Dosage for Oxytetracycline???? **NEW VIDEOS OF SICK CHICKENS ADDED PLEASE HELP**

I did not have much time to spend with her this morning, but I did pop in to turn on her light, turn off the humidifier, and give her some yogurt. She really really likes yogurt!! She has not been eating a whole lot, so I kinda mixed in some chick starter with the yogurt. I figured the crumbles would be more appealing than the pellets, there isn't any reason I should NOT feed her chick starter is there? She seems a little perkier, but she is still has a very rattley chest and last night i noticed she had a runny nose. I try not to interact with her too much in the morning because I don't want to spread her crud to anyone else.

Last night we lost one of the smaller chicks that are only about a week old. The only signs any of them (only 2 so far) have seemed to be showing is just general lethargy. Most of them jump and run around when you put your hand in their cage, but a couple of them have been just standing there like they didn't feel good. I think that one either fell asleep and never woke up under the brooder light, or was weak and got trampled by the others, as there are 3 chicks in there that are a couple of weeks older and have really gotten big fast. I am thinking about sterilizing a large rubbermaid tub and transferring the smaller ones into it this afternoon until they get a little larger and I can get that cage cleaned really good.

Last night I took out another chick that seemed to be acting lethargic. I used a dropper to give her some electrolytes and a little bit of mash, then put her in a box with some handwarmers for the night. Midmorning (like 4 am) she started cheeping up a storm and seemed much spunkier, so hopefully she will survive. I just did not want her to get trampled or have to compete for food & drink with the others so I separated her. I am running out of places to put all these guys!! I have chickens in my bedroom (pasty butt babies i rescued from feed store) , chickens in the bathroom (isolation due to illness), chickens in the living room (My silkies), chickens under the carport (brooder babies), chickens in the back yard (ladies with leg injuries), and very few chickens in the chicken yard (the ones that actually lay!!) lol!

Thanks for all your help thus far!! I really feel like we may survive this after all!

 

I assume medicated starter is not enough? I think their condition had more to do with their environment than anything, that and neglect, no one cared to clean off their butts because they were too busy. They are doing so great now tho, making beautiful little poops and eating and drinking like champs!!

Apparently no one around here seems to carry all these different meds.... is corid and the other 2 an injectable or water soluble? There is one place that *might* carry some of these meds, but I keep trying to call them and their phone line is busy. Either its off the hook or they are just slammed.

 

Yes we have a Tractor Supply.... all the other meds I was looking for they did not have in stock!! I just checked to see if they had corid and the one closest to me does not have any in stock, but there are some others in the area that do. We will see what the next few days brings. I will have to take some pics of them because they have healed up so nicely! I really did not think the smallest one was going to make it, its rear end was so bloated and stretched out looking that I was thinking it may have internal injuries from being unable to poop for so long. He was definitely miserable there for a bit but they are all so active and happy now. If anything changes with them tho, I will definitely get some corid. Thanks for all your help!!

 

Well just an update.... My other buff orpington chick has come down with the crud as well, but appears to be doing a little better than the other one, so far just a runny nose, no gasping for air, congestion etc. Another one of my hens also has a runny nose, but no gasping for breath and no rattley chest like the first one, but as soon as I noticed she was having issues, I gave her a shot of antibiotics.

My hen that has been in isolation & on antibiotics is still congested, but seems to be feeling a little better. We have only lost one of the younger chicks that are going on 2 weeks old (I think it was more because she was lethargic and got squished under everyone while under the brooder lamp), I had one that was acting rather lethargic and before she could get trampled too I separated her for about 24ish hours and kept her warm and fed her some mealworms and some mash made with electrolytes and she seemed to perk up enough that I felt comfortable placing her back with the others. I took everyone out of that cage this weekend and bleached the crap out of it and bleached all waterers and feeders. I know I can't bleach the chickens, but I figured if I could get rid of as much as possible, it certainly couldnt hurt.

I also have a silkie that has had a runny nose. I have another group of 5 older chicks, two of which have runny noses. So, in total, I have lost 2 chicks to this and have about 6 that are currently fighting the sniffles, and another 2 that I think *MIGHT* be coming down with a runny nose, but it is just so hard to tell as they hide it so well. Hopefully they won't progress any further than runny noses. I left the one hen that had a runny nose in the chicken pen with the rest of them because I figured they had all already been exposed anyways, and she was nowhere near as bad as the one I isolated. Hopefully the isolated hen is just the odd ball that is having such a hard time. We have stopped getting eggs over the past week too, which leads me to believe that some of the others are feeling under the weather but are not showing any symptoms.

Unfortunately, I was not able to send the one body off to be tested, since it was coming up on the weekend I would have had to try and send it Saturday and overnight it, and they would be unable to do a necropsy until Monday and by then the body would have probably been too old since I have had them in the fridge for a day or two already, they said they wanted it as fresh as possible and that was just not possible. I also did not have the $50 to overnight it to them until I get paid this week. If we lose any others I will probably try to send the bodies for necropsy.

My pasty butt babies are so far doing fine and do not appear to have been affected by all of this, but I have been trying very hard to not handle them until after I shower or at least wash well and change clothes. (EDIT: Also, their rears look FANTASTIC!!! They have healed beautifully and everyone is healthy and happy)

After looking at a BUNCH of info, I kinda feel like maybe this is infectious bronchitis? Could be anything I guess, but they definitely fit the description for IB. Really hoping it is something they will get over and we don't have to keep fighting it constantly. I do not like the idea of having to cull my entire flock, especially since their primary purpose is for eggs and my personal enjoyment.

Anyways, just wanted to update the thread in case anyone else out there is going thru the same thing right now!!

 

Thank you so much , we need all the prayers we can get, I don't know how long all of this will last, but hopefully we will make it thru. I really hope we don't lose any more! I appreciate all the advice, help, and positive thoughts/prayers/whatever floats your boat as far as that stuff goes! Thank you so much to the whole BYC community for being so supportive & helpful!