Coryza in quail? Help!

[BekTP]

Hello,

i have 16 quail that are all about 5-6 weeks old. One of the chicks from day one has had what looks like conjunctivitis. Pink swollen eyes, crusty and runny with no other symptoms. I treated him by pressing a warm wet wash cloth against the eyes and removing any residue. Both of his eyes seemed to so much better. At week 4 I moved the birds to their outdoor coup and I’ve noticed the same problem on at least 2 other birds. No other symptoms. Just pink and swollen tissue around the eyes. Everything I’ve read points to Coryza however would it be normal for the birds to survive this long with it? They’re all eating and drinking like normal. I’ve been searching all over my area for antibiotics to add to their water and can’t seem to find anything but fishbiotics. Please help! Can I use Erythromycin for fish and add it to my quail water?

thanks!
-Bek

 

[dawg53]

Welcome to BYC.
Coryza presents a foul odor around the head/mouth area in chickens. Smell the breath from one of your sick quail, then you'll know if it's coryza.
Treatment for coryza is a sulfa drug in combination with an antibiotic such as baytril.
As for fishbiotics, and if it's in fact coryza, SMZ-TMP is what you'll need. 1/4 tablet once a day for 5-7 days should clear it up. Your birds will be carriers of the disease.

 

[BekTP]

Thank you for the welcome and the good information! I smelled two of the birds showing symptoms and neither of them had any notable smell. We’re trying a penicillin antibiotic in their water to see if that clears up the issue. I’ll keep this thread updated. Crossing my fingers it’s just a conjunctivitis type issue. Thanks again!

 

[Eggcessive]

If there is no bad odor, it could be mycoplasma gallisepticum or MG. That is not well treated with penicillin, but with instead oxytetracycline, Tylosin, Denagard, doxycycline, or Baytril. Baytril is banned for chickens.

 

[BekTP]

Thank you for that! Symptoms do seem more like MG than Coryza, I noticed a little panting in a couple of the birds tonight. No sneezing,bloody mucus, or other notable symptoms though. Do you have any idea about typical mortality with these diseases? If this is what my flock has, is it odd that none have died yet? The one chick it all started with has had the eye issues for 5 weeks with no other symptoms. I’m feeling a little discouraged about this. I’ve put a lot of time and energy into this little flock and was so excited to see them flourish in their new habitat.

 

[BekTP]

I just wanted to post an update here. I treated the quail’s water for 5 days with penicillin. I’m very happy to report that almost all sign of infection has completely disappeared. No symptoms progressed outside of the eye/swelling issue and only one bird has a small amount of redness left. Whew! Thank you all for your help and knowledge! I’ve been adding a little Apple cider vinegar to their water for an extra boost of immune health.