It's been freezing and snowing where I live. All my 20-24wk old chickens have the bubbly eye, can't breathe, coughing crap. 2 have died. My 4 adults haven't gotten this (they had the same stuff back in the summer). Has the weather brought this on? The babies and adults have been together 2 months +. I have been medicating for 4 days now. Not much improvement. Will I need to disinfect my coop after this and is it safe to add more to my flock this spring. I live in town and don't have very many birds to start with.
You have a chronic respiratory disease in your flock such as infectious bronchitis, MG/CRD, or coryza. It would be best to get a sick bird tested by your state vet or local NPIP testing lab. These disease will make carriers of your flock, and spread it to any birds you bring in. Respiratory symptoms increase with cold weather. Here is some reading about these and other common diseases and their symptoms: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044 http://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/animal_dis_spec/poultry/participants.shtml
CRD is Mycoplasma Gallisepticum (MG.) I agree with Eggcessive. Whatever disease your birds had last summer, survivors are carriers. Carriers will pass the disease to other birds and yes, any type of stress including the weather can cause birds to show symptoms again. It might be best to cull all your birds, disinfect everything and wait several months before repopulating. You can send one of the birds off for necropsy to a state lab or college vet school to determine exactly what disease(s) your birds have. Some respiratory diseases may have longer course times and may require longer wait times in order to repopulate (even beyond 3 months.)
