Chickens with snot coming from their beaks. Help ASAP

[ten chicks]

There has got to be a way to get them well.

Have a look at link,see if you can determine what they have. Warning,contains graphic photos.

http://partnersah.vet.cornell.edu/avian-atlas/

 

[loveourbirds]

none of us want to hear that we have an illness that will constantly give us problems. im sorry to have to be the person to tell you that it probably will cause you troubles in the future.

i do wish you the best of luck with this. keep an eye on their weight, and make sure you have quality feed. there are several people out there who do treat and keep their chickens. but selling anything from your flock (if it causes problems on someone elses) will give people a bad opinion of your farm.

if you never plan on selling, and you dont mind vaccination - these can still be descent egg layers for eating purposes.

 

[andypettis3370]

What do I need to vaccinate them with? I am new to all of this. I helped my grandparents with chickens and we never had any of these kinds a problems. I know I messed up with not quarantining them when I got them. I guess just a hard lesson learned.

 

[cafarmgirl]

There are issues with vaccinating as well. You don't want to vaccinate while there is an active outbreak. And then what do you vaccinate for? You would really need to have a bird tested, either a necropsy if one dies or have labs done on a sick one to see what it is you are dealing with here.

We had an outbreak of infectious bronchitis two years ago. All the birds came down with it in turn, we treated them with antibiotic's as symptoms appeared. They all survived and we have had no problems since. However, knowing that these birds are now carriers I do maintain a closed flock. No adult birds in or out, I don't sell eggs, I don't breed birds or go to shows.

Some diseases are harder to deal with and will keep coming back over and over no matter what you do. That is another reason why it would be very helpful to you to know what this is.

As far as quarantine for birds bought at auctions and sales etc? In my opinion there is no quarantine long enough for those birds. They can be a carrier and can look and act completely fine for a very long time. They can easily go more then the standard 30 day quarantine without showing symptoms. I have never bought birds from such places nor will I ever.

If you want to treat and keep these birds then you need to give them antibiotic's as they become symptomatic. No it will not cure them and if it's one of the viral diseases it will not stop the disease process. However, when birds get sick with any respiratory disease, doesn't matter what it is, they often morph right into pneumonia/secondary bacterial infections very, very easily. That is what most often kills the bird rather then the disease itself. Hence the need for antibiotic's. I use Tylan 50.

Good luck with your birds.

 

[Elaine Elder]

Quarantine sick birds away from well birds. Take care of all other animals then take care of sick. Wash clothes and shower after handling sick birds. Use different shoes if possible.
VetRx for chickens. One drop in each eye. Then turn it on its back and open its mouth. Drop several drops in the v shaped area in roof of mouth. Puffit is a brand name for a topical sulfa antibiotic. VetRx is like Vicks vapor rub for humans. But its oily and keeps the sulfa on the skin where it can be absorbed in skin. Massage comb and wattles. This is the start...
Go to animalrevival.com. purchase oxine in gallon. You do not need activator. I get 4 gallons at a time because shipping only goes up couple dollars. Also purchase Sulfadimethoxine. As a powder it is $10-$12. As liquid it is $40. both are usually available in feed store. Mix 1 packet in half gallon water. Measure out 2 tablespoons mixture per gallon of drinking water as sole source water. This is an antibiotic so start sprinkling probiotic powder on food each day to repopulate gut with digestive microbes.
Get a cheap warm mist vaporizer. Put 7.5 oz Oxine per gallon of water. Put sick birds in cage above in the path of the steam. They need to breath the mist to get the medication into lungs. Treat chickens with no symptoms with 2 tablespoons Oxine per gallon drinking water. Watch well birds for any symptom. This is like a cold in preschool. If one gets it they will all get it.
I'm beginning to think this may be spread by wild birds. Because I hear about a case almost every week. Tell me if your sick one has cold feet. That's the oddest symptom I've ever noticed.

 

[cafarmgirl]

Please do not put VetRx in the eyes! It contains alchol and camphor and will be extremely irritating to the eyes, possibly even resulting in chemical burns to the cornea. The package information states specifically to keep the product out of the birds eyes. It is to be used externally and/or orally.

And yes, many of these viruses are easily spread by wild birds as well as simply being airborn.

 

[speckledhen]

VetRx is not a medication. It is a mix of oils from certain herbs plus camphor, etc. It is not meant to go in eyes. It will not cure anything. It is like Vicks VapoRub and very aromatic. Be extremely careful with any aromatics around avian species. It is fine to rub feet and combs with it on occasion, but it has little affect on anything respiratory.

Oxine solution in a vaporizer on the other hand is a good tool, especially for fungal infections that do not respond to antibiotics. I have used it and it works wonderfully to kill all sorts of germs and clean out the lungs.

I do not recommend ANY antibiotics except for a true infection like a wound or in battling what you know for certain to be pneumonia and not something contagious. Antibiotic use should never be taken lightly with chickens. Folks are desperate to do something so they throw meds at their birds, not knowing what they are treating or if antibiotics will even have an effect. That is never a good road to go down, keeping antibiotics around for respiratory stuff and using them at the drop of a hat.

 

[loveourbirds]

i have never used oxine, what does it do that ACV doesnt (as far as a bacterial flush)? or is it only for fungal issues?

i know you cant compare chickens to humans, but i think this will put things in perspective. when a human is sick with respiratory infections, doctors will sometimes give them oxygen. it is to keep the cardiovascular system full of oxygen, aiding in the healing process. the oxygen itself has no healing properties. vet rx simply "opens" the sinuses (like vicks salve as mentioned earlier) allowing the chicken to breathe easier - aiding in the healing process. vet rx on its own will not cure anything respiratory related. there are people who swear by it for leg mites, and it could work for them - but if you read the label it claims "may aid in the treatment of leg mites". may is a legal term meaning it could, but there is no scientific proof accepted by the USDA and FDA that it does work.

i do use vet rx during treatments and weather changes, a few drops in the water - but only to aid in oxygen absorption.

 

[speckledhen]

i have never used oxine, what does it do that ACV doesnt (as far as a bacterial flush)? or is it only for fungal issues?

i know you cant compare chickens to humans, but i think this will put things in perspective. when a human is sick with respiratory infections, doctors will sometimes give them oxygen. it is to keep the cardiovascular system full of oxygen, aiding in the healing process. the oxygen itself has no healing properties. vet rx simply "opens" the sinuses (like vicks salve as mentioned earlier) allowing the chicken to breathe easier - aiding in the healing process. vet rx on its own will not cure anything respiratory related. there are people who swear by it for leg mites, and it could work for them - but if you read the label it claims "may aid in the treatment of leg mites". may is a legal term meaning it could, but there is no scientific proof accepted by the USDA and FDA that it does work.

i do use vet rx during treatments and weather changes, a few drops in the water - but only to aid in oxygen absorption.

Oxine is several hundred times more effective than bleach at killing bacteria, viruses, fungi, etc. ACV is an aid that contains vitamins and changes pH, but Oxine actually kills those things I listed. Used ONLY withOUT the activator, which makes it a very strong cleaning agent for the coop when it is unoccupied, it can vaporize and be breathed into the lungs and actually clean them out. It can be used in waterers, sprayed on roosts to evaporate into the air on hot summer days so it helps to clean the air (actually makes it smell nicer). There are folks who put bleach in their waterers, a few drops to a gallon, but you'd never put that in a vaporizer for birds to breathe in. You can do that with Oxine.

 

[Eggcessive]

What do I need to vaccinate them with? I am new to all of this. I helped my grandparents with chickens and we never had any of these kinds a problems. I know I messed up with not quarantining them when I got them. I guess just a hard lesson learned.

You will need to have a closed flock from now on. Or you could cull your flock, clean everything and disinfect, wait at least 3 weeks, then start over with new birds. Here are a couple of articles to read about disinfecting and biosecurity:
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps034
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/vm011