SaltyHen
Songster
Hi all,
In short: I have a respiratory issue circulating in my flock. Went to a vet. Did 10 days (3 days longer than vet recommendation) of oxytetracycline mixed in their water. It seemed to be working well. However, shortly after finished, I got a reinfection in the flock, though it's much milder this time. Vet said I prob had one or two chickens that didn't get it fully out of their system when I stopped dosing, and that it's safe to do another round of oxytetracycline, 14 days this time. I plan to start tomorrow.
I'd like help to try to narrow down which respiratory illness I might be dealing with (which requires a lengthy description
, bear with me). And I have some questions about oxytetracycline...
More detailed history, timeline, symptoms:
Oct 17: Got my flock. Variety of breeds, aged 6 weeks to 1 year — most born June-Aug. Less than ideal living conditions at their prev home — not horrible but not great. Some scaly leg mites to deal with, but other than that, everyone seemed bright eyed and active with healthy feathers and skin. I knew I'd prob have some health issues to deal with, but decided to see what I could do for them. I guess you can consider them kind of a rescue on my part.
Oct 18: Diarrhea with roundworms in several chickens. And with the stress of move, suddenly respiratory symptoms developed fast in several chickens; seperated them but it was too late, it spread. Heavily congested, wheezing, snotty noses, sneezing, gurgling (is this what is meant by "rattling"?), lethargic. Struggling to eat and drink bc of mucous when they leaned over. No swollen nor bubbly eyes though. Youngest chick had it worst — in addition to those respiratory symptoms, she was also gaping (no one else was gaping) which I associated with struggling to breathe; I brought her indoors. Scheduled vet appointment.
Oct 21: Vet appointment. Provided oxytetracycline for undetermined respiratory infection. Also, oral ivermectin for mites, worms.
Oct 22: Oral ivermectin, dosed whole flock. Began oxytetracycline in water (1tsp per 1L). They stayed in the coop (large converted shed) to make sure they drank the medicated water.
Oct 25: Things were going well, everyone was recovering. So I started letting them out to free range around 3pm after they finished the medicated water. I suppose it's possible that some weren't drinking very much of the medicated water, and instead drinking outside after 3pm, and therefore not dosed enough?
Oct 28: Going on the 7th day, this was supposed to be the last day, but then one chicken got sick, so I continued for 3 more days.
Oct 31: Last day. Everyone seemed well. I cease oxytetracycline. (The chick indoors is doing well, so I send her back outside.) But I guess it wasn't knocked out of the system of that final chicken?
Nov 1-present: Sniffles and sneezing returned — as well as gaping for the chick only — and gradually starts circulating the whole flock again. I want to emphasize that it's very mild this time, by comparison. No lethargy. Everyone has been active, eating and drinking, and otherwise seems fine except the frequent sneezing (and gaping in the chick only). At this point, I wasn't sure if it was safe to continue oxytetracycline and symptoms were so mild that I was hoping they'd shake it off.
Nov 8: Second dose of ivermectin. Everything is great in that respect. Poops all seem mostly firm and healthy, as far as I can tell.
Nov 8-11: My cockerel suddenly stopped crowing and was somewhat lethargic, but no other symptoms. After 4 or 5 days, he's totally fine and resumes crowing again and has been fine ever since. Wtf? Do some respiratory issues display differently in roosters, or was this something else entirely?
Nov 12: The respiratory issues persist, though they remain mild. Just when one recovers and I think things are ok, the next day it's someone else. I'm getting frustrated. I phone the vet and we spend a few days playing phone tag.
Nov 19 (today): I finally got the vet on the phone. He wasn't surprised I had a reinfection, said it's common and that I prob simply didn't get it out of everyone's system before I stopped the oxytetracycline. He confirmed I can do another round of oxytetracycline, but 14 days this time.
What do you think about giving a more concentrated mix of oxytetracycline — I mean the same dosage, but more concentrated — manually via eyedropper, to make sure everyone gets it in their system?
I asked the vet about this. He can't seem to find any info. He said I can try 1tsp per 1/2L (twice as concentrated) and giving by eyedropper morning and evening, but they might fight too much as it'll taste bad.
Which respiratory illness do you think I'm dealing with?
The vet doesn't think it's mycoplasma since I haven't noticed any bubbly or swollen eyes. He doesn't think it's ILT since no one has been coughing up blood, and again, nothing with the eyes. [Although the chick's gaping would be consistent wth ILT? And surely it isn't gapeworm after the ivermectin?] He said many of the more serious issues def would've seen dead chickens by now. Perhaps it's infectious bronchitis? That's antibiotic resistant, right? But wouldn't it be more severe? The vet couldn't rule it out. I guess I'll know for sure if I get weird eggs in the spring?
I can't emphasize enough: symptoms are mild; they're all bright eyed, active and fine otherwise. If I hadn't read so much about respiratory illnesses in chickens during the first bad infection, I wouldn't have thought twice about it at this mild second round.
Thanks if you made it all the way through this. Lol
In short: I have a respiratory issue circulating in my flock. Went to a vet. Did 10 days (3 days longer than vet recommendation) of oxytetracycline mixed in their water. It seemed to be working well. However, shortly after finished, I got a reinfection in the flock, though it's much milder this time. Vet said I prob had one or two chickens that didn't get it fully out of their system when I stopped dosing, and that it's safe to do another round of oxytetracycline, 14 days this time. I plan to start tomorrow.
I'd like help to try to narrow down which respiratory illness I might be dealing with (which requires a lengthy description
, bear with me). And I have some questions about oxytetracycline...More detailed history, timeline, symptoms:
Oct 17: Got my flock. Variety of breeds, aged 6 weeks to 1 year — most born June-Aug. Less than ideal living conditions at their prev home — not horrible but not great. Some scaly leg mites to deal with, but other than that, everyone seemed bright eyed and active with healthy feathers and skin. I knew I'd prob have some health issues to deal with, but decided to see what I could do for them. I guess you can consider them kind of a rescue on my part.
Oct 18: Diarrhea with roundworms in several chickens. And with the stress of move, suddenly respiratory symptoms developed fast in several chickens; seperated them but it was too late, it spread. Heavily congested, wheezing, snotty noses, sneezing, gurgling (is this what is meant by "rattling"?), lethargic. Struggling to eat and drink bc of mucous when they leaned over. No swollen nor bubbly eyes though. Youngest chick had it worst — in addition to those respiratory symptoms, she was also gaping (no one else was gaping) which I associated with struggling to breathe; I brought her indoors. Scheduled vet appointment.
Oct 21: Vet appointment. Provided oxytetracycline for undetermined respiratory infection. Also, oral ivermectin for mites, worms.
Oct 22: Oral ivermectin, dosed whole flock. Began oxytetracycline in water (1tsp per 1L). They stayed in the coop (large converted shed) to make sure they drank the medicated water.
Oct 25: Things were going well, everyone was recovering. So I started letting them out to free range around 3pm after they finished the medicated water. I suppose it's possible that some weren't drinking very much of the medicated water, and instead drinking outside after 3pm, and therefore not dosed enough?
Oct 28: Going on the 7th day, this was supposed to be the last day, but then one chicken got sick, so I continued for 3 more days.
Oct 31: Last day. Everyone seemed well. I cease oxytetracycline. (The chick indoors is doing well, so I send her back outside.) But I guess it wasn't knocked out of the system of that final chicken?
Nov 1-present: Sniffles and sneezing returned — as well as gaping for the chick only — and gradually starts circulating the whole flock again. I want to emphasize that it's very mild this time, by comparison. No lethargy. Everyone has been active, eating and drinking, and otherwise seems fine except the frequent sneezing (and gaping in the chick only). At this point, I wasn't sure if it was safe to continue oxytetracycline and symptoms were so mild that I was hoping they'd shake it off.
Nov 8: Second dose of ivermectin. Everything is great in that respect. Poops all seem mostly firm and healthy, as far as I can tell.
Nov 8-11: My cockerel suddenly stopped crowing and was somewhat lethargic, but no other symptoms. After 4 or 5 days, he's totally fine and resumes crowing again and has been fine ever since. Wtf? Do some respiratory issues display differently in roosters, or was this something else entirely?
Nov 12: The respiratory issues persist, though they remain mild. Just when one recovers and I think things are ok, the next day it's someone else. I'm getting frustrated. I phone the vet and we spend a few days playing phone tag.
Nov 19 (today): I finally got the vet on the phone. He wasn't surprised I had a reinfection, said it's common and that I prob simply didn't get it out of everyone's system before I stopped the oxytetracycline. He confirmed I can do another round of oxytetracycline, but 14 days this time.
What do you think about giving a more concentrated mix of oxytetracycline — I mean the same dosage, but more concentrated — manually via eyedropper, to make sure everyone gets it in their system?
I asked the vet about this. He can't seem to find any info. He said I can try 1tsp per 1/2L (twice as concentrated) and giving by eyedropper morning and evening, but they might fight too much as it'll taste bad.
Which respiratory illness do you think I'm dealing with?
The vet doesn't think it's mycoplasma since I haven't noticed any bubbly or swollen eyes. He doesn't think it's ILT since no one has been coughing up blood, and again, nothing with the eyes. [Although the chick's gaping would be consistent wth ILT? And surely it isn't gapeworm after the ivermectin?] He said many of the more serious issues def would've seen dead chickens by now. Perhaps it's infectious bronchitis? That's antibiotic resistant, right? But wouldn't it be more severe? The vet couldn't rule it out. I guess I'll know for sure if I get weird eggs in the spring?
I can't emphasize enough: symptoms are mild; they're all bright eyed, active and fine otherwise. If I hadn't read so much about respiratory illnesses in chickens during the first bad infection, I wouldn't have thought twice about it at this mild second round.
Thanks if you made it all the way through this. Lol
