My chicken has relapsed 10 days after being treated for a respiratory infection.

[andrea70]

I was treating 4 of my chickens when the weather turned cold for a respiratory infection. They were wheezing, nasal discharge. I gave them antibiotics x 7 days 2 times a day & had them separated in my garage to be cared for. They all got well & returned to the flock within a week. We had two real cold nights & now one of them has started with the nasal discharge & lethargy again today. I have brought her inside. ?do I re start her on the antibiotics again? I'm so worried about her. Any suggestions? Thank you

 

[Hen Pen Jem]

Hello andrea70,

Over two years ago, I had the same thing happen with three pullets. They got sick with an upper respiratory: nasal discharge, chest rattling etc. My Vet prescribed Enrofloxicin for them. They seemed to get better. But, then became sicker after 10 days!

My research led my to Denagard, a liquid which is put in the water. It is used for swine dysentery and respiratory illness. The poster described her success using the product with her chickens. So, I thought why not give it a try. They will die if I don't do something. Antibiotics don't always work. And if they fail on the first try, they'll fail the second time. On top of that, you will create antibiotic resistant bacteria, and further destroy the hens good intestinal bacteria.

I purchased the Denagard online at Amazon. It came in 3 days, I gave it to the chickens and by the 2nd day there was improvement. By day 3, the sickest pullet had drier sneeze, no nostril discharge, no chest rattle! It cleared the infection completely in 5 days. But I continued the recommended 10 day treatment.

A fresh batch must be made each day and the apple juice concentrate added because of the bad taste. After treatment as with antibiotic treatment, follow with probiotics.

If you would like my dosage instructions for Denagard, just let me know. I check my Alerts and Inbox daily here on BYC.

God Bless!

 

[ThatCrazyChickenGirl]

Do you know which upper respiratory infection they had?

If they had clear discharge from eyes and nose, some facial swelling but no pus from eyes, then it might be mycoplasma.

Mycoplasma, and many other infections, make the chickens carriers for life. Any time of stress can cause symptoms to reappear, and make them susceptible to secondary infections. Yours might have relapsed quickly because the antibiotics don't rid their system entirely of bacteria and they are undergoing some stress that's harming their immune system.

I just went through this with two chicks. One didnt get the antibiotic quickly enough and succumbed to a secondary fungal infection. The other is doing well, but with a persistent runny nose. We clear her nose for her, rub VetRX over the beak and nose, and she remains happy and growing.

You mentioned it was cold recently. Can you put a heating element in their coop at night? Seedling mats are a nice alternative to heating lamps and pads, and tend to have less fire risk and more waterproofing, though probably less heating capability than lamps. If you can get them warm, eating well (mash with yogurt can help with probiotics) and happy, they may be able to fight off infection.

Also, you can give them antibiotics again. The bacteria is not resistant to the medication, but the chicken respiratory system is complicated and it's hard to get the antibiotic to every pocket of infection. Antibiotics should be used to treat them while you build their immune system to a point where they can fend off the infection on their own.

 

[andrea70]

Thank u so much for all of your help. I will look up the denegard online. I will give her a dose of antibiotic now, because that is all I have. I have put Vic vabor on her beak & under her wings. She is curled up in a bin, warm in my house. I think I will keep her here until I see some improvement. The weather is supposed to warm up for the next couple weeks so I hope that helps the others. She hadn't got the chest rattle back again but definitely not feeling well & sinus drainage. Any other advice is welcoming. Yes please send me the dosage if you have it!

 

[Hen Pen Jem]

Dosage for Denagard 12.5% (Tamulin Hydrogen Fumarate), comes in a 1 Liter bottle. Which is good for 2 years.

1 tsp. per 1 gallon of water
Add 1/3 cup apple or apple raspberry juice concentrate for taste

Always dilute in water! This will be the only water available to till the 10 day treatment ends. That's it, make a fresh batch each day. Treatment is for 10 days.

Treats mycoplasma upper respiratory infection which is what my pullets were diagnosed with.

Also, kills Clostridium Perfinges, common cause of (Enteritis) in chickens.

Hope all goes well!

 

[andrea70]

Dosage for Denagard 12.5% (Tamulin Hydrogen Fumarate), comes in a 1 Liter bottle. Which is good for 2 years.

1 tsp. per 1 gallon of water
Add 1/3 cup apple or apple raspberry juice concentrate for taste

Always dilute in water! This will be the only water available to till the 10 day treatment ends. That's it, make a fresh batch each day. Treatment is for 10 days.

Treats mycoplasma upper respiratory infection which is what my pullets were diagnosed with.

Also, kills Clostridium Perfinges, common cause of (Enteritis) in chickens.

Hope all goes well!

Thank you so much!!!

 

[MINDANAO DAVE]

If you already successfully treated your flock it does not matter right now what type it is. Just start treating it just had you done before. It already worked once so start the same treatment.

 

[chickens really]

I have respiratory in my Flock...I have to run heat for my Birds all winter inorder to manage them...Cold weather is a stressor for Chickens...If you brought them inside and treated them they were comfortable..Put back outside in cooler temps brought on stress...

 

[andrea70]

Normally our cold doesn't come until Jan, and 28-32 degrees f is really as cold as it gets. We live in Texas. It's just that lately it's been in the 70's during the day & then freezing at night a couple nights. So very extreme for them. Do u think I still need a heater? It's insulated & draft free? This will be their 2nd winter.

 

[chickens really]

For mine I run heat when it gets below zero ...Its never too warm though...My water does Ice over but it manages the respiratory..