Update:
I dewormed with Ivermectin & I'm betting that helped them with overall healthiness. However, they were still sneezing.
You know what I've realized?
I think the sneezing was the Coryza acting up.
Oxytetracycline helped with their Coryza before, so I did 3 days of .5 cc of Liquamycin LA-200, and have been putting Terramycin in distilled water for their drinking water a few days.
The roo & 1 hen seem to have pretty much quit sneezing & the other hen seems to only have a light sneeze. The hens shake their heads a little still, to clear a small amount of mucus that must still show up in their throats sometimes.
Something else I found that often can
cause sneezing after another respiratory infection is
Colibacillosis / Coli-septicaemia (E. coli infection).
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/diseaseinfo/39/colibacillosis-colisepticemia
Coli-septicaemia is the commonest infectious disease of farmed poultry. It is most commonly seen following upper respiratory disease (such as Infectious Bronchitis) or Mycoplasmosis... It is caused by the bacterium
Escherichia coli and is seen worldwide in chickens, turkeys, etc.
Signs
- Respiratory signs, coughing, sneezing.
- Snick.
- Dejection.
- Reduced appetite.
- Poor growth.
I'm thinking my chickens don't have that, though.
However, they have a new problem--
lots of white urates. Some (not tons) is sticking to their hind end feathers.I know antibiotics can sometimes cause diarrhea, but I don't know the exact mode, other than lots of good bacteria may have been wiped out.
I'm concerned that it may be Ulcerative Enteritis. I think that's what my roo had before, which cured with Penicillin.
However, I REALLY don't want their bodies to have more antibiotics, unless it's absolutely necessary. Tetracyclines are supposed to treat Ulcerative Enteritis (plus some kinds of Collibacillosis) so I'm hoping the problem will resolve with that. I'm also starting to give them Oxine in their water again, so maybe that could kill off a bacteria that might cause enteritis.
I think it would be useless to use probiotics until they're off meds, especially since with Oxine it kills lactobacillus. However, hopefully soon I can add probiotics into their food.
Any other ideas of what may cause the excessive urates would be welcome!
