Disease Scare with Chickens!

[ChunkyBirb]

So my Tom recently died of something related to his respiratory system. I called the vet, wondering if I should be worried about the rest of my flock. They gave me an antibiotic to put in their water called Tetroxy to prevent them from getting the disease that the Tom had. Does anyone have experience with this antibiotic? It says I can’t keep the eggs they produce until the treatment is done. Do they really need it? Can I just give it to them if they show symptoms? My Tom was never diagnosed and it may not even be a threat to my chickens. Eggs are a business for me and that’s how I pay for feed expenses.

 

[Isaac 0]

Tetroxy is an oxytetracycline based antibiotic, part of the tetracycline antibiotic family, used often in poultry to treat bacterial infections, and respiratory diseases such as MG(Mycoplasma), E Coli, CRD, etc. Here is some info on Tetroxy HCA-280,

https://www.drugs.com/vet/tetroxy-hca-280.html

According to the PAVM, the egg withdrawal for Tetroxy is around 14 days, there is 0-day meat withdraw.

https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.pavma.org...illop_annika/Withdrawal_Times_Printable_N.pdf

If your vet is experienced with poultry, I would suggest directing your questions towards him/her. What kind of symptoms was your Tom exhibiting? Sneezing, eye/nasal discharge, plaque deposits, rattled breathing, lethargy? More info regarding the bird's past history, and your setup would be helpful. How are the chickens acting?

 

[ChunkyBirb]

Clide was free ranged on 2 acres of pasture and he slept on a roost in our barn at night. He got free access to food, but foraged for most of it. He wasn’t even a year old, and nothing had ever happened to him before. He had trouble breathing, tail bobbing, and sneezing for about a week and a half. That was it. I honestly thought he was just overweight. The chickens are just fine. They have no symptoms at all and are all super perky. The only bird I am really worried about is my turkey hen, Clarice, because she spent the most time with him, but she currently has no symptoms.

 

[ChunkyBirb]

He only went into breathing fits when he was forced to exert himself. Like while running or flapping. That is why I thought it was from him being overweight. He didn’t have any trouble with his legs though, like most obese turkeys.

 

[casportpony]

What breed of turkey? Was he broad-breasted?

 

[ChunkyBirb]

He was a broad breasted bronze (the worst breed for obesity)

 

[casportpony]

I think if the rest are symptom free I would not treat them. Is the turkey hen also a BB?

 

[ChunkyBirb]

Yes she is. I should probably put her on a diet, so that the same thing doesn’t happen (if that really was his cause of death).

 

[ChunkyBirb]

I probably won’t treat anyone unless symptoms arise. I will definitely be very observant to catch it early.