Need help. Roo rattles when he breathes.

[dandydoodle]

In deciding whether to keep your roo:

I've kept my 3 chickens who have CRD for over 2 years. They are generally in very good health & comfortable, but symptoms do flare up sometimes & then I have to treat with something.

One of the hens consistently does have a minor rattle which becomes significant when the disease flares up. I think her system just got too much damage before I got her & was able to treat her, so it will likely be chronic the rest of her life. But it doesn't affect her much & she seems to live happily. It took a while for her gurgling to be reduced & the same may be the case for your rooster.

You might decide the challenges are such that you put him down. You'll just have to weigh considerations.

So sorry for the stressful situation! I'm sure you'll reach some good conclusions. It sounds like you're doing a thoughtful examination of the situation.

I have have given him two different rounds of Tylan 50 on two separate occasions. He might sound a little better for a minute but, it just comes right back. Is there an antibiotic that is better for treating this. Is Denagard the best thing to use and where did you get it? Thanks so much for the help.

I don't want to have to put him down but, if I keep him I am sure hoping I can clear him up. I don't want him giving anything to anyone else.

 

[dandydoodle]

I think you are fine treating it as long as you don't give away any chickens or bring in new ones. Mycoplasma gallicepticum (MG or CRD for short) is really common in wild birds, and can be spread from one farm to another that way, as well as on your shoes you wear to the farm store or animal swap meet. The hens may have developed immunity to it (although they are probably carriers of it.) You may need to switch antibiotics whenever your roosters get stressed and have a relapse. Some of the many antibiotics to treat from weakest to strongest are Duramycin10 to Tylan, and in between are Terramycin, Erythromycin, Spectinomycin, and Lincomycin. For last ditch efforts there is Denagard (tiamulin) available online--bitter and bad tasting for use in the water, and expensive, but so far it has no resistance. You may have to use one then next time if it doesn't work skip to the next. Learning to give chickens injections should be something for you to learn. Good luck.

MG is one of the diseases that can be transferred into hatching eggs.

Thanks I will have to do some research on those things maybe I can figure out what he has.

 

[Eggcessive]

Here is a link for Denagard: http://www.qcsupply.com/denagard-liquid-concentrate-novartis.html?gclid=CJ_vkdHvnLoCFalAMgodfncAIg

 

[PoultryPedia]

Baytril & Denagard are the strongest. The best info I know about them is listed on the Medicine Chart page on my website. There are also other meds listed on the chart which may be used in treating CRD.