Coughing, Mucus-y Sounding Bantam Rooster

[bantychicken]

My pet rooster Penguin has been "sneezing" and puffing out his chest breathing really hard, I took a video of this and showed it to my local feed store and the guy said it's something upper respiratory and I believe him because that is what is seems to be. He gave me an antibiotic called Oxytetracycline. I looked up the drug on this site:

https://sites.google.com/a/poultrypedia.com/poultrypedia/medicine-chart

And found that it treated a lot of illnesses in chickens. Just 4 or so days ago my dad thought Penguin was going to die. He was sneezing and breathing really really hard (harder than he is now) and because it's cold cold cold here (we had him and his hen Dusty in the garage in a cage under a heat lamp with shavings) my dad covered up most of the cage to try and trap the heat in the cage. I'm looking after them and I love Penguin he is my baby and I don't know what I'll do if he passes on. I started the Oxytetracycline Sunday night and I gave them about a teaspoon in their water (for both of them). Their water jug looks like this:

http://bathtubchickens.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/chicken-waterer.jpg

I don't know how much it holds, sorry ha, but I added a picture of what it looks like so maybe you can figure it out.

Penguin and Dusty are mini bantams, is what I like to call them. They are the size of this hen in this picture:

http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/Games/AmerGameBantams/NicholsonWhiteH.JPEG

So I'm not sure about how much I should put in their water. I upped the dose a bit tonight because it's going to get super cold and I read on the first linked site that if you put it in the water it's poorly absorbed and or takes longer to "activate". My dad says he is a lot more active and happy acting than he was just days ago. He still puffs out his chest and most of the time he breathes out of his mouth. I put him in my jacket and wrapped him close to my body and he fell asleep and seemed fine as he sleep so I know that he can sleep without a ton of issues like most animals and people do when they are sick. I read that if you don't want to inject it by needle the thing better to do than to put it in the water is to mix it with their food. If this is true I'd like to try that, and if possible I'd like to know how much I should give them in their food and if I could still put it in their water.

This antibiotic seems very strong and I'm relaxing more now because it's strong and for the fact he is being more himself, but he is still sneezing and puffing his chest to breath every now and then and breathing with his mouth open. He almost sounds like people do when you get drainage. When you have drainage and you cough it's 'wet' sounding and nasty. His sounds somewhat like that but not to an extreme like all the mucus is going to clog his airway.

So the final questions I have are:

1. Is Oxytetracycline good for what I'm dealing with?
2. What should I dose them in their water? (both of them)
3. Can I dose them more effectively if I put it in their food?
4. If I can put it in their food what dose should I give?
5. If I put it in their food can I still dose them in the water too?
6. What is his survival rate?

 

[Eggcessive]

Oxytetracycline is good for treatment of respiratory diseases. Dosage of it is 2 1/2 tablespoonsful per gallon of water if you are using the Durvet brand. You can moisten their food with it. Since respiratory disease in chickens may be chronic and make carriers of the flock, they can come back again whenever there is stress or cold weather. It might be a good thing to get the chicken tested to find out what you are dealing with for sure since respiratory diseases can be viruses, bacterial, and fungal. Survival rate depends on each disease.7

 

[bantychicken]

Oxytetracycline is good for treatment of respiratory diseases. Dosage of it is 2 1/2 tablespoonsful per gallon of water if you are using the Durvet brand. You can moisten their food with it. Since respiratory disease in chickens may be chronic and make carriers of the flock, they can come back again whenever there is stress or cold weather. It might be a good thing to get the chicken tested to find out what you are dealing with for sure since respiratory diseases can be viruses, bacterial, and fungal. Survival rate depends on each disease.7

Penguin is a really healthy and well cared for bird, and along with that he is very spoiled. I feel like it might either be a virus or bacterial but I think I might be leaning more towards bacterial. My dad is saying he will survive, but I'm still worried. Are you thinking he might get better with the antibiotic in his system helping him get rid of the disease? He seemed on the brink of death days ago and according to my dad he has improved big time by himself without the antibiotics in days. We are keeping him as warm as possible and he is eating and drinking. I really hope he makes it through. What would your honest opinion be? Do you think he will recover?

 

[Eggcessive]

Most birds recover from respiratory diseases such as infectious bronchitis, MG, and others, but the antibiotic may help to prevent a secondary infection such as E.coli and others, since that is what can kill them. Tylan 50 injectable is an even better choice of antibiotic. It can be given orally or as a shot daily into the breast muscle. Dosage for bantams is 1/4 ml daily for 3 days as a shot, or for 5 days orally.

 

[bantychicken]

Most birds recover from respiratory diseases such as infectious bronchitis, MG, and others, but the antibiotic may help to prevent a secondary infection such as E.coli and others, since that is what can kill them. Tylan 50 injectable is an even better choice of antibiotic. It can be given orally or as a shot daily into the breast muscle. Dosage for bantams is 1/4 ml daily for 3 days as a shot, or for 5 days orally.

Ah!!! I hate shots!!! I couldn't give them to my baby haha I would be crying and just screaming "I'm sorry!! I'm sorry!!" Does Tractor Supply sell Tylan 50 oral? And is it a liquid or a pill? I'm scared to give him oral and have it go down the wrong tube but I guess that won't happen you just gotta put a little in at a time. I'll have to talk to my dad and stop by Tractor Supply (if you say they have it) and get some. Will I have to buy a syringe or will it come with the medicine or will Tractor Supply have them too?

 

[Eggcessive]

Tylan 50 is injectable, needles 22 gauge, and 3 ml or cc syringes are needed to get it out of the vial. It's around $14. Tylan 200 is 4 times as strong, and probably too strong for a bantam. Tylan Soluble Powder is available to put in the water for oral admiknistration, but it costs about $50-60.

 

[bantychicken]

Tylan 50 is injectable, needles 22 gauge, and 3 ml or cc syringes are needed to get it out of the vial. It's around $14. Tylan 200 is 4 times as strong, and probably too strong for a bantam. Tylan Soluble Powder is available to put in the water for oral admiknistration, but it costs about $50-60.

I looked up Tylan 50 on Tractor supplies website and all they have is injectable for cattle. Is that the one I need to get?

 

[bantychicken]

Ok I'm going to be getting the things I need today. I'm going to get a 3 cc syringe and give him 1/4 ml for 3 days like you said. I'll be getting the things from Tractor supply. I'm not sure where 1/4 ml is in a 3 cc syringe. Do you think if I asked an employee they would be able to show me on one of the syringes? Just in case they don't could you refer me to a site that will tell me? Thank you for your help Id do anything for my Penguin.

Edit:

And can I give him the shot tonight and be able to give it to him tomorrow morning? Or will I have to wait 24 hours for the next shot? I watched videos on how to do it and they stressed to alternate breast muscles which is what I will do