Many of my 10 week old chicks are coughing

[Keylime]

I have 18 chicks and many of them are coughing and wheezing but have no other symptoms. We just had our first cold snap and I think that effected them.

I successfully treated this in one of my hens with tetracycline hydrochloride (duramycin-10) from treating respiratory illness awhile ago, but I don't remember the dosage per gallon of water. I don't have a way to weigh out the grams, and when I do the math for a gallon the instructions say 8 grams for 1 gallon, so I need 8 grams per day.

How many teaspoons do I need per gallon of water in a drinker? Thanks!

 

[Eggcessive]

I didn’t think that you could even get Duramycin 10 for the last 5-6 years. The 800mg dosage that we used to recommend is 1 tablespoonful (3 tsp or about 15 grams) of powder ro eaxh gallon of water for 7 days.

Tetracyclines will treat symtoms of MG or mycoplasma. If the cough is caused by a virus, it may have to run it’s course over several weeks.

 

[Keylime]

I didn’t think that you could even get Duramycin 10 for the last 5-6 years. The 800mg dosage that we used to recommend is 1 tablespoonful (3 tsp or about 15 grams) of powder ro eaxh gallon of water for 7 days.

Tetracyclines will treat symtoms of MG or mycoplasma. If the cough is caused by a virus, it may have to run it’s course over several weeks.

Thanks! How do I know it’s viral vs bacterial?

 

[Eggcessive]

Sometimes the symptoms may point to one, but testing or a necropsy on one that dies is the only way to know for sure. Mycoplasma gallisepticum can cause bubbles or foam in one eye, swelling of an eyelid or the face, and sleepiness. Infectious bronchitis virus causes sneezing and slight congestion, and in layers, may cause wrinkled egg shells. I would probably go ahead and treat them to see if they improve in a few days. Infectious bronchitis lasts about a month. Have you added any new birds recently? MG makes chickens carriers for life, while chickens with IB virus will be carriers for 5 months. MG can be passed through hatching eggs.

 

[Keylime]

I have four adult hens that are several years old. They seem to be fine. The chicks I got as day old hatchlings. Everyone doing fine until now. The good news is that they don’t have any nose or eyes discharge and aren’t lethargic. They are all eating and drinking and running around. There is a great deal of coughing going on though, and my favorite one has a bit of a growling sound sometimes when she is breathing.

 

[Eggcessive]

How is your coop ventilation? Is there any mold or ammonia fumes in the coop? Have you had wild birds around your feeders or waterers? I once dealt with infectious bronchitis virus in my flock years ago, and the only way I could figure out they got it was from birds eating out of the feeders and waterers. They were sneezing, and it spread through most of the flock. Luckily, no one died, and they all recovered in several weeks without treatment.

I have four adult hens that are several years old. They seem to be fine. The chicks I got as day old hatchlings. Everyone doing fine until now. The good news is that they don’t have any nose or eyes discharge and aren’t lethargic. They are all eating and drinking and running around. There is a great deal of coughing going on though, and my favorite one has a bit of a growling sound sometimes when she is breathing.

 

[Keylime]

How is your coop ventilation? Is there any mold or ammonia fumes in the coop? Have you had wild birds around your feeders or waterers? I once dealt with infectious bronchitis virus in my flock years ago, and the only way I could figure out they got it was from birds eating out of the feeders and waterers. They were sneezing, and it spread through most of the flock. Luckily, no one died, and they all recovered in several weeks without treatment.

Run is about 600 square feet, completely covered with rabbit wire, but the drinkers are under a tree, so there is a potential that bird droppings could have gotten in. Coop is well vented, but they are in a separate "baby" coop meant to accommodate 10 chickens, but they are 18 chicks. They hens are in the big house coop. I went out there just now to check ammonium and humidity, both low. I wonder if I should go move them to the big roost right now, or would this stress them out additionally?

 

[Eggcessive]

Are you seeing any bubbles or foam in an eye, eyelid swelling, or nasal drainage?

 

[Keylime]

Are you seeing any bubbles or foam in an eye, eyelid swelling, or nasal drainage?

None whatsoever. The worst part is that one is making a whistling sound now, and many of them are still coughing.

They look completely normal. Poop and eating are normal. They are all fluffed up, but it is below freezing. We did go from 84 degrees to 22 (which is normal here this time of year), and it has been unusually dry, so there is a lot of dust swirling around their run.

What do you think it is?

I will continue antibiotics for 7 days and clean out both coops and move them to the big coop. Or should I keep them separate from the hens? They are allowed to mingle as is, but mostly they social distance. ha.

 

[Eggcessive]

When my chickens got infectious bronchitis virus years ago, it went through the whole flock eventually. Sneezing and mild congestion were the main symptoms. They never developed any other symptoms that can be seen in other respiratory diseases. After a month they seemed to recover and be normal. They were carriers for awhile, so when I added or hatched new chicks, they got it and passed it on. I stopped hatching or getting chicks for a year, and it got rid of the disease. Separating may delay others from getting it, but most chickens will eventually get it more than likely. I would finish the antibiotic, and see if it helps. If you should ever lose a chicken, the state vet can perform a necropsy, and test for common respiratory diseases. That is the best way to find out what they may carry.