HELP......I HAVE A COUPLE ISSUES GOING ON & NEED YOUR HELP!

[Laurelannu]

HELP......A couple of my gals are having some respiratory issues going on. I bought 2 new 3-month Easter Egger pullets that were sick & didn't realize it until the next day and being a chicken novice, I just put them in with my other girls ages 5/6 months - 2 years. Well, my 2 5/6 month girls are all snarky sounding and sneezing. I don't see any discharge from their nostrils. The 2 Easter Egger girls actually have a NASTY, NASTY, NASTY fishy (Dead Sea animal) smell with discharge coming from the nostrils. I have been giving the 4 of them 1 ml of penicillin (orally) a day now and we're on day 9 now with no real changes for the better. Any suggestions??? Should I try Tylan? And do I HAVE to inject that for best results? I'm just not comfortable giving a chicken a shot. They are so boney! HELP!

I have another issue about how the girls pecked the hell out of one of the 3-month EE's 3 days ago. They pecked her to the muscle. You can see where they went right through the skin layer and into the muscle. It was a bloody mess. I've been spraying a topical antiseptic on her as well as the purple cover spray. She seems okay but it is a very deep and bad wound. Will she make it?? HELP!!! You guys are awesome!!!

Thanks, Laurie

 

[CuckooOrpington]

"The 2 Easter Egger girls actually have a NASTY, NASTY, NASTY fishy (Dead Sea animal) smell with discharge coming from the nostrils." The foul smell indicates Infectious Coryza, most chicken nasal discharge stink when they are sick but when it is Coryza, it is really bad.

Sneezing is the first sign of any respiratory disease and, in Coryza, it will lead to watery or puss filled eyes, rattly breathing, facial/hock/joints swelling and sometimes diarrhea. Coryza is a bacteria called haemophilus paragallinarum, it is among the most common diseases affecting poultry.

Chickens are not usually susceptible of IC until the are 3 months of age, note that this bacteria 'opens he door' to many other diseases such as CRD and Mycoplasma Gallisepticum. It is highly contagious and air borne so you have to separate the infected pullets immediately. Haemophilus paragallinarum does not survive long outside the bird. You should put them on Tylan 50 Injectable, don't use Tylan Soluble as tylosin is deactivated once it comes in contact with acids including stomach acids.

If you are not comfortable giving injections (though I recommend injectable antibiotics) then you can use Baytril 25 - it is a clear liquid that your give to them orally using an eye dropper/syringe each day.

Tylosin, you can purchase Tylan from most feed stores if you are in the US or from a vet if you are in Australia (I don't know about other places):


Baytril oral (packaging varies):





I also have to state that you shouldn't be keeping 3 month olds with mature hens as the hens will beat them around (which has already happened) and another important reason; older birds are carriers of disease that younger birds aren't. As a chicken grows, it is infected by bacteria, protozoa and viruses in the natural environment. Some of which are pathogenic. The disease is then passed to younger flock mates who in some cases cannot handle this intruding organism and falls to illness. Age groups are best kept separate.

It is most likely your pullets have coryza, they will be carriers for life but sometimes if it is treated at the logarithmic phase of the bacteria carriers can be prevented. Other diseases that are similar to Coryza include Mycoplasma Gallisepticum, Infectious Synovitis, CRD, ORT, Newcastles disease (highly unlikely), avian influenza (highly unlikely) and Bronchitis.

Some more info on respiratory diseases:
https://poultrykeeper.com/respiratory-problems/respiratory-disease-in-chickens/