How to prevent respiratory illness in my flock??

[oliviaandjosh4]

I have noticed a few of my chickens sneezing, one sounds congested when it's breathing, and another one we had to cull because its eyes started swelling shut and it looked awful. I like to help the chickens as much as possible but if they get that sick, I'd rather go ahead and get rid of them then risk the others getting that sick as well. I prefer to take the natural method when preventing illness, I put apple cider vinegar in their waterers to try and help. But i'm wanting advice from other people about what they use to treat/prevent respiratory issues with their chickens? I need some ideas on what else I can do. Any information is greatly appreciated. Thank you!!

 

[torilovessmiles]

Do you have a picture of the one whose eyes were swelled shut? Was there a foul odor coming from it?

 

[oliviaandjosh4]

No, I didn't take a picture or notice a foul smell. My husband said discharge was coming from one of the eyes that looked foamy. It was also very lethargic.

 

[torilovessmiles]

I suggest isolating sick chickens and watching for symptoms. Certain infections, such as coryza and MG, make infected chickens carriers for the rest of their lives. Coryza causes swelling of the eyes and face and a foul odor around the head. If more birds get sick, you may want to get your flock tested, as both are highly contagious. I don't want to scare you, but many people cull their entire flock that is infected with these types of diseases. However, it could also be a simple upper respiratory infection.
I would isolate any sick birds just to be safe, and take to the vet if possible. You may end up having to treat the flock with antibiotics. They're fine to use as long as you don't abuse them, they've saved all of my birds before.

 

[oliviaandjosh4]

I ordered some VetRx today, so when it gets here I am going to give it to all of my chickens. Hopefully that will help. Thanks for the advice, if things get worse I will definitely look into antibiotics..