.

I did go out and get some Chicken dust today so that I can dust all the birds tomorrow. I also have Safeguard for Goats on hand and could deworm them if you think that might help? I didn’t want to add it to their water today because I was not sure if I could combine it with the Nutri-Drench.

Again, I am grateful for the advice.
Best,
Misti

 

[MistiRose]

Sorry about your chickens. Buying birds at a sale, especially from multiple sellers is a serious risk of bringing in contagious diseases. The respiratory diseases are especially contagious sometimes within days. Infectious coryza, MG, infectious bronchitis, ORT, and ILT are common ones.

I would suspect coryza, or a combination of 2 diseases, but you can get that confirmed with testing or by getting a necropsy on a bird that has died or been put down, and having the state poultry vet do a necropsy. Unfortunately, all birds have probably been exposed. You can try treating, but getting a diagnosis is important to use the right antibiotic. This can be a reason to cull all birds and start over in a few weeks or months with new birds, or treat them and close your flock to any new birds.

People who bring sick birds or carriers to a poultry sale risk infecting healthy birds who are also there. Very sorry that you are dealing with this problem. @casportpony is very good with knowledge about treating this sort of thing. You are correct that Newcastles is probably not the problem, since it is confined to So. California and outside of the US, but other diseases can be pretty devastating to a flock.

Thank you for responding. I am 100% sure that I brought this home from the sale with me. I even think I know which bird was sick, in hindsight. It wasn’t obvious but this bird was quiet and let me pick it up with no protest - I just assumed that it had been somebody’s pet. It was the one bird I bought just because I thought it was adorable even though I knew it wouldn’t be a great layer (a splash Tolbunt).

I don’t have the heart to cull all of the birds. They are quarantined away from my juvenile birds and I am being very careful not to cross contaminate the two groups. I shouldn’t have bought them and just waited on my young birds to grow up. Will I be able to combine the two groups in a couple of months or will my sick group remain carriers and infect my juveniles? I’ve raised them from chicks that I purchased from an NPIP flock in NC and I wouldn’t want to do anything that would put them at risk.

If so have another death I will refrigerate that bird and track down the state veterinarian.

Best,
Misti

 

[Kiki]

Just in case you need it...your state lab is listed here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/necropsy-and-disease-testing-lab-info.1236884/

 

[aart]

When you did the injection did you pull back on the plunger to check for blood?

Does that work on IM injections...or only IV?

 

[Cyprus]

Does that work on IM injections...or only IV?

Only IM.

 

[aart]

Only IM.

I would think you could definitely draw back blood on an IV...
...but not an IM,unless you hit a vein.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would think you could definitely draw back blood on an IV...
...but not an IM,unless you hit a vein.

You should always draw back on needles on any injection, subcutaneous, IM, or IV, just to make sure you are not in a vein, since some drugs are not supposed to be given in the vein. Of course, that is how you tell if you are in a vein giving something IV, or if the IV is still working and not infiltrated. Most injections on chickens should be given into the breast muscle only 1/4 inch deep. Using the shortest needl possible is good, but it needs to be large enough gauge for the medicine (or thick medicine) to go through.

 

[Cyprus]

I would think you could definitely draw back blood on an IV...
...but not an IM,unless you hit a vein.

I meant that when giving an IM injection you should check for blood. IMs should not be given in veins.