HELP

[shayneriggs]

Every year my young hens seem to get this virus or infection. They get this gurgling sound and they have discharge from their noses with a fever. I was told it was bronchitis.... I give them Tylan 50 injectable. It seems to stop the symptoms, but the swelling continues. Some die in a matter of hours and some die over days. The ones that do well are sick but, they take about 3 to 5 days to get over it. Some even have swollen eyes that close. It's horrible to watch the baby chicks I have raise die.... I feel so helpless. My kids cry and it has happened two years in a row. And only to the young chickens 2 to 5 months old. After that age for some reason they seem to do fine....... So frustrating. I give them garlic once a week and have done so for a long time. I give them apple cider vinegar once a week in their water... I also give them goat milk to help them with calcium and minerals. I don't know what else to do..... I even had our coop cleaned and sprayed for infection. Feeling so helpless and stupid for sure.....

 

[chooks4life]

If the vaccination or medication isn't working, why bother to use it? But I am a fan of non-vaccination, and natural medication, so I would say that.

But it's possible you're treating with the wrong thing, if you don't know exactly what they have. Do you breed them or bring in new lots, all-in all-out style? I'd expect some immunity to build up if you kept breeding the survivors. I can't offer any help regarding man made medications of the pharmaceutical sort because I don't use them, but I'm pretty sure you need to find out what you're treating to make the treatment successful if you are using them.

'Bronchitis' technically means any inflammation of the bronchi. A LOT of things can cause that. Since this is a severe case your birds keep showing, some in depth investigation is required. And more raw fresh garlic. Another natural treatment for inflamed airways, and all other mucosal membranes, is slippery elm bark powder; this is expensive but pretty efficient and can be a lifesaver, as like garlic it contains natural antibiotics, which come in dynamic form so the viruses, malicious bacteria etc can't become immune to them like they can to an unchanging single-ingredient man-made antibiotic.

Have you limed all the ground? If the soil's carrying some pathogen or its host, liming can wipe out a lot of things. I use the Agricultural lime they feed to animals for this. Sometimes the disease organism is a simple one to overcome if they're not overwhelmed environmentally by it, and liming can often help with this. More than just the coop needs doing if they free range. Mine do, and I've limed well over an acre around the pen, literally everywhere they go. Not just once, either. To begin with it was a few times a year for a few years straight before the soil started to recover its health. It wasn't a great place to begin with, now it's as fertile as anything.

I never have chick mortality with chickens to diseases, but I did have some chick mortality with turkeys to start with; I had some losses to Tuberculosis, (which I fixed), then Blackhead (which I've also stopped from happening now). With chicken babies, I expect 100% survival into adulthood. Sometimes injuries happen though. I don't operate a closed flock, don't vaccinate, don't use pharmaceutical medications, feed as naturally as possible, etc, and bring in sick poultry from other places to treat through diet alone and don't expect to lose mine to their diseases (and I don't) so it can't all be a fluke. I give raw garlic daily, most days of the week, and give them kelp as a multivitamin and mineral mix. I think most diseases can be overcome through diet. Our bodies are made to fight and cope and adapt, same with animals, and we need to be living in a somewhat natural state (mainly regarding diet) in order to give ourselves a fighting chance. Anyway, all the best, I hope you don't lose more. You shouldn't feel stupid, we're all learners, even those wearing the expert badges who've been keeping poultry for half a century.

 

[Eggcessive]

You are dealing with a chronic respiratory disease (mycoplama, choryza, etc.) Once it gets into the flock, all new members get it. Ones who have it may get it again and again, while spreading it to everyone else. Many people will kill their birds, clean very well with ammonia or bleach to disinfect the premises, and get new birds after several weeks or months. These diseases can come into your flock by bringing in a sick bird, carrying it in on your shoes or clothes from even a feed store or grocery, or from wild birds. Here is a popular link for information: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044 Some people choose to medicate with antibiotics during out breaks and have a closed flock (no new birds.)

 

[shayneriggs]

Thank you for your comments. I am taking in one of my dead hens to the vet for testing today. I did spray the coop and run with a diluted Clorox solution. I also sprayed vinegar to make sure to kill bacteria and fungus. I will spread the lime today in the evening. It makes sense to do that. It is an old way of controlling the spread of diseases and I completely forgot about it. Thanks. The sad truth about my very small flock (20) is that we live about a quarter of a mile from a very large chicken ranch. And the wind blows our way daily. My neighbors have had the same problem. Some of the neighbors just stopped having chickens all together....... So not sure if we are getting the diseases from the chicken ranch or just the luck of the draw.

 

[realsis]

Oh yes its a great idea then to get them tested because some serious diseases like Marek's can be airborne and travel in the air.its best to know what your dealing with here especially since the chicken ranch is so close! Please keep us updated as to what this is that has happened. Best wishes to you

 

[shayneriggs]

It is bronchitis. So shall wait and see what comes next. When you put down lime what do you do exactly? Would the chickens try to eat it?

 

[chooks4life]

I just walk around with a bag sprinkling handfuls, covering every foot of ground. I don't go crazy about getting every inch but I do try to make sure there are no safe havens left. The chooks don't try to eat it, but it is the type that's fed to livestock, so that's ok if they do.

Once a curious chook got some in its eye, which I thought might be an issue, but it was fine, didn't even fuss about it. Acted like it didn't hurt at all, which was strange, I was expecting it to be caustic or something. I'm sure there's a much more efficient way to distribute it, lol. Not good to do on windy days (for obvious reasons). Maybe a watering can would sprinkle it well enough. I don't know, I just throw handfuls in sweeping arcs. Does the job and I don't mind putting in the extra time, I like to check over the whole property regularly, keep track of plants and animals domestic and otherwise.

It does sound very unfortunate to be so close to a big farm. Best wishes with your disease control program. I'd be feeding raw garlic at least 6 days a week if I lived there. But I do that anyway, lol. Other herbs are known to help nip diseases in the bud. Rosemary, sage, oregano, basil etc... Lots of interesting new research results coming out supporting the use of these plants to kill bad bacteria, viruses, etc. I use garlic and herbs as a staple in their diet and don't have a fraction of the issues everyone else I know does. But I wouldn't like to live that close to a major poultry farm.

 

[dawg53]

It is bronchitis. So shall wait and see what comes next. When you put down lime what do you do exactly? Would the chickens try to eat it?

There are no treatments for confirmed cases Infectious Bronchitis (IB)...natural or chemical. It would be best to depopulate, disinfect everything with oxine, and wait at least 6 months before starting over.

 

[chooks4life]

Quote: I reckon it just means the treatments haven't been found yet.

There are a few diseases which are listed as 'having no cure' but people treat them successfully. The problem is that they do it with unorthodox methods. So it's not official. But that will change.

But for those who don't have the time, money, experience, resources, or whatever to experiment, depopulation's an option, though really why would you bother repopulating when you live near a major poultry farm. Kinda makes more sense to keep what survivors you've got and depopulate before moving house to a better place where you won't be fighting potential avalanches of pathogens nonstop. But that might not be an option for you either.

If I were between a rock and a hard place like that I'd be experimenting carefully. No disease is incurable, though some won't be cured until medical science advances. But there are a lot of treatments for supposedly untreatable diseases so I wouldn't cull the lot just yet. Keep searching, I'd reckon. It must be able to be done, and if it hasn't already been done then someone's going to do it sooner or later. But I'd bet it's already been done. Best wishes with finding the info you need. Or culling the lot. Whatever your decision is.