Meat birds that are lethargic with dusky combs

[ammcgeathy]

Hello!
I am new to the world of raising chickens and have a health related question for all of you. This morning I walked out into the coop and found two of our six meat birds sitting in opposite corners of the coop, not moving, breathing very shallowly, and both have dusky red combs. I got the rest of the birds out of the coop (we have 10 layers, two ducks, two turkeys, and the six meat birds), opened the coop windows, and cleaned it out. I put the two affected birds into the outside coop area and one of our older layers took it upon herself to start pecking at one of the birds. To remedy that, I put the two into a tote with a mesh lid and gave them food and water. One is much worse than the other and I'm not sure what to do about it other than keep them separated and give them time. The bird that is in better shape did eat some of the food and drink some of the water I put in the tote with them, but the other hasn't touched it.

I've done some searching online and think it might be something respiratory in nature, but I'm not sure what to do about it. Any help of suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

 

[Akrnaf2]

Welcome to BYC
The reasons to Respiratory problems can differ widely, there are bacteria,viruses ,fungi and some chemicals that can cause this problem. The best that you can do is consulting a vet that work with chickens. But if you still want an advice I need more information, do they sneeze? Do they have foamy eyes? Do they have swollen eyes? Runny nose ? You have to give this information for a useful advice.

 

[ammcgeathy]

Thank you for responding and the nice welcome! They have been sneezing. I've seen most of the birds in the flock sneeze at one time or another, but these two do it quite a bit. They also both have swollen eyes, but they don't look like they are foamy. I did notice that one of the two birds had a runny nose this morning, but it is not something that I have noticed before today.

 

[Akrnaf2]

I am not a vet. but my educated guess according to what you have described is that your chickens suffers from Mycoplasmosis a disease caused by mycoplasma bacteria. You need to keep them warm and give them food with high protein percentage and vitamin E supplement
And you need to give them an antibiotic treatment the most recommended is Tylan (0.5 g/liter of drinking water for 2-4 days) or Gallimycin (0.5g/gallon of drinking water for 5 days) good luck!( It is best to treat all your birds.)

 

[ammcgeathy]

Thank you so much for your advice! We talked to a local vet and got them some antibiotics. Hopefully it will help (fingers crossed). Thank you again!