Frustrated and confused :(

[Brydon]

Hello Everyone,

My first time posting but I have been reading for months trying to do what is best by our chickens.

My roommate has become obsessed with chickens so we have a small flock of 31. Two roosters (one leghorn/golden comet cross and one icelandic) and the rest an assortment of hens. I can name breeds if it would help but they are from 16 weeks through adults.

We admittedly had no idea what we were doing when we brought the girls home. We got some from various chicken swaps, some from private sellers over the past 6 months or so. They were dewormed with Wazine when they came home.

I noticed a few weeks ago that they had bugs on them... seemed strange. So I did research and figured out they were lice. We treated them on Saturday with pour-on ivermectan as i found directions on here.

I hadn't been doing much with them but noticed we had some snotty noses and sneezing going on. So I did some more reading and it seemed like Tylan 50 was the antibiotic of choice for respiratory issues. We started dosing them with the Tylan last night and will do a 5 day course of that.


They are due for the 2nd dose of the Ivomec on Saturday (the lice/bug issue seems much much better... couldn't find any live ones at all on the ones I checked last night).

This morning we had girl who jumped up and ran out of the coop when we opened it up like normal and then appeared to have trouble breathing, wasn't moving any air, and then died. My roommate tried to help her since she was right there but couldn't save her


I have enjoyed having the chickens and i DO NOT do well with things dying.

So if you have made it this far can you give me some hints, pointers, ideas for helping to get and keep our herd healthy

(yes at this point I realize that quarantine and deworming prior to integrating them into the flock is important, hindsight being 20/20 and all that)

Thanks!

Brydon

 

[KimKimWilliamso]

Im fairly new to chickens, but from the tons of research I have done up until this point, and the small amount of experience I have gained since acquiring my flock, some helpful things I have learned to help keep the flock healthy are:

- Make sure your coop is large enough to take on the amount of chickens you have, and that there is adequate ventilation. Poor ventilation and crowded living conditions can cause the birds to get respiratory infections. Between moisture, dander, feces, etc there needs to be alot of ventilation.

- Make sure your coop is kept clean and dry as possible at all times to avoid infections and disease. Make sure the run is dry for the most part and free of toxins.

- use Diatomaceous Earth in your nest boxes, coop and run floor and if you can access food grade, in some yogurt every now and then. This can help manage parasites internally and bugs/lice/mites on the outside. Its not 100 percent effective, but deff helps in a more natural way than dosing them with meds.

- If you feel comfortable with anitbiotics/meds in your chickens blood stream, make sure you are feeding your new chicks medicated chick feed. Amprollium can help avoid Coccidia in your flock, which can wipe them all out.

- Despite your best efforts, some will die. Mass breeding, and finicky immune systems among other variables means that along the way there will be some you just cant prevent dying. However, where possible, do the best you can to prevent and maintain health concerns.

Of course there is much more to it than the above, but they are great places to start! Good Luck!

 

[Brydon]

I don't like the dying part!!!

but I understand it.... we have a big coop (the chicken palace) which we bed with shavings and change out about every week to two weeks. it doesn't smell like poop or ammonia and has four windows for ventilation.

I have used the DE in the coop and in the run/nesting boxes but have not mixed any in with yogurt... I will try that. They loved the yogurt I fed them the other day!

Thanks so much for answering...

I just want happy healthy chickens and them being sick bothers me greatly!

 

[Wishing4Wings]

There are lots of respiratory diseases chickens can get, so hard to diagnose, but the "snotty noses" you described sound like a fairly serious problem I had been reading about. If this is what yours have, most will survive, but they will be carriers and put any new birds you get at risk. If you ever give one of your chickens to someone else, you can infect their flock as well. (Please note that I do not know what your birds have. Read the link and see what you think about it.)

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/637817/chronic-resperatory-disease

So in addition to the other good suggestions about keeping healthy chickens, I would add to be careful of your source for new chickens and to quarantine new birds far away from your existing flock to ensure you got healthy birds. Most chicken respiratory diseases are air borne and spread easily and rapidly. You can research "biosecurity" for more info.

You can generally count on hatching eggs and baby hatchery chicks being safe health-wise. Reputable breeders are a safer bet than auctions and swap meets, though you must always be careful not to put your flock at risk.

Sorry about your chicken and the trouble you are having with your flock. Sounds like you are treating the problems well.

Welcome to BYC and good luck!

 

[dawg53]

I agree with Wishing4Wings. Mixing birds from different places into a flock is a recipe for disaster, no telling what disease(s) can be conjured up. Remember and practice biosecurity. DE does nothing internally for chickens. Here's a link to respiratory diseases in poultry:
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044
Causes of sneezing and snotting could possibly be environmental. Symptoms for respiratory diseases vary but usually include sneezing, snotting, head shaking, bubbly eyes, facial swelling, wheezing, gurgling, etc....treatments vary, but depopulation is the way to totally eliminate respiratory diseases.

 

[Wishing4Wings]

I agree with Wishing4Wings. Mixing birds from different places into a flock is a recipe for disaster, no telling what disease(s) can be conjured up. Remember and practice biosecurity. DE does nothing internally for chickens. Here's a link to respiratory diseases in poultry:
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044
Causes of sneezing and snotting could possibly be environmental. Symptoms for respiratory diseases vary but usually include sneezing, snotting, head shaking, bubbly eyes, facial swelling, wheezing, gurgling, etc....treatments vary, but depopulation is the way to totally eliminate respiratory diseases.

Thanks for the link, Dawg. Been looking for a good comparative reference, and this one is a great resource. Bookmarked in my Chicken Stuff folder!

 

[Brydon]

ok, just a follow up as I feel like an idiot.

Lice are handled and turns out we only had a problem with sneezing because the shavings we were using in the coop and nest boxes were too dusty.

So much to learn so little time!!!

 

[Wishing4Wings]

No no, you shouldn't feel like an idiot. You did have a chicken die. We are all learning here, and I am always grateful to the really knowledgeable folks who take the time to share.

Glad the rest of your flock is OK!

 

[seminolewind]

Kinda weird. A month ago I treated all chickens with eprinex Ivomec. A few days later I found one chicken dead. A few days after that I found another dead. Both were happy and healthy the day before. I wonder if that pour on has anything to do with it?