Lice and upper respiratory infevtion going theough my flock. Looking for advice, please help.

[Webbykins]

I have two issues going through my flock right now: lice and an upper respiratory infection.

From what I can tell, only two had actual lice. One bad (eggs and all), one not bad (just a few lice present). They've been separated and now the entire flock has been treated with elector PSP yesterday (as well as coop and nesting boxes). So fingers crossed that's a done deal.

Now on to the respiratory infection. The one separated with the heavier lice infestation was the first to present signs of the respiratory infection. Wheezing, sneezing, nasal discharge. The one with the light lice infestation started sneezing so I separated her. Now another one is sneezing and wheezing, and a 4th one has a swollen eyelid. I treated the main one with antibiotics as well as the second one who is also separated. Main one is sounding better so she's on her egg withdrawal time, but, has not laid in a week. Is there a concern for her to become egg bound? If so, when is it safe to Epsom salt soak since she was just treated with elector psp? Also, in regards to isolation - im running out of room for isolation. When could the two currently isolated be reintroduced back out? Just trying to figure out how to separate others and try to prevent the spread going on.

 

[azygous]

What antibiotic are you using for the respiratory infection?

Using Elector, if you sprayed the birds or dipped them, you're done. It's an effective once and done treatment.

You do not automatically need to soak a hen in Epsom salts if you suspect a stuck egg. It's as old a wive's tale as the castor oil remedy for every kid that sneezes. The only time a soak is useful in egg binding is when the egg is stuck in the cloaca as it will hydrate the tissue. Otherwise soaks only add needless stress to the situation.

Your hen may not be ovulating due to stresses. Signs of egg binding are lethargy, squatting, a watery smelly discharge from the vent, long periods in the nest box without an egg appearing - definite symptoms that remove all doubt. It sounds like you hen is simply not laying and will resume soon. But if egg binding symptoms appear, give a calcium citrate tablet immediately to encourage contractions.

 

[Webbykins]

What antibiotic are you using for the respiratory infection?

Using Elector, if you sprayed the birds or dipped them, you're done. It's an effective once and done treatment.

You do not automatically need to soak a hen in Epsom salts if you suspect a stuck egg. It's as old a wive's tale as the castor oil remedy for every kid that sneezes. The only time a soak is useful in egg binding is when the egg is stuck in the cloaca as it will hydrate the tissue. Otherwise soaks only add needless stress to the situation.

Your hen may not be ovulating due to stresses. Signs of egg binding are lethargy, squatting, a watery smelly discharge from the vent, long periods in the nest box without an egg appearing - definite symptoms that remove all doubt. It sounds like you hen is simply not laying and will resume soon. But if egg binding symptoms appear, give a calcium citrate tablet immediately to encourage contractions.

Per a local poultry biologist/veterinary supply guy - amoxicillin. She doesn't present with egg binding symptoms so I guess I'm good there. She's starting to sound better. Still some sneezing. Very little wheezing. No open mouth breathing. The respiratory infection is definitely starting to run it's course through the flock. More are sneezing. I just have no where to put them all at this point to separate - so I guess I just have to let it happen unfortunately. With her seeming better, as long as there's no live lice left I guess I can just start reintegrating her into the flock. She's definitely not happy in quarantine and wants out.

 

[azygous]

Put her back with the flock. She will be happier and that means she will recover faster.

Amoxicillin is a good broad spectrum med but there's a much better one for CRDs - Tylan or Tylosin. Tylan seems to be tailor made for Mycoplasma g. You are treating the accompanying bacteria infection, not the respiratory virus itself. It has to run its course, and you can expect it to flare up again from time to time when the chickens experience stress.

 

[Webbykins]

Put her back with the flock. She will be happier and that means she will recover faster.

Amoxicillin is a good broad spectrum med but there's a much better one for CRDs - Tylan or Tylosin. Tylan seems to be tailor made for Mycoplasma g. You are treating the accompanying bacteria infection, not the respiratory virus itself. It has to run its course, and you can expect it to flare up again from time to time when the chickens experience stress.

Yes, I was reading I have to treat the flock as a closed flock now that this has come into the flock. I was originally looking at the tiagard for this issue since I could buy it straight from Amazon, but this guy told me how to use any left over kids amoxicillin to treat and since I had that on hand that's what I ended up using