I have lots of chickens sneezing tonight, watery/foamy eyes.

[Bryntee]

I have lost 4 in all. One has now started sneezing like the last ones who died Saturday. It’s like a sneeze but a drawn out “yell” after. I am going to try my hardest to save him tho. Idk if I’m going to be able to. I am treating with denagard. So currently I have two separately quarantined. One is gurgle sounding and the other is “yell” sneezing. I think the problem was the moisture in the coop. I’ve since not run the heat lamp and cleaned the coop. Everyone else is doing much better it seems. The ones that were just sneezing and had runny eyes no longer are or have that.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

So you haven't found out what killed them? If you send a dead bird to the lab, you'll know in a day or two likely causes and after cultures come back, you'll know exactly what the culprit is or even if it a treatable illness.
Do you know have your windows wide open?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

last couple of days one of my chickens has been sneezing and not seeming right. I just thought she wasn’t getting enough water. Now tonight almost all of my chickens are sneezing and have watery or some foam in the corner of the eyes. I just had a chicken a couple of weeks ago that we had to cull because I came into the coop and she was gasping for air laying limp on the floor.

I found one hen dead in the coop this morning. Another is almost gasping for air but sounds like gurgling. Her eyes look fine. I have no vet local to me. I will order those meds also. I ordered Denagard I think it’s called but it won’t be here till Tuesday.

I have lost 4 in all. One has now started sneezing like the last ones who died Saturday. It’s like a sneeze but a drawn out “yell” after. I am going to try my hardest to save him tho. Idk if I’m going to be able to. I am treating with denagard. So currently I have two separately quarantined. One is gurgle sounding and the other is “yell” sneezing. I think the problem was the moisture in the coop. I’ve since not run the heat lamp and cleaned the coop. Everyone else is doing much better it seems. The ones that were just sneezing and had runny eyes no longer are or have that.

I'm sorry for your loss.

Are they improving with the Denagard?
I noticed in a previous post you looked for Tylan in the feed store, you would need to order it online (as Tylosin).

For the sickest ones, you could also try a Oxine in a vaporizer or mist it over them. https://www.shagbarkbantams.com/the-many-uses-of-oxine-ah-animal-health/

 

[Eggscaping]

The reason I rail against use of antibiotics without knowing for sure what we are treating is the ever increasing number of superbugs that aren't susceptible to last line defense antibiotics. Those are the most potent of the world's entire arsenal of 26 antibiotics. Common diseases are becoming untreatable.
Everyone complains when they can no longer obtain an antibiotic at a feed store due to new regulations. But the regulations are in place to keep us safe. Many of the antibiotic families used for animals are also those used in humans.
Every 15 minutes, someone in the US dies from a drug resistant superbug. Similar numbers are found in the EU.
Researchers predict that by 2050 there will be 10 million deaths annually worldwide from antibiotic resistant bacteria. That will surpass deaths from cancer.
The right answer is infection prevention. For chickens and other livestock, that means proper housing and management - huge ventilation is first and foremost in that prevention.
People always believe they have adequate ventilation - but they really don't.
If the ventilation was adequate, their birds wouldn't be sick.
I believe the only reason we have housing for chickens is predator protection. That doesn't require solid walls. On several occasions, I've had birds opt to live in trees rather than housing during the winter through rain, snow and freezing wind. They never got sick because their tiny respiratory systems were full of oxygen rather than ammonia and pathogen laden air.

I couldn't agree more with this!!! Seems like many folks' first response to any sign of illness is "Give them antibiotics". The threat of antibiotic-resistant bugs is real, and grave! It's happening everywhere. We have already decided that if our flock has illness, we will cull the sick birds. Yes, we may grieve for Daisy or Clucky or whichever chicken we have to kill, but to us it's simply not worth the risk of bacteria or viruses that have managed to survive contact with an antibiotic and now are producing others who have the same resistance.

 

[Bryntee]

It will cost over $100 for me to get a necropsy done. Plus the nearest place to have it done is a few hours away. I’ve already spent quite a bit on meds. The windows don’t have screens on them, so no they are not wide open at night. But I open them during the day and they free range all day. Last night was the first time I gave the denagard. It came yesterday. I worked till 5pm. So they got it last night when I shut them in. I was told a dosing of 4cc per 1 gallon of water made fresh everyday for 5 days.

 

[Eggcessive]

It would be good to have overhead ventilation inside your coop, even at night. I realize that Wisconsin is frigid in January, but the end to end ventilation high up in the coop will remove mositure and provide fresh air. Just keep any direct drafts off chickens, especially during freezing weather.

A necropsy can be expensive in some states, but they can do testing, and tell you exactly what you are dealing with. Denagard treats MG, but it will not treat viruses or other bacterial respiratory diseases. Some people handle these diseases by culling sick birds, instead of medicating them. Treating a sick bird may help them overcome symptoms, but they will remain carriers, and may get sick again in the future. MG can pass through hatching eggs as well. Once a carrier is in the flock, all birds should be considered carriers. Sorry that you have this problem—it can be overwhelming. Read all you can about the common respiratory diseases, and here is a good link:
https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

 

[Bryntee]

I did reach out to my local lab just now. It will cost around $170 for the necropsy. It’s too late to send in the birds that passed this weekend. However, if one of the two I have in quarantine pass before Thursday I will just go ahead and overnight ship it and have the necropsy done. The lady at the lab had concerns with a few different things I hadn’t heard of. she asked a bunch of questions and I started thinking back on when I got my last batch of birds. One of them was “sicker” but didn’t exhibit any signs other than just being off to me. Skinnier. Sometimes lethargic. But then I took her away from the big birds and she seemed to get better. After awhile I put her back in with everyone but sometime after she died. No clue why. Idk if they picked at her or if she got crushed by the rooster. And it’s been downhill since then. I lost another little one on Xmas day that was just so little. No signs of being sick. Nothing. Something just felt off. But she was in the coop with her clutch mates and separated from the rest of the big flock. I’m going to look back and see about getting a timeline on things and see if I can find anything out of the norm. Maybe the last birds I got from a lady were carrying something. Thanks for all your guys help!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Yeah 100 is a big bite at once. That's what it costs me. But since my birds are very rare, it is imperative I know what killed them. I usually spend two to three hundred a year.
So far most of the losses have been cancer, heart attacks and a couple with anemia. No detectable diseases that a medication could have treated. However, had there been a treatable disease, it would have been well worth the cost of the necropsy because I wouldn't have wasted time trying different treatments while continuing to lose birds.
The first 2 or 3 birds I hand carried to the lab that is about 7 hours round trip from my house and then I discovered they will send me a FedEx label that I forward to the local FedEx store. All I have to do is box the bird take it up the street. They don't charge for anything in advance and bill me after it is all done. I still haven't been billed for the last two.

Most of my buildings were built with huge windows covered in hardware cloth. I did have a screen on one window which I removed, securely adhered 1/2" hardware cloth to the frame and I keep the window wide open year round. That's the one with the big box fan on the inside sill blowing right at the roost.

This time of year, this site is full of posts about respiratory illnesses as people close up their coops over concern for cold.

 

[Bryntee]

I got the last batch of chickens the beginning of August from a lady in Iowa. The first “unknown” death was Nov. 22nd. The ones before that were a few baby chicks who just died (from the lady in Iowa) The next death was the chicken I found laying on the coop floor gasping for air (we culled) the Saturday before Xmas. She couldn’t hold her head up or stand up. She was unrelated to the last batch. We got her at Tractor Supply April 2019. After that it was the “baby” that was in a separate part I found dead on Xmas day. I got her From the lady in Iowa. Then sometime between then and now one chicken was sneezing. Few days later they’re all sneezing. Then this last Saturday I found one hen dead in the AM and another dead in the PM. Those two were from Farm and Fleet in May 2019 I think it was. And then one hen struggling to breathe and “yell” sneezing. And had bloody boogers flying out. We culled her. She was my last original hen and about 7 years old. The big rooster (from April 2019 Tractor supply) is quarantined because he sounds gurgly. And one of my babies is “yell” sneezing in the bathroom (that I got from lady in Iowa). The hens who were sneezing and had bubbly eyes look fine now. Some of the babies (ones from Iowa) have crusted shut eyes or bubbly eyes. No sneezing that I’ve noticed. Oh and one of the babies has a swollen bubbly/watery eye. It’s getting better tho. I am cleaning their eyes. Idk if it’s just one virus or a couple.

 

[Rammy]

Okay. I have quarantined the two birds that are breathing horribly! The rest aren’t sneezing or breathing funny. I did find another hen dead tonight. I have b-12 and vetrx. I put the b-12 in their water and gave by syringe to those who were showing signs or had shown signs of being ill. Same with the vetrx. I looked for Tylan at tractor supply but they didn’t have any. I will be going to theisens tomorrow and will look there.

Dont forget to disinfect your shoes, clothes, and hands before handling any if your other hens. Disinfect buckets and feeders, too.