How do I know if my hens have CRD or something worse? Please Help.

[roostercrazy]

We have 25 laying hens and 25 pulits. Two weeks ago we noticed some hens having swellon eyes, wheezing, sneezing, nasal discharge, eyes glued shut on some, and open-mouth breathing . We didn't noticed any odor. Also, they have completely shut off laying. Someone said the hens could be multing and we beleive they are. We gave sulmit (spelt wrong) and it seems to clear everyone up. We washed all feeders and waters except our large feed; its make of wood. We clean out our coop often, my husband is a neat freak about his coop. We have also noticed some diarrhea, and they don't seem to want to drink. We have poo in multiple colors from green to tan, white and orange combination. Can any one helps us figure out whats wrong and why our birds seem to be sick AGAIN? My husband is just sick about his herd and afraid it could be something really bad.

 

[Pathfinders]

Sulmet is not the appropriate drug to use if your birds have some form of Chronic Pulmonary Disease.

Read through this thread:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=113931

Then check these links:

http://poultry.msstate.edu/extension/pdf/disease_diagnosis.pdf

http://poultry.msstate.edu/extension/pdf/diseases_poultry_symptoms.pdf

http://poultry.msstate.edu/extension/pdf/diseases_poultry_common.pdf

Best of luck, hope your birds get better!

 

[roostercrazy]

Thanks for the links, I'll read through them. We talked to our Vet and he is going to do some research for us; he doesn't know much about chickens. We did switch over to Terramycin because the Sulmet wasn't working. However, I have gotten advice to use Tylan 50 injectable. Do you know anything about that? We have let the girls out of the coop to free range and they seem to be happy, walking around and loving the change of scenery. We also read that our coop could have been to open, so we closed windowns and only left the small roosting door open.

 

[PurpleChicken]

Tylan injectable is preferred because it's more effective for crd and easier on the digestive tract. Terramycin won't do much for a crd.

Contact 4h in your state and see who does NPIP testing. It's easy enough to have your birds tested for the various CRDs.

 

[Pathfinders]

Just be careful with the injectable, don't use too much or get in it a vein. Tylan also comes in a powder, might be safer to use.

 

[roostercrazy]

My son just showed some of our birds at the local youth show. They took blood to check the birds. Would CRD showed up in a blood test? They were looking for a sickness .... starts with a P I think .... its really bad. I'm not up on all this stuff yet.

 

[PurpleChicken]

Quote:
They test for Pullorum and will only test for CRDs (MG & MS specifically) if asked.

Finding out exactly what you have is the first step.

 

[roostercrazy]

I just went out to check on everyone. We have a Barred Rock Rooster who went to the Youth Show. While he was there he started acting depressed and didn't eat much. We thought when he came home he'd be happy but I just went out and he is laying down, dying. I don't think he's eaten for a few days, his craw was empty yesterday. We have let our birds out of the coop and he didn't even eat then. Could this be from the CRD or something worse?

 

[PurpleChicken]

It's just too hard to say. CRDs reduce their ability to fight other diseases. I lost a few like that at the peak of my MG outbreak. There is just no way to tell without a blood test, exam or necropsy.

 

[roostercrazy]

We gave him some electrolytes and he pooped. I am going to try to get him to eat. Any ideas on what would make him want to eat?