Help please! Congestion, bubbles over eyes, runny snot out of nose/mouth, stiffness in ankle joints/

[trcarlton]

I'm sufficiently freaked out. This morning I just noticed that one of my 5 month old Turken X is sick.

Reddened skin around head
Puffy face
Bubbles over eyes
Cough/sneeze
Runny snot from nose and mouth
"Frozen" ankle joints; walking on toes, not flexing ankle at all

He/she is still eating and walking around, and some of the adult chickens in the flock had the sinus/eye symptoms previously and were treated with Duramycin and recovered, but now I'm concerned that this could be something I should be culling aggressively for instead of treating, since it won't stay gone and the frozen joint thing is new.

I just introduced our young chickens from the outdoor brooder into the flock 3 days ago, so for the last 2 nights they've been all cooped together at night, and free range during the day.

I have a broody hen sitting on Bielefelder eggs that I just bought yesterday - could those be infected too???

I'd rather medicate if I can identify and eradicate whatever is making them sick, but if the only option is to cull hard and start over, I'll do that, I just need to find out what's going on and what I can do at this point :/

 

[CMV]

Sounds like one of the CRDs. You are going to have to make some tough decisions. I would have the flock tested to be certain. Culling the whole lot is what is usually recommended when a flock tests positive for one of the CRDs. You will also need to take a break from poultry keeping until the disease dies out on your premises. The chicks that hatch from the eggs are unlikely to be infected, so if you vaccinate them immediately you may be able to save them. Time is not on your side, though. You will need to have the flock tested, get the results of the testing, get whatever vaccine is appropriate, and vaccinate the new chicks at birth to prevent them from becoming infected. That's a lot of stuff that has to happen in under 21 days.

I am sorry.

 

[trcarlton]

Based on what I found on this website (http://www.localharvest.org/blog/26992/entry/common_chicken_diseases_and_symptoms), it looks/sounds mostly like Mycoplasma Gallisepticu.

"When it comes to treatment for this common chicken disease, there are antibiotics available that have proven to be highly successful. These may be administered by mixing with the chicken feed, the water that the chickens drink, or by injection. Examples of antibiotics for this condition include Lincomycin and Erthromycin."

Honestly, the vets around here (Puyallup, WA) are NOT very livestock friendly, and as I found out when I needed some rabbits tested/treated, not only are they useless, they are ridiculously expensive - and I just can't afford to take them to the vet I tried using Duramycin before, and it helped a little but not completely.

I'm going to cull the visibly affected chickens, aggressively medicate the rest of the flock, clean/sanitize vigorously, and wait to see what happens. If it continues, even after the antibiotics, I will cull everything, wait (how long??), and start over ><

Just in case some of the vets view/treat chickens locally, I'll check around to see what they would charge for chickens as opposed to rabbits :/

 

[CMV]

The medications are only effective at treating the signs of the underlying disease...this time. The next time they get ill, because they are going to get ill again as this is a chronic condition, they will need more powerful antibiotics to treat their problems. And on...and on.

Testing can be done through your state lab. Here's info for your area:

Avian Health & Food Safety Laboratory
Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory
Washington State University
2607 West Pioneer
Puyallup, WA 98371-4990
Dr. Rocio Crespo
Phone: (253)445-4536
Fax: (253)445-4544

Draper Valley Farms, Inc.
1000 Jason Lane, P.O. Box 838
Mount Vernon, WA 98273
Dr. Tom Baszler
Phone: (360)424-7947
Fax: (360)424-1666

Good luck.