Gurgling and sneezing in chickens

[hoytstkings]

I have many different breeds and I pulled the heat lamp off year old chickens to give to chicks in other half of my coop cause I had one of my 2 month old chicks sneezing so I put vet RX in their water and that didn't do much so I then pulled the light off others to make younger ones warmer and now a several of my year old started gurgling n sneezing and so started on antibiotics on sunday and have seen a little improvement, if I keep them warm and dry will they fully recover????? vet said 5 days on meds??? in the upper 30's n 40's here and letting older chickens out during nice parts of days, but sound worse at night, got their heat lamp back in! Any info if someone in the past has had these issues and what happened how did it turn out please help

 

[Michael Apple]

If it is viral CRD, it is a very stubborn disease to get rid of. I'm curious what antibiotics your vet recommended for 5 days. Poorly ventilated buildings that are dusty or moist can also cause respiratory problems. Do you have chicks housed in a separate location from adults?

 

[Fred's Hens]

I have many different breeds and I pulled the heat lamp off year old chickens to give to chicks in other half of my coop cause I had one of my 2 month old chicks sneezing so I put vet RX in their water and that didn't do much so I then pulled the light off others to make younger ones warmer and now a several of my year old started gurgling n sneezing and so started on antibiotics on sunday and have seen a little improvement, if I keep them warm and dry will they fully recover????? vet said 5 days on meds??? in the upper 30's n 40's here and letting older chickens out during nice parts of days, but sound worse at night, got their heat lamp back in! Any info if someone in the past has had these issues and what happened how did it turn out please help

In most cases, the use of antibiotics is not indicated, as the cause is often a virus and antibiotic cannot touch a virus. The over use of anti biotics also gives many people cause for concern in creating super bugs.

The accepted practice for respiratory diseases is culling. Even if birds appear to recover, with some of these viruses, they remain carriers always.

 

[Michael Apple]

In most cases, the use of antibiotics is not indicated, as the cause is often a virus and antibiotic cannot touch a virus. The over use of anti biotics also gives many people cause for concern in creating super bugs.

The accepted practice for respiratory diseases is culling. Even if birds appear to recover, with some of these viruses, they remain carriers always.

Since chronic means long duration, it is merely a respiratory infection which lasts a long time. If it is a virus such as Mycoplasma Gallisepticum, only certain antibiotics like Tylan, Lincomycin-Spectinomycin, Gallimycin can keep the disease to a minimum and does eliminate symptoms. CRD is often categorized as a stress disease since a weakened immune system makes the bird susceptible to respiratory problems. If we culled every bird that showed symptoms of CRD, there wouldn't be any birds left. I've seen numerous people ignore diseases in flocks, and since chicks are cheap, they are allowed to die off and more are purchased to replace them. That to me is irresponsible and disregards the animal as some inanimate object with no value. With a higher demand for research of poultry diseases, there's a better possibility in the future to overcome them.

If it becomes a problem and mortality becomes high, one should vaccinate. Culling all chickens when MG could be brought in from wild birds, only leaves the replacement flock to be culled soon after symptoms are exhibited. The only way for hoytstkings to know whether it is viral is to sacrifice a bird for a lab necropsy. Here is a list of local labs that can determine what the problem is: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/animal_dis_spec/poultry/downloads/labs_app.pdf

I don't know how far Sidney is from Bozeman.

MONTANA – 81
Montana Department of Livestock
D P SE AI
Diagnostic Laboratory Division
P.O. Box 997
Bozeman, MT 59771
Dr. A. W. Layton
Phone: (406)994-4885
Fax: (406)994-6344