Heavily wheezing hen, 3 days. How long to wait to use antibiotic??

[sally4500]

She has been short of breath from wheezing for 3 days, I used suggestions from the board to try vetrx, cider vinegar and polyvisol. At

day 3, she seems a little dazed, will follow the flock in the yard, but not scratch and eat. I got her to eat a little boiled egg and

spaghetti, and used a dropper to get some water into her. I have duramycin powder, but have not used it yet. Can't find any injectables

around here, such as Tylan. Should I call vet for that? I dont know how to inject, but will attempt it if shown how once. Dont want to

lose her, she is my daughters pet that she is getting ready to show at the fairs this summer.

Does anyone know about antibiotics??? I am new at learning about health problems.

Thanks!

 

[chickengrl]

First thing, isolate her from the rest of the flock ASAP. She may have a respiratory infection. Are there other "cold" symptoms? swollen eyes? mucous? sneezing? If you want to treat her, i would not wait any longer. You can buy Tylan 50 injectable at your local farm store. Also get a couple syringes with small gauge needles. You can give her 0.5 cc injected into the back of the neck just under the skin for 5-7 days. Bear in mind that it may be viral and the antibiotic may not help. The other bit of bad news is that there are about 6 respiratory diseases of chickens that it could be and unfortunatley the bird may end up being a carrier. Have you bought new birds recently, or taken your birds to a show or anything? I hope this is helpful

Also, baytril is even better for this. You would have to go to a vet to get it though. Good luck!

 

[sally4500]

She was sneezing at first, but that has gotten better. The farm stores here do not have the Tylan. I live in southern NH.

Would a vet have it?

I do not have any new birds, and they have not traveled. We have had damp and cold weather here lately.

Would insulin needles be okay? I have some of those.

 

[chickengrl]

A vet will probably not have Tylan, but if you can get Baytril from them it is actually better. Another option is online ordering from Jeffers Livestock or Firststatevet supply. I would not use the insulin needles. They don't have the markings for CC or ML on them. They are marked in units, so pretty sure you won't be able to pull up the right amount. I hope your vet will help you out. I don't know the Baytril dose, but plenty folks on here do. Just post the question if you can get some.

Birds can sometimes already have the infection, but it is dormant until they are stressed by something. It can even be passed by wild birds, so certainly nothing that you did. Just asked about new birds or travelling since that is the more common ways to get something.