Help needed. Information in message. Birds are dieing/sick.

[ChickensAreSweet]

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www.drugs.com is a good place to look up meds
http://www.drugs.com/search.php?sources[]=cvp&searchterm=tylan&x=0&y=0

 

[The Sheriff]

The vet is incorrect about not being able to test for respiratory disease. The test is done using a throat swab, not blood, but it can be done. It will tell you if your bird has any of the seven respiratory diseases that cause illness and death and create a carrier state in exposed birds. It is not cheap but it provides the answer. Ask your vet to order a Poultry Respiratory PCR Panel. The information regarding the test can be obtained here: http://zoologix.com/avian/Datasheets/PoultryRespiratoryPanel.htm

The results are available in a few days and then you will know what you are dealing with and you can better decide how to proceed. I am sorry that your birds are sick.

Mary

 

[Colored Egg Farmer]

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If this continues we will be taking one or more of the birds to the state vet and or the 2 colleges around here. The good thing about where i am is that there are 2 big vet schools above and below us. Birds have been taken there before and i dont' beleve they make you pay much or anything.

 

[Colored Egg Farmer]

If they do have a resperatory disease what could have caused it is it transfered from other birds or can it just happen. We have tight bio security here and I keep track of where i have been in contact with birds. The latest two were Teh Pennsylvania farm show and a poultry show in iowa where we picked up some birds. both shows you had to be tested to enter.

 

[phasian]

Your source could have been the shows. Even with tested birds, illness can show up later. Respiratory illnesses can also develop if you've had a damp winter. I went through a short spell with similar symptoms with a few members of my flock, though no diarrhea or deaths. I had great success in clearing it out by cleaning out their nasal passages with a solution of lavender oil in water, then dosing my birds with a few drops of straight lavender oil as well as adding garlic to their water. For convenience, I used 1500 mg garlic oil capsules- 5 per gallon. I also squeezed a capsule daily- until the symptoms cleared, in the beaks of the birds that seemed most effected. You can still eat the eggs with these treatments. In my earlier poultry keeping days, I was given a rescue bird with respiratory symptoms and tried Duramycin but had no lasting success. Lavender oil is a powerful antibacterial, antifungal, vermifuge, and its scent is calming. It is also reasonably priced.

I was additionally given a Silkie with a case of Infectious Coryza last year and successfully treated her from that malady using the above regimen.

I know some people often think these birds should be culled, but if we can restore them to health (and aren't breeding ill birds) why not? It took a lot of time and trouble to raise and provide for these lives, why not respect them?

 

[Super Chickenman]

Phasian, where did you get the Lavender oil? Is it a food grade? how much to mix with water etc?

 

[Tiramisu]

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That sounds nice to try, but we need to do a test first. Colored Egg Farmer has a business, and if we want to start up with laying birds, we Have to know what they have so it does not infect them, because that would be a big loss. For the most part today, the birds seem better. None seemed to have nasal discharge and were not sneezing today. Although, I took a brahma out. It was just kind of standing there or walking slow, and it picked its leg up high and walked weird, at first it seemed egg bound, but I felt and did not feel anything. The bird is also light like it has not eaten..kind of how my silkie was, except he could not walk well and stumbled, also held his wings down. That brahma is seperated now, though.

 

[DrinkTheRainbow]

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Same thing happened to us, either it has something to do with the air or something else

 

[phasian]

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It isn't labelled food grade, but I have herbal remedy books that suggested lavender oil, and I have ingested it with no bad results. It is available from natural food stores, but here in Oregon even Fred Meyer sells it in their natural food section. When mixing with water for topical application, I use about 3 drops per cup. As a preventative or treatment for the flock I use 12 drops per gallon.

Tiramisu: Tests are great, but using natural remedies does not cause harm and goes a long way towards aiding respiratory issues. I have vet support, do run tests, do x-rays, etc. and even with test results I have better success with using home remedies than antibiotics. I also have a poultry business (I sell started pullets) and am very mindful of my flock's health and spreading infection.......