Chickens get colds???

[peeps and quacks are me]

Please help me asap. This is my first flock and my birds are sick. It started with the pullets - eye drainage then closing shut and puffiness aroun the nose with a runny nose. Then a couple died. I pulled them from the pen and added terramysin to the water, they seemed to get better and then

My 5 month old birds started to get sick. I have 4 now with the same symptoms. I have 25 birds in all. Please let me know how to treat the really sick and prevent the healty ones from getting anything.

Also I am in the line of fire for the storm in FL so I have turned them all out because their coops have flooded.

 

[nnbreeder]

As soon as you can get to a vet and see if he will give you some Baytril for the sick birds, since you lost two at the onset I would guess it is Corzya so time is of the essence here. Follow the vet's instructions on the dosage and watch for crop problems during treatment.

 

[peeps and quacks are me]

I am not sure what Corzya is yet. I was researching Baytril for the eyes and Enroxil for the respirtory problem.

I just can not believe this is happening. I contacted the lady that the 1st sick bird came from and of course she will not respond to me.

Thank you - I am just worried especially since its whatever "it" is has started to affect my older girls.

Carolyn

 

[nnbreeder]

The problem with treating birds like this is that all symptoms of many illnesses are the same with just little differences. Coryza is a very fast acting illness with a high mortality rate that will decimate a flock in short order. The eyes are the first sign of a resp. illness, usually bubbles or discharge in the front corner. Then comes the swelling of the sinus cavities which are around the eyes. Often times by this time there is also wheezing or a chest rattle/heavy breathing. So you treat with an antibiotic that will knock out the worst illness and Baytril is it but can only be had through the vet.

 

[nnbreeder]

And I forgot to add that once the resp. illness is gone the eyes will clear up. I made the same mistake years ago by adding new birds into my existing flock. Now i use a 30 day quarenteen period no matter what. Even the show birds lay out for 30 days after the season ends before re-joining the flock. Very common mistake so don't fret over it, there is a huge learning curve when it comes to chickens.