Freedom R.....HELP diagnosing!

[Feed Man 36]

We have thirty two nine week old Freedom Rangers. They all started out pretty healthy; we had some leg and respiratory problems which cleared up with vitamins and minerals. Now they seem to have something again. They lay around a lot, and some of them have a wheezy breathing sound. We thought maybe they had gapeworms but their crops are full, we can't see any worms in their throats, and they do not shake their heads. They just lay around and pant a lot even when it is not hot out. Could they have a respiratory disease? Or do they have worms, even tho they don't have all the symptoms. We really don't want to treat them with Ivermecin(sp?), since we are trying for all natural AND they are only a week or two from butcher. The other problem is they don't seem to be gaining much and they have no breast meat. Anyone have any clue what's wrong with my meat birds?

 

[burntmuch]

How much & what are you feeding them.

 

[Feed Man 36]

They have access to grass, but they are being fed 18% broiler feed, as much as they want. We gave them some alfafa in their pen the other day, and they have had a few scraps here and there. Their water used to be filtered and have acv, aloe vera, and b vits in it, but then they started drinking 3 gallons a day so we quit that and gave them regular hard water. We started tonight giving them special water again tho.

 

[seminolewind]

You may need some antibiotics specifically for respiratory, like Tylan or Baytril. Vitamins won't solve it.

 

[Feed Man 36]

Today they look a little better. They are not panting, but are still laying around. Anyone know if this is just normal for meat birds?
I may try grapeseed extract or goldenseal. They are both natural antibiotics. They work just as well as any drug.