Lost 6 hens

[Fire Rescue1401]

Ok so i picked up 5 hens from one place and 3 hens 1 rooster and a duck from another. well it started about 3 days ago. we came home and 2 reds were dead, yesterday one of the Americanas died and today i got home from work this morning and another red was dead... i picked up some dust for them in case it was ants or some other kind of bug and also picked up so VetRX for them cause i started hearing what sounds to me to be coughing also a few are shaking the heads and the reds their combs are looking a little pail... this is my first time having hens and i feel like crap not knowing what to do.. i would like to keep them alive.... i just gave all of them a few drops of the VetRX including the duck but i don't know what else to do or what else it could be.. i seen a few bubbles on one of the reds eyes which makes me think its a respritory infection or something like that.

Thanks,
Eric

 

[Fire Rescue1401]

I posted i lost 6 hens but i only lost 4 not sure why i put 6 in the topic...

 

[savingpurple]

Have no experience, as I am new as well, but it is nice to have someone respond to your post whether they have answers or not So sorry for your loss. Wish I could offer some advice.....I am just too new...

 

[CapricornFarm]

Could be chronic respiratory disease. Is that all the birds you have, or do you have others? You should always quarantine new birds. If you do a search on CRD, I am sure you will find which antibiotic is recommended. However, I think they remain carriers for life. Sorry they are sick:-(

 

[Fire Rescue1401]

So i have then on some meds that i hope will work. after this is over with if i have any left alive should i bring in others cause half my flock is gone now. I don't want to get more and have them get sick too. will i need to give them the antibiotics on some what of a regular basis like every few months or every year or just when they start showing signs of it.

 

[CapricornFarm]

Like I said, if that is what it is, they will infect any other birds you put in with them. Some people cull them all, disinfect, start over .

 

[Uniontown Poultry]

My vote is with CRD too, since your mortality rate was so high & quick. Keep the antibiotic that works on hand in case of flare-ups (not for preventative use) or if you get any new birds that are sick. Whether to cull, to never get new birds, etc. is a tough decision to make. I had a gurgly, listless Polish hen that I thought had CRD, took her to the vet who ran a culture, and turns out it was bacterial pneumonia, not CRD. Couple days of Baytril, and she was back 100%. Unfortunately, that episode set me back $150. Another time I had a rattling rooster's phlegm cultured, it also wasn't CRD or coryza (he had a swollen eye that was of all things, an e. coli infection!). As chicken owners, our diagnoses are often little more than an educated guess, and we can only treat for whatever we think it is.

 

[Fire Rescue1401]

Ok well my wife works for a small animal vet so i may see about getting her to pull blood and find out where to send it to get it checked cause i really don't want to infect others and i don't really want to cull them out either but with the few hens i have left thats not really enough so one of the two need to happen...

Thanks,
Eric

 

[Fire Rescue1401]

ok so as long as the hens aren't on antibiotics and i wait a while after they get off the meds for it to get out of the system can i still eat the eggs? reason i ask is i really don't want to cull them out but i need more hens and if i get more yall are saying that they will get it as well so if i can still eat the eggs then i will just get more and give them meds when i see signs and then just keep all of them.


thanks,
Eric

 

[sham30]

Quote:
I agree with Hot2Pot - should always quarantine. So sorry for your loss