HELP! Respiratory illness? Which meds to give?

[prettylittlehens]

Can anyone help me figure out the best course of meds for my flock? I’m stumped. My beautiful EE rooster (1yo) suddenly passed last night- I noticed his comb was very dark purple so I brought him inside thinking he had possibly gotten frostbite (it has been in the teens/twenties a few nights this week in my area) and that’s when I noticed his breathing sounded awful. Very loud wheezing and gurgling, almost sounded as if he was a human snoring, and open mouth breathing. He only made it an hour in the house before passing. After seeing what poor shape he was in I observed the rest of my flock and noticed that I have several hens who are sneezing and/or coughing (not consistently but enough that I noticed) and one specifically who I hear wheezing and crackling in their breathing. Egg production has slacked off this last week but I had somewhat attributed that to the sudden drop in temps because so far everyone else appears to be moving around and eating and drinking normally. I keep reading about CRD but neither the roo who died or any of the others have any type of discharge and there is no notable swelling on any of them either so I’m doubting if it is that or (hopefully) something less serious? I did notice that two of them appeared to have runny poo, and specifically the one who is wheezing the worst pooped what almost appeared to be water but with a white milky tint to it? I already plan to grab some VetRx as soon as I get off work today and a lot of my searching has pointed me toward LA-200 (Liquamycin). Does this sound like a good treatment plan based on the observed symptoms or is there something else I should be researching???

 

[Eggcessive]

Do you still have your EE’s body? Can you wrap it in clean garbage bags and keep it cold but not frozen, and send or take it to your state poultry lab today for a necropsy? They can do testing for what he had, and identify the disease. There are numerous respiratory diseases from viruses, bacteria, and mold fungus. Only bacterial disease symptoms will respond to antibiotics. I would try to get some tylosin, doxycycline, or oxytet powder antibiotics overnight shipped to put in the water. If you get the injectable LA200, dosage is tricky, and it is used mainly for cattle. 5 mg per kilogram (each 2.2 pounds) per pound of weight, seems to be a good starting dose, but there are better drugs. MG or mycoplasma, coryza are bacterial, while infectious bronchitis and ILT are viruses. Aspergillosis is from mold fungus.

 

[prettylittlehens]

Thanks for your reply! I do still have his body but there’s unfortunately no way I can get him anywhere for necropsy as we are hours away from our state facility. I guess sending it could be an option but I will have to look into that further and get more info on how to do so. The LA-200 is the only thing I can find in stock near me and I don’t have the extra funds to pay for the express shipping it would take to get anything else here overnight so I guess it’s looking like this will be my only option for immediate treatment. We have had a lot of rain and snow runoff the last week which had my coop floor a muddy poppy mess until I was able to get it cleaned out so I feel like I’m probably dealing with something bacterial or viral opposed to mold induced.

 

[HappyDuckie]

My chickens were also suffering from some sort of respiratory disease. I had five very sick chickens, two of which seemed like they wouldn't make it another day. I bought the LA-200, since there weren't any other antibiotics available near me, and shipping was expensive. My chickens are all better now, and aren't gurgling or sneezing.

 

[prettylittlehens]

My chickens were also suffering from some sort of respiratory disease. I had five very sick chickens, two of which seemed like they wouldn't make it another day. I bought the LA-200, since there weren't any other antibiotics available near me, and shipping was expensive. My chickens are all better now, and aren't gurgling or sneezing.

Thanks for your reply, this gives me hope that mine will pull through too. I’ve heard great things about the LA200 so I figured it would be better for them than nothing at all. Since they all seem to be acting like their usual selves I’m hoping I’ve caught it early enough to wipe it out before I have any more losses like my poor roo
How did you figure dosage for yours? I’ve seen several different posted and this is my first time doing anything injectable so I’m already a bit nervous.

 

[Eggcessive]

My chickens were also suffering from some sort of respiratory disease. I had five very sick chickens, two of which seemed like they wouldn't make it another day. I bought the LA-200, since there weren't any other antibiotics available near me, and shipping was expensive. My chickens are all better now, and aren't gurgling or sneezing.

Did you give it by injection or orally? What dosage did you use and how much do your chickens weigh?

 

[HappyDuckie]

Thanks for your reply, this gives me hope that mine will pull through too. I’ve heard great things about the LA200 so I figured it would be better for them than nothing at all. Since they all seem to be acting like their usual selves I’m hoping I’ve caught it early enough to wipe it out before I have any more losses like my poor roo
How did you figure dosage for yours? I’ve seen several different posted and this is my first time doing anything injectable so I’m already a bit nervous.

I talked to a vet, and he told me to do 1 1/2 ml for standard size, and 1 ml for bantam and smaller chickens, then wait three days and do it again. Only do it twice. I used a 21 gauge needle and injected in the breast muscle.

 

[HappyDuckie]

Did you give it by injection or orally? What dosage did you use and how much do your chickens weigh?

Injection. Dosage is in the post above, and the vet never told me to weigh them, just gave me a dose for standard size and for bantams/smaller chickens.

 

[prettylittlehens]

I talked to a vet, and he told me to do 1 1/2 ml for standard size, and 1 ml for bantam and smaller chickens, then wait three days and do it again. Only do it twice. I used a 21 gauge needle and injected in the breast muscle.

Thank you!!