Chickens sneezing and coughing

[mweller1984]

So I have 20 jumbo cornish that are about 5 weeks old. About 5 days ago I noticed 1 bird was sneezing and coughing and it sounds like it have water in its lungs. Then last night I went to give them water and they are all now doing the same thing. The birds are all acting ok. They are walking around eating and drinking. I I've called a few vets and they have been no help. I bought some tylan 50 from TSC they told me to put it in there water. However I've been reading on byc and now I don't know if it is the right thing. Can someoso please help

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hi @mweller1984 I'm sorry your post has not been answered.

The Tylan50 that you have is it injectable (in a bottle) or a powder?

Injectable Tylan50 is given orally or by injection - you will need to administer it to each bird. Dosage is 10-40mg/kg given 2-3times a day for 5days. Alternatively, if you have a vet, they could give you a script for antibiotics that goes in the drinking water.

Coughing and sneezing sounds like a respiratory disease, but could also be due to not enough ventilation or excess ammonia in housing - so ensure that your birds have plenty of fresh air.

Hope all goes well for you.

 

[mweller1984]

Thank you very much. I finally found a vet that works with chickens today. They gave me antibiotics for their water.

 

[mweller1984]

One more question. Are all respiratory deseases contagious?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you very much. I finally found a vet that works with chickens today. They gave me antibiotics for their water.

One more question. Are all respiratory deseases contagious?

I'm glad your vet was able to give you some meds, can you tell us what was prescribed?

Respiratory diseases are contagious. Infectious Bronchitis can make birds carriers for up to a year - but if you add birds during that time, you can keep the disease going. Mycoplasma, Infectious Coryza and ILT which are common, make birds carriers for life, even if some birds show no symptoms. Disease is spread be dust/dander, feathers, clothes/shoes, mucous, shared food/water, etc. The only way to know which disease you are dealing with is to have some testing performed. Your state lab is the way to go for this - you don't mention where you are located, so you can look up your lab here: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahln/downloads/all_nahln_lab_list.pdf

A side note, antibiotics will treat secondary infections due to illness, but won't cure the disease. Since you have meat birds and are treating them with medication, you will want to ask your vet what withdrawal period guidelines to follow concerning butchering.

If you plan on having more chickens, you may also want to do some research on how respiratory illnesses work, along with cleaning/sanitizing your housing between flocks. Oxine or Virkon S are both said to be fairly effective for cleaning.

Here's more info on respiratory illness: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

 

[Eggcessive]

Wyorp Rock has given a lot of great advice. Do you have other chickens or poultry? Your cornish could have picked up something like IB or MG from your existing flock if there was a carrier among them. Tylan used orally has a withdrawal time of one day. If you are using another antibiotic such as oxytetracycline or tetracycline, or a sulfa antibiotic, you are going to have about a 21 day withdrawal time. How close are your birds to butchering? Sick birds can need extra warmth, and very good overhead air ventilation, as well as keeping their bedding clean and dry. Ammonia odors from poop can increase chances of respiratory diseases.