Help! What antibiotic is appropriate?

[Cinnabar]

Hey all! Very new to chickens and dealing with my first medical issue. I have three 9 month old hens that I purchased a few months ago. They've all been the picture of good health and productive egg laying, up until now. Within the past two weeks, I've heard one of my girls starting to make a slight sneeze here and there. I was also finding the occasional wet and runny poops. A week ago, the infrequent small sneezes started turning into a faint rattling, when I was close to her. Now, it's a bit louder and there's definitely a wet rattling sound, when she breathes. Despite these symptoms, she is alert and behaving normally.

I should have jumped on it two weeks ago when I first started noticing something wrong, I know. But, we've been having horribly hot and humid weather where I am, and I hoped at first that it was a temporary reaction to those conditions. I also didn't want to go straight to antibiotics, of course. Additionally, as bad timing would have it, my husband and I are currently running around like crazy people, getting ready for an imminent three week trip. So...my reaction time has been slower than it should be, with this.

I can take action on this issue now, or I can wait a month (six days until our three week trip), before giving antibiotics or other treatment. I do not, of course, want to wait, but in that case, I have to put treatment in the hands of my pet sitter.

What treatment would you choose, in my situation? I can't have this sitter do an injectable, so it would have to be an oral antibiotic. And, I need to obtain something very quickly. What do you all buy, to have for cases like this? Is there anything I can get via expedited shipping or going to TSC? I have treated many different animals with antibiotics over the years. It's only chickens that I'm very new to. I'm just trying to make quite a lot happen in the next six days, and could use some guidance from more experienced chicken people. Thanks!

Also - I have about 10mL of 10% oral solution Baytril on hand. I was not under the impression, from the research I have done, that this is appropriate for chickens, but I'm happy to be corrected, on that.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Does she have any mucous coming from the nostrils or watery eyes?
How much coop ventilation do you have?

Sneezing and a bit of gurgling can be caused by a number of things. Respiratory disease, ammonia buildup/poor ventilation, dry dusty bedding/feed and molds are a few.

Antibiotics can be helpful treating secondary infections due to respiratory disease, if you feel that she needs them, you can try injectable Tylan50 which can be found at most feed stores. It can be given orally or by injection. Dosage is 1cc or ml per 5lbs of weight given 2X a day for 5days.

 

[Cinnabar]

Thanks for the help! I did a little reading on Tylan, after posting, and that does seem to be the answer. I'd love to just use the Baytril I already have on hand, but that seems to be not recommended as far as I've seen so far. Correct?

No mucus and no watery eyes at all. Just the wet rattling in her breath. I'm confused, actually, by how fine she's otherwise acting. Coop is well ventilated and in constant shade and as clean as it's reasonable to be, with chickens. Bedding is mulch, and I scoop it out every other day. Run is clean, food is clean, and water is a valve system hooked up to a garden hose, so no standing water getting dirty. I can't for the life of me figure out what the issue is, other than that it's just been so hot and humid. I wasn't aware that chickens could be THAT fragile.

Then again, I suppose I probably didn't know what to look for when I was buying them, and they likely already had something that I didn't notice.

I found some doxy that I have on hand, in addition to the baytril. Tylan 50 is better than both of these, for whatever respiratory issue she has? And I can buy the injectable bottle but then give it orally? My sitter doing the treatment is not going to be able to inject meds. The dose doesn't change, if given orally? Should the dose be diluted?

I'm aware that she'll remain a carrier of this, but I'd like to treat her symptoms and keep her alive, because she's really been an awesome girl. I can't separate her from the other two, but I'm sure it's too late for that anyway. If I end up having to cull all three and start over, so be it. But I'm going to try!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

injectable Tylan50 which can be found at most feed stores. It can be given orally or by injection. Dosage is 1cc or ml per 5lbs of weight given 2X a day for 5days.

injectable Tylan50 information was in the previous post, I'm not sure if you saw it or not.

Without presenting with more symptoms such as facial swelling, mucous from the nostrils, watery/bubbly eyes, coughing, wheezing, sneezing, going off food/water and lethargy, it may be best to wait and see if her symptom develop further before starting treatment. Since you have a competent pet sitter that would have to administer medication anyway, leave instructions that if she worsens, then begin treatment.

The only way to know for sure if she has a contagious respiratory illness would be through testing. Most state labs will accept a swab for testing - so if she still presents symptoms when you come back from vacation - contacting them would be a good idea.

It sounds like have already done some research on Baytril, here's bit more:
http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2005/07/fda-ban-enrofloxacin-use-poultry

Common poultry diseases:
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

 

[Eggcessive]

You may want to feel of her crop to see if it is emptying properly. Sometimes a throat rattle can be from crop problem, such as a slow, sour, or impacted crop. It should feel empty first thing in the morning before she eats and drinks, and then gradually fill up during the day. If it feels puffy like a balloon it could be slow to empty or sour crop. A hard crop in early morning can be an impacted crop.
If it is a respiratory infection, it might just be infectious bronchitis, a virus that lasts about a month. Mycoplasma (MG) is sometimes mild, but sometimes causes more severe symptoms. The link above for common diseases has those listed. I would be reluctant to give anything if she is doing well, but would use Tylan 50 if she becomes worse. The other drugs listed will make eating her eggs a little more difficult, since those are not recommended in egg layers or meat birds. I have used Tylan50 injectable orally or by mixing into a small treat of egg and bread crumbs. Dosage is 0.2 ml per pound of weight, given twice a day for 5 days, and getting a weight is helpful.Here is a good article about the use of drugs in poultry in the US and the egg withdrawal time:
file:///C:/Users/david/Downloads/Egg%20residue%20considerations%20during%20the%20treatment%20of%20backyard%20poultry%202015.pdf