My hen got a respiratory illness from neighbors chickens and I need advice

[QuestionablyChicken]

Hello! I'm in desperate need of advice what to do in my situation.

My immediate issue is that one of my hens has developed some sort of respiratory illness and I have never dealt with that before. I'd greatly appreciate advice on how to treat her. So far I've quarantined her from the rest and given her food and water with poultry cell to hopefully help her recover. I'm currently considering buying Tylosin to hopefully treat her. If necessary to protect the rest of my flock, I'm willing to cull her, but I would really really like to avoid that.

My long tern issue is with my neighbor. I've had chickens for over 5 years now without many health issues, let alone infectious ones. I've always been extra warry of other birds introducing illnesses and monitor my chicken's health closely. Recently I had a new neighbor move in and they decide to build a chicken coup right next to our existing one with only a wire fence in between. The issues started when my neighbor purchased adult chickens from someone's farm where they were kept in bad conditions and they brought respiratory illnesses with them. Since then nearly half his flock has gotten sick over the past month or two, but he claims none of them have passed from the illness yet. Today I found one of my hens with the same symptoms as his had, raspy breaths and gasping for air. Is there anything that I can do going forward to protect my chickens? I have a small plot of land so it's not really feasible to move my coup away from his new one.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

Good fences make good neighbors. Build a better fence between his coop and yours. Do you have a picture of the area?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

one of my hens has developed some sort of respiratory illness

The issues started when my neighbor purchased adult chickens from someone's farm where they were kept in bad conditions and they brought respiratory illnesses with them. Since then nearly half his flock has gotten sick over the past month or two, but he claims none of them have passed from the illness yet. Today I found one of my hens with the same symptoms as his had, raspy breaths and gasping for air.

Welcome To BYC

Do you have photos of the sick hen and your setup? A video of her actions may help too. Upload video to youtube and provide a link.

How long have the new birds been next to yours? A month or two?

Have his birds recovered, became asymptomatic without treatment or are they all still sick?

Does your hen have any facial swelling, bubbles in the eyes, mucous?

I'd check her out to make sure she's doesn't have something else going on. Check her crop to make sure it's emptying overnight, look inside the beak for any canker or lesions. See that her nostrils are clear of any mucous or debris. Get a fecal float through your vet to rule out worms.

You can try Tylosin to see if her symptoms improve.
Tiamulin (Denagard/Tiagard) can be used to treat symptoms of Mycoplasma only in poultry.



See if you can get her hydrated and eating.

 

[QuestionablyChicken]

Welcome To BYC

Do you have photos of the sick hen and your setup? A video of her actions may help too. Upload video to youtube and provide a link.

How long have the new birds been next to yours? A month or two?

Have his birds recovered, became asymptomatic without treatment or are they all still sick?

Does your hen have any facial swelling, bubbles in the eyes, mucous?

I'd check her out to make sure she's doesn't have something else going on. Check her crop to make sure it's emptying overnight, look inside the beak for any canker or lesions. See that her nostrils are clear of any mucous or debris. Get a fecal float through your vet to rule out worms.

You can try Tylosin to see if her symptoms improve.
Tiamulin (Denagard/Tiagard) can be used to treat symptoms of Mycoplasma only in poultry.



See if you can get her hydrated and eating.

Our chickens are typically about 2ft apart, but sometimes he lets them free range and they come right up to my fence and interact with our chickens through the fence. He raised a batch of chicks, which are about 3-4 months old, and I think the new adult hens have been here for ~1.5 months. Some of his chickens are still exhibiting symptoms of a respiratory infection, I think somewhere between 1/4 to 1/2 his birds exhibit signs of the illness at a time. They seem to get better and worse on their own, and I don't believe he gave them any medication. The adult chickens he bought basically arrived sick and started to infect the rest of his flock.

As for my sick hen, she still has a good appetite and is eating/drinking pretty well. She is also exhibiting the same exact symptoms as his chickens are. I don't think she has gotten worse since yesterday and she even layed an egg this morning. Unfortunately I had to order the medication online, so it will take a few days to arrive.

Here is a video of her

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Our chickens are typically about 2ft apart, but sometimes he lets them free range and they come right up to my fence and interact with our chickens through the fence. He raised a batch of chicks, which are about 3-4 months old, and I think the new adult hens have been here for ~1.5 months. Some of his chickens are still exhibiting symptoms of a respiratory infection, I think somewhere between 1/4 to 1/2 his birds exhibit signs of the illness at a time. They seem to get better and worse on their own, and I don't believe he gave them any medication. The adult chickens he bought basically arrived sick and started to infect the rest of his flock.

As for my sick hen, she still has a good appetite and is eating/drinking pretty well. She is also exhibiting the same exact symptoms as his chickens are. I don't think she has gotten worse since yesterday and she even layed an egg this morning. Unfortunately I had to order the medication online, so it will take a few days to arrive.

Here is a video of her

Online is the only way you can get the meds without a vet.

I agree, I'd try the Tylosin and see if that helps. If it does and you see more of your flock showing symptoms in time, then it may be a good idea to see if treating with Tiamulin (Denagard/Tiagard) for 3 days each month will help keep bird asymptomatic.

It may be that if the neighbor's birds recover on their own after several weeks you're dealing with a Virus like Infectious Bronchitis instead. Antibiotics will not help with a virus but can help with secondary bacterial infections. Infectious Bronchitis generally runs its course in about 6-8weeks, but birds with IB can be carriers for up to 10 months whereas with Mycoplasma, the birds remain carriers for life.

I would still check her out for the other things I mentioned. See if you can keep her hydrated.

While VetRx is not a cure, you can find it at TSC and it may help temporarily relieve some of her symptoms to make her more comfortable while you wait to get meds. The box should have an insert of how to use it, if not, look it up online, it can be used in various ways.

Keep us posted.

 

[QuestionablyChicken]

Online is the only way you can get the meds without a vet.

I agree, I'd try the Tylosin and see if that helps. If it does and you see more of your flock showing symptoms in time, then it may be a good idea to see if treating with Tiamulin (Denagard/Tiagard) for 3 days each month will help keep bird asymptomatic.

It may be that if the neighbor's birds recover on their own after several weeks you're dealing with a Virus like Infectious Bronchitis instead. Antibiotics will not help with a virus but can help with secondary bacterial infections. Infectious Bronchitis generally runs its course in about 6-8weeks, but birds with IB can be carriers for up to 10 months whereas with Mycoplasma, the birds remain carriers for life.

I would still check her out for the other things I mentioned. See if you can keep her hydrated.

While VetRx is not a cure, you can find it at TSC and it may help temporarily relieve some of her symptoms to make her more comfortable while you wait to get meds. The box should have an insert of how to use it, if not, look it up online, it can be used in various ways.

Keep us posted.

So an unfortunate update. We have at least 2 new hens who got sick as well and are also being quarantined. Our hen who first got sick is now no longer eating and is more lethargic. Also this morning we saw that one of his newly bought hens was dead in his chicken run...

I'm going to be calling up vets and seeing if anyone accepts chickens because the situation keeps getting worse.

 

[C Siena]

Online is the only way you can get the meds without a vet.

I agree, I'd try the Tylosin and see if that helps. If it does and you see more of your flock showing symptoms in time, then it may be a good idea to see if treating with Tiamulin (Denagard/Tiagard) for 3 days each month will help keep bird asymptomatic.

It may be that if the neighbor's birds recover on their own after several weeks you're dealing with a Virus like Infectious Bronchitis instead. Antibiotics will not help with a virus but can help with secondary bacterial infections. Infectious Bronchitis generally runs its course in about 6-8weeks, but birds with IB can be carriers for up to 10 months whereas with Mycoplasma, the birds remain carriers for life.

I would still check her out for the other things I mentioned. See if you can keep her hydrated.

While VetRx is not a cure, you can find it at TSC and it may help temporarily relieve some of her symptoms to make her more comfortable while you wait to get meds. The box should have an insert of how to use it, if not, look it up online, it can be used in various ways.

Keep us posted.

Would a solid fence have helped? I was thinking that if an infection can be airborne, it would probably still infect. At least it would stop direct contact.

I'm thinking if they have a little relationship with the neighbor, the could direct them here and talk to them about safety/health measures, like quarantine for new additions.

 

[C Siena]

So an unfortunate update. We have at least 2 new hens who got sick as well and are also being quarantined. Our hen who first got sick is now no longer eating and is more lethargic. Also this morning we saw that one of his newly bought hens was dead in his chicken run...

I'm going to be calling up vets and seeing if anyone accepts chickens because the situation keeps getting worse.

It's sad to read this. You care for your flock and another is not thinking, maybe because they do not know. Do you and the neighbor speak? Might you talk to them about how both of you can take safety/health precautions for your flocks. I write both of you so you are not saying "You" need to do such and such but say "We" as it is less threatening.

Tell them about this site, what you have learned and maybe it can help them be more responsible livestock owners.

 

[QuestionablyChicken]

It's sad to read this. You care for your flock and another is not thinking, maybe because they do not know. Do you and the neighbor speak? Might you talk to them about how both of you can take safety/health precautions for your flocks. I write both of you so you are not saying "You" need to do such and such but say "We" as it is less threatening.

Tell them about this site, what you have learned and maybe it can help them be more responsible livestock owners.

I've been keeping in touch with them throughout this ordeal, but unfortunately they don't seem to care. We called him to inform him about his dead hen and his response was along the lines of "It's alright and it happens sometimes." He also seems to believe that only one of his hens was sick, despite us informing him otherwise that his other hens are also infected. Basically one of his hens had it bad enough that she was gasping for air and purple in the face, and so he believes that she was the only one infected, ignoring the other hens who also have rattly/raspy breathing.

I'll try to convince him otherwise, but I think that the most realistic option is for me to create as much space between our chickens and try to create a more solid fence.

 

[C Siena]

I've been keeping in touch with them throughout this ordeal, but unfortunately they don't seem to care. We called him to inform him about his dead hen and his response was along the lines of "It's alright and it happens sometimes." He also seems to believe that only one of his hens was sick, despite us informing him otherwise that his other hens are also infected. Basically one of his hens had it bad enough that she was gasping for air and purple in the face, and so he believes that she was the only one infected, ignoring the other hens who also have rattly/raspy breathing.

I'll try to convince him otherwise, but I think that the most realistic option is for me to create as much space between our chickens and try to create a more solid fence.

Unfortunately, he may be more amenable to listen, when more chickens die. I write this only because if he doesn't address illnesses within his flock, more may die. If he only sees them as livestock, food, well he'll be losing money and food source as they succumb to illness, without proper care.

Hopefully he will want to listen/learn before this happens.