Is it Safe to Put Rooster Back Outside without Further Treatment? Also, Yes or No to antibiotics?

[User4477]

My 7 month old rooster was sick last week to the point where he began gasping for breath, had labored breathing, coughing, and foamy/watery eyes. I took him inside away from the others but he was with my other 6 chickens that entire morning. None of the others have exhibited any symptoms so far. He's been in my bathtub for a little over a week now and I had been treating him with VetRx down his throat and on his nostrils every 4 hours every day until I was able to take him to the Vet today. His symptoms had pretty much subsided except he still sounded congested when he would crow and make his usual little noises. Today, he still shakes his head and gapes his beak open sometimes and sounds congested at times (rarely now though).

The vet checked him today and saw nothing unusual, he checked his chest with a stethoscope and heard nothing unusual either. The vet stated if he hadn't heard about the symptoms I told him about he would think he's perfectly fine.

So, he took a swab sample from his throat to take to the lab for testing and prescribed Doxycycline 50mg at 1.5 ml twice a day for two weeks.
So, one of my questions is, should I give my boy the antibiotics even though his symptoms have pretty much subsided? I don't want to weaken his immune system for when he REALLY needs the antibiotics. Should I let him be and see if he gets worse before giving him the antibiotics? Should I also stop the VetRx completely to see how he does?

Also, I assembled a separate chicken coop for him next to the others and was thinking about putting him in there by himself to see how he does. However, I'm not sure if it is too risky to put him THAT close to the others in case he spreads whatever illness he has/had? I honestly suspect it's MG (not sure until the results come back in a week), but if he had been living with the others his entire life, wouldn't that mean the others have it too and it simply hasn't presented itself yet in the others? Does quarantining do any good at this point? Can he still be contagious without severe symptoms?

I've attached a picture of the proximity of the two coops and runs. He would be in the smaller orange one.

Any advice/knowledge is welcome..

 

[Eggcessive]

I would probably give him the doxy, since it does sound like possible MG. The others would have already been exposed at the same time he was or by now. Doxy is sometimes given for 4 days. You may need to keep him in a dog crate with food and water to medicate him. Vet RX does no harm, but I don‘t think that it treats MG with just the herbal oils it contains.

 

[User4477]

I would probably give him the doxy, since it does sound like possible MG. The others would have already been exposed at the same time he was or by now. Doxy is sometimes given for 4 days. You may need to keep him in a dog crate with food and water to medicate him. Vet RX does no harm, but I don‘t think that it treats MG with just the herbal oils it contains.

Thank you, I will give him the doxy. However, I'm a bit skeptical and want to be sure the dosage they prescribed is safe. My boy is 7 months old, and he weighs 3.15 kg and the vet prescribed Doxycycline 50 mg/ml and told me to give him 1.5 ml by mouth twice a day for 14 days. Would you happen to know if this is too high a dosage?