HELP! Flock is wheezing and sneezing, not responding to treatment

[Lazy Farmer]

Hi @LeighPea Welcome To BYC

I'm very sorry to hear about your troubles.

It does sound like you are dealing with a respiratory disease. If it's viral like Infectious Bronchitis or ILT, unfortunately, antibiotics usually won't help unless there is a secondary bacterial infection.

Tylan50 is used to treat secondary infections due to respiratory illness, but you need to make sure you are giving the correct dosage. Injectable Tylan50 canbe given orally or by injection - dosage is 1cc or ml per 5lbs of weight given 2times per day. Can you weigh your sick girls?

It won't hurt to see if the Tylan50 makes a difference once you adjust the dosage, it has a large dosage range and is fairly forgiving. The VetRx is a good idea - some people report it seems to help relieve some symptoms.

Do your best to keep them hydrated - if you have poultry vitamins add those to their water.

We also tend to want to close up chickens (like we would humans) when they are sick - but they do need fresh air and plenty of ventilation, but need to be kept out of drafts especially during roosting time. Since your birds have already been exposed, it's not necessary to keep them separated, except for the ease of giving supportive care/treatment.
I don't like to mention this, but if you do lose one, then having testing/necropsy performed so you can find out what you're dealing with would be a good idea. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

Please keep us posted.

​

 

[LeighPea]

Hi @LeighPea Welcome To BYC

I'm very sorry to hear about your troubles.

It does sound like you are dealing with a respiratory disease. If it's viral like Infectious Bronchitis or ILT, unfortunately, antibiotics usually won't help unless there is a secondary bacterial infection.

Tylan50 is used to treat secondary infections due to respiratory illness, but you need to make sure you are giving the correct dosage. Injectable Tylan50 canbe given orally or by injection - dosage is 1cc or ml per 5lbs of weight given 2times per day. Can you weigh your sick girls?

It won't hurt to see if the Tylan50 makes a difference once you adjust the dosage, it has a large dosage range and is fairly forgiving. The VetRx is a good idea - some people report it seems to help relieve some symptoms.

Do your best to keep them hydrated - if you have poultry vitamins add those to their water.

We also tend to want to close up chickens (like we would humans) when they are sick - but they do need fresh air and plenty of ventilation, but need to be kept out of drafts especially during roosting time. Since your birds have already been exposed, it's not necessary to keep them separated, except for the ease of giving supportive care/treatment.
I don't like to mention this, but if you do lose one, then having testing/necropsy performed so you can find out what you're dealing with would be a good idea. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

Please keep us posted.

Good morning! No, we have never weighed them but I will definitely look for a scale at TSC today. I am going to get the NutriDrench that someone suggested and I also added Oregano essential Oils to their water. Unfortunately this morning it is colder than it has been and it's overcast and misting. Its around 62 degrees now and the high will be only 71 degrees. We have been keeping our most sick girl in the garage and diffusing DoTerra Breathe and Lavender. Now I'm worried because the other girls outside wont come out of their coop and I don't think theyre eating or drinking. Thank you for your advice! I did start the Tylan 50 twice a day as of last night.

 

[LeighPea]

Hi! I'm so sorry, it does sound like you must be very tired out and worried about your girls.

A couple months back, our flock had a respiratory issue. We don't know exactly what it was, but they did get puffy eyes. I know you mentioned yours don't have that, but respiratory is respiratory, right? I wrote an article about how we ended up treating it, if you want to read that maybe it will help you. It might have been something totally different from what yours have, but it might be worth a shot if nothing your doing is working.

Some sinus-clearing herbs that might help include Rosemary and Oregano. We ended up using NutriDrench which completely cleared up their problem. It is a really good vitamin supplement, and might be enough to give their immune systems the boost they need. And it might not fix it, but it won't hurt to give it a try.

Also reccommend VetRx!

I hope this helps you! Again, so sorry you are going through this!

Thank you! Yes I am totally exhausted. I hope this is all helping them because it doesn't seem to be and its very defeating. I am going today to TSC to get the NutriDrench and I am trying DoTerra Oregano and the VetRx in their water as of now. I am just worried because now none of them are eating and drinking. I may ask them if they have any syringes, I don't want them to get dehydrated.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Good morning! No, we have never weighed them but I will definitely look for a scale at TSC today. I am going to get the NutriDrench that someone suggested and I also added Oregano essential Oils to their water. Unfortunately this morning it is colder than it has been and it's overcast and misting. Its around 62 degrees now and the high will be only 71 degrees. We have been keeping our most sick girl in the garage and diffusing DoTerra Breathe and Lavender. Now I'm worried because the other girls outside wont come out of their coop and I don't think theyre eating or drinking. Thank you for your advice! I did start the Tylan 50 twice a day as of last night.

You may want to bring the other sick ones into the garage so you can monitor their eating/drinking - they can go a day or so not eating, but they do need plenty of fluids. The Nutri-Drench is good stuff.

I hope you start to see some improvement, please keep us posted.

 

[LeighPea]

UPDATE: Penelope is still in the garage and this afternoon when I got home she was filthy but was up and drinking! Still hasn't eaten any of her veggies, worms or treats but I was happy to see her getting fluids. I added oregano and VetRx to her water and I am hoping that helps as well. The other gals (Gloria and Beatrice) are still in the coop and although it rained today and I heard sneezing when I left out I came home to find them out as well. I put the same mixture in their water when I saw them drinking. They ARE eating and ate their clover, meal worms and a little of their pellets. I am hoping this means they are on the mend as today was supposed to be their last dosage of antibiotics.

Should we continue the shots for a few more days since were now seeing progress? I'm fearful of a relapse.

Also, I know this may just be me being paranoid, but how much VetRx is too much? I feel like I'm heavy handed when it comes to this because I have seen the most improvement using it. Can I put too much in their water?

Thank you everyone for all the support and kind words! It has really helped!

 

[Arya28]

UPDATE: Penelope is still in the garage and this afternoon when I got home she was filthy but was up and drinking! Still hasn't eaten any of her veggies, worms or treats but I was happy to see her getting fluids. I added oregano and VetRx to her water and I am hoping that helps as well. The other gals (Gloria and Beatrice) are still in the coop and although it rained today and I heard sneezing when I left out I came home to find them out as well. I put the same mixture in their water when I saw them drinking. They ARE eating and ate their clover, meal worms and a little of their pellets. I am hoping this means they are on the mend as today was supposed to be their last dosage of antibiotics.

Should we continue the shots for a few more days since were now seeing progress? I'm fearful of a relapse.

Also, I know this may just be me being paranoid, but how much VetRx is too much? I feel like I'm heavy handed when it comes to this because I have seen the most improvement using it. Can I put too much in their water?

Thank you everyone for all the support and kind words! It has really helped!

That's great! I'm glad your hens are doing so much better!

I don't know a lot about administering antibiotics, but I'd say as long as it's helping maybe a few more doses will give them a boost. I would recommend giving them some probiotics once you are done with the antibiotics though, to restore their gut flora. Antibiotics help with some problems, the thing is they wipe out both the good AND the bad bacteria from their gut. I don't blame you for giving it to them, but probiotics will help to restore that balance

The oregano doTERRA oil is definitely good to be doing, so keep using that!

As far as the VetRX goes, I don't think you can really give them too much. I know when ours had puffy eyes, we rubbed it all over their eyes, their noses, put some in a diffuser next to them, and added some to their water. The oils in it are diluted with a carrier oil (corn oil), so it's not as strong as it would be without that. Most of the time you don't need to use a lot of an essential oil, because of how potent they are. But since it's diluted with the corn oil it should be fine. As long as you can see it's helping them that's a good thing! Too much of anything can be bad, but I think what your doing will help them more than hinder them.

 

[Eggcessive]

Tylan is usually given for 5 days. You may want to use a little plain yogurt in their food for probiotics since they have been on antibiotics. Tylan can also be given orally as well, if you need to use it again sometime. The new chickens probably had come from a flock where they had had infectious bronchitis or a mild case of MG, and although they didn't appear sick, they made your flock sick. Infectious bronchitis lasts about a month, mostly with sneezing, the main symptom. It can get worse at night, and they can have some wrinkly egg shells or decreased laying during and after the illness. I really hope your girls get better soon. I would not add any new birds or hatch any chicks for at least a year after the last one recovers, since IB will make rhem varriers for up to a year. MG can make them all carriers for life, but MG usually will cause some eye swelling or foamy drainage in eyes.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Tylan is usually given for 5 days. You may want to use a little plain yogurt in their food for probiotics since they have been on antibiotics. Tylan can also be given orally as well, if you need to use it again sometime. The new chickens probably had come from a flock where they had had infectious bronchitis or a mild case of MG, and although they didn't appear sick, they made your flock sick. Infectious bronchitis lasts about a month, mostly with sneezing, the main symptom. It can get worse at night, and they can have some wrinkly egg shells or decreased laying during and after the illness. I really hope your girls get better soon. I would not add any new birds or hatch any chicks for at least a year after the last one recovers, since IB will make rhem varriers for up to a year. MG can make them all carriers for life, but MG usually will cause some eye swelling or foamy drainage in eyes.

X2 I agree.

Tylan dosage is usually for 5days. Probiotics and vitamins to give them a boost is also a good idea.

Even though VetRx is a "natural remedy" you should still follow the directions on your bottle. Anything can be overdone. If your bottle does not have directions, you can see them here: https://www.drugs.com/vet/vetrx-poultry-remedy.html

 

[LeighPea]

UPDATE: Good evening everyone. Just want to report that the VetRx and Oregano must have been the magic formula with our girls still in their coop, they look great and although were still hearing a few sniffles and sneezes they are foraging and eating and drinking like normal still so I am happy with their progress. However, we took Penelope out of the garage this evening to try and get her moving a bit more but she is so weak it's pitiful. She is drinking her water but hasn't eaten in around 3 days. She won't touch her worms or pellets, not even her favorite clover. When I took her out with her friends earlier she would barley move, most of the time she would close her eyes and stand there. She got to where she would just lay down so I changed her bedding and put her back in her garage pen. We continued antibiotics for her a little longer because it seems she has been more affected than the others. I did get vitamins and electrolytes for their water but were out and should be replenished on Tuesday.

Is there something anyone recommends I be doing to help her further. I'm not sure why she is so much more weak than the others. From the beginning she has just been so much worse. Should I force feed her, I don't want to hinder her recovery. Also, I'm afraid to put her back in the coop because her feathers are in such bad shape from her not moving from her own filth, I change her bedding once a day, but during the day she just sits because shes so tired. When I gave her a light bath to remove the filth I saw many feathers around her vent were gone and I worry that will leave her too exposed in the coop.

Thank you again to everyone that has helped so far! all your comments are very very much appreciated!!!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm glad to hear about improvements

Penelope is around 3yrs old? Is she starting to molt, do you know when she last laid an egg? With her age she may have something else going on and the respiratory illness could have weakened her and she is struggling. It's so hard to know - even though she is not eating well, see that the crop is emptying overnight, feel her abdomen for any swelling/bloat or feeling of fluid, also check her over for any mite/lice.

See if she will accept her feed made into a mash, chopped egg, tuna, meat, etc.
If she doesn't eat soon, you may need to try to syringe or tube feed her - you may find these helpful
http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/805728/go-team-tube-feeding
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...d-pics-for-visuals-very-detailed-post.805615/