Need help quick....tylan dosage

[Jessicx]

I have a one week old OEG bantam with what looks like a respiratory illness. He's really sick. I found Tylan 50 injectible, but it's for cattle and swine only. Is this the right one? If so, what is the dosage for this little tiny guy?

 

[Eggcessive]

Yes, that is the correct medicine. What symptoms are you seeing? Dosage for a little chick would be 0.1-0.2ml given orally (not injected) twice a day for 5 days.

 

[Jessicx]

Yes, that is the correct medicine. What symptoms are you seeing? Dosage for a little chick would be 0.1-0.2ml given orally (not injected) twice a day for 5 days.

Symptoms include lethargy, swollen crop, and heavy breathing with clicking sound. This baby went down quick. He was fine this morning, then by 11 he wouldn't move from under the headlamp. I had another chick die last week of the same symptoms. How do I get this baby to take the medicine without choking it?

 

[Eggcessive]

That dosage is a very small amount--just give a drop at a time, letting it swallow. Were these shipped chicks, or did you hatch them? Shipping stress can occur up to a week or more. A swollen crop, if it is firm, could be from eating pine shavings or bedding. The clicking sound is not good. Does it have any swollen areas around it's head, chest, or neck that could be a leaking air sac from trauma?

 

[Jessicx]

This one was hatched by me in an incubator. His crop appears to be full of water, it's not firm but squishy. When my last chick died of the same thing, I did an autopsy to see what happened and to help me identify issues in the future. At the time, I though I misidentified the crop as a leaky airsac, but I was wrong. The crop was also full of water. This one does not appear to have any trauma. It's just REALLY struggling to breathe. Can the full crop be pressing against a lung and cause the breathing issue?

 

[Jessicx]

So, my little guy died. He went from normal (or what appeared normal) to dead in less than 6 hours. This autopsy showed a full crop and gizzard and normal lungs. However, his abdominal cavity was full of yellow liquid. All I can find online about this is labeled as Ascites. However, I can't see how he would get sick so quickly. I don't want to give unecessary antibiotics to the other chicks, so I need to know how to prevent future illness if in fact this was something other than Ascites. Any suggestions?

 

[Eggcessive]

I am not a vet, but it does sound like he might have had either ascites from liver or heart failure, or something wrong with his digestive tract for fluid to collect in there. Did he or the other chick have any signs of omphalitis or mushy chick disease, such as an open navel or swollen lower belly? That can be from an infection during incubation. So sorry for your loss.

 

[Jessicx]

I am not a vet, but it does sound like he might have had either ascites from liver or heart failure, or something wrong with his digestive tract for fluid to collect in there. Did he or the other chick have any signs of omphalitis or mushy chick disease, such as an open navel or swollen lower belly? That can be from an infection during incubation. So sorry for your loss.

Thank you so much for your help. Neither chick appeared to have an open navel or infection at the umbilicus, but this little guy did have a swollen belly. When I opened him up, the peritoneal sack was bulging with fluid. I probably pulled out a good teaspoon. I really can't imagine he had an infection, because he had food in his crop and appeared normal right before I fed him. He may have suffered some sort of trauma whilst all the chicks were chasing each other around at feeding time, or he was just a really good actor

 

[Jessicx]

After reading about mushy chick disease, it makes a little sense because of the abdominal swelling. He also had a blue color to the muscle surrounding the peritoneal sack. Another clue is that several of my eggs are VERY porous. What doesn't fit is that there were no outward signs of infection. He absorbed his yolk fully and was completely closed. He was also eating well right up until today. At this point, I think I'll hold off on giving antibiotics to everyone and just keep a closer eye on these babies (which is code for "total hypersensitivity to every weird noise or movement they make"). Thank you all for your amazing help!!!!