Help with managing long term respiratory illness

[supernova]

Hi there, I am new to chickens but have learned a great deal about keeping them so far thanks to BYC. Some background info to begin.... A friend of mine found a small chick out wandering the streets and long story short, she is now my pet. When she was first given to me last month I noticed she was sick with something the first night I had her. After much research on BYC and other resources, all signs pointed to MG it seemed. She had goopy, watery eyes, a runny beak, and sneezing. I treated her with Tylan with the understanding that she will have a lifelong issue with respiratory problems. After a week of Tylan her symptoms disappeared. All along the way she has remained active and continued to eat, drink, and poop normally. She is now approximately 8 weeks old. She still has some baby down fluff on her neck and is starting to grow her tail feathers (if that helps you guys approximate her age). Last weekend I gave her some free roaming time on my back porch all afternoon Saturday and Sunday. It was just after that that she has begun sneezing again. I was thinking perhaps the sudden change in environment stressed her out or something since she has lived in the house so far. Her eyes aren't watering and she is still active and eating and drinking well. When she sneezes and shakes her head, a bit of watery stuff does get flung around (yuck). She is also quite warm but my understanding is that a chicken's body temp is about 104 degrees anyway. What should I do now? She is only sneezing and otherwise healthy in appearance and activity. Am I supposed to treat her with the Tylan again? I'd rather not because she is lacking any other symptoms and I don't want to be quick to treat incorrectly. Since it is sneezing only should I just offer supportive care? Any tips or suggestions are appreciated. I think the main thing I need to know is exactly how should I handle these respiratory "episodes" when they pop up. She is just a pet and will remain as such so I will add that I do not plan to cull her since she is an only chicken.

 

[supernova]

Also, she has put on weight well and is over a pound now. She is on Manna Pro chick starter feed.

 

[supernova]

Anyone else been through this? I could def use some guidance on the appropriate time to treat with Tylan and when to wait and see if it subsides.

 

[casportpony]

It would be best to have them test for MG.

-Kathy

 

[chickengr]

Anyone else been through this? I could def use some guidance on the appropriate time to treat with Tylan and when to wait and see if it subsides.

chickens need 40 days to heal. I have the same problem. when they were bad I gave them stronger antibiotics (tetracycline/baytril - tylan is good as well). as soon as they get better I continue with oxytetracycline in their water till the day 40.

 

[dawg53]

She is a carrier for LIFE of whatever respiratory disease she has and will never get over it no matter how many powerful medications you give her. You're correct in that introducing her into a new environment brought out symptoms again. Symptoms dont have to be EXACTLY like initial symptoms, but she will show some type of symptoms which you saw and will see, it depends how stressed she is. Medications "mask" symptoms, but never cure the disease.
IF you continue using medications, the disease builds resistance to that particular medication and will have no effect in treating symptoms. This will happen to every medication you give her over time. The time will come when nothing will work. Alot of these medications kill good bacteria as well, further weakening and stressing her. Eggs will have to be tossed out due to withdrawal periods if she lays eggs.
I recommend that you google mycoplasma gallisepticum and find photos that show what the internal damage looks like inside a chicken with this disease. Keep in mind that chickens are experts in concealing wounds, injuries and diseases until they are overwhelmed to the point it's usually too late to do anything about it in the natural world. Sometimes even human intervention is too late to help as you can see from the many posts in the emergency forum. Then perhaps you may reconsider culling her instead of letting her suffer.

 

[supernova]

Thanks for all the excellent info everyone. I think as Kathy said it would be wise to get her tested for MG or whatever respiratory issues she may have. I'll look into finding a good avian or livestock vet. So far this week I have just kept an eye on her and have waited to see if it got worse first before medicating. The sneezing has seemed to lessen on its own so far. She has been her normal self this whole week except for the occasional sneeze and now its even less than occasional.I had no idea it takes that long (40 days) for chickens to heal up so to speak from a respiratory episode. I do know she will be a carrier of course but was hoping to at least keep her comfortable and in a low stress environment and allow her to live as happy/peaceful of a life as possible once I figured out she was sick when I got her. It seems like there's alot of people on both sides of the fence when it comes to culling vs. not culling. I've read cases of people successfully keeping a closed flock and others who simply choose to cull and begin again. Perhaps in the end it won't work out and I will still have to cull her even though I'd rather not. Its such an unpleasant outcome. She is such a sweet little bird, we even watch tv together haha.

 

[chickengr]

I would cull the birds if someone could guarantee that the new birds will never get sick.

 

[dawg53]

I would cull the birds if someone could guarantee that the new birds will never get sick.

If you culled your sick birds, no one can guarantee that your new birds will never get sick but yourself. You have to practice strict biosecurity, and that's your responsibility.

 

[casportpony]

Thanks for all the excellent info everyone. I think as Kathy said it would be wise to get her tested for MG or whatever respiratory issues she may have. I'll look into finding a good avian or livestock vet. So far this week I have just kept an eye on her and have waited to see if it got worse first before medicating. The sneezing has seemed to lessen on its own so far. She has been her normal self this whole week except for the occasional sneeze and now its even less than occasional.I had no idea it takes that long (40 days) for chickens to heal up so to speak from a respiratory episode. I do know she will be a carrier of course but was hoping to at least keep her comfortable and in a low stress environment and allow her to live as happy/peaceful of a life as possible once I figured out she was sick when I got her. It seems like there's alot of people on both sides of the fence when it comes to culling vs. not culling. I've read cases of people successfully keeping a closed flock and others who simply choose to cull and begin again. Perhaps in the end it won't work out and I will still have to cull her even though I'd rather not. Its such an unpleasant outcome. She is such a sweet little bird, we even watch tv together haha.

UC Davis has a blood test that checks for IBV, MG, MS, AI, NDV. Cost for out of state residents is about $17.
http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/cahfs/local-assets/pdfs/fee lists/Poultry_fee_list_33115.pdf

They will also let you use their fedex account, so that would save a bunch on shipping.

You could also call:
Bronson Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory
Florida Department of Ag and Consumer Services
2700 N. John Young Parkway
Kissimmee, Florida 34741
Phone: 321-697-1423
Fax 321-697-1467

-Kathy