I bought my first two RR in June of 2018 then decided to buy 4RR in July. I never had any problems with Illness, pecking, mites ect. About a month ago I bought 5EE and 8BR from a breeder. I did all my research prior too as far as what to look for in feathers, combs, poop the whole 9 before buying them. Upon first glance they looked perfectly fine other than some missing feathers from a rooster. The only thing I was concerned about was diet which I planned to fix when I took them home. I put all the new chickens in a area away from my original flock and actually separated the EE from the BR due to pecking and eating feathers,it’s been about a month now. Each flock has a separate coop with plenty of boxes to lay. First day I got them I used DE for mites and lice probiotics, ACV and treated for worms with safeguard just Incase, never know. I give them grit, oyster shell along with their feed. Like I said never had any problems with my RR. Last week one of the EE became egg bound and unfortunately didn’t make it. Thinking maybe it was poor diet or stress from the new move. About two or three days ago I noticed one of my BR is sneezy, puffed up, sleeping a lot and clear liquid is coming from her mouth. First I thought it was sour crop, so I put in sick bay, didn’t have any water or food over night and the crop was empty the next day, no foul smells nothing. She still wants to drink and eat, she’s a little excessive with the water though, So then I tried treating her with VetRx and the sneezing seems to be better BUT the clear fluid still comes out sometimes after she drinks and she’s still all fluffed up. Today I went outside to treat the flock with DE again and when I turned 2 of the BR up side down to get under the wings that clear fluid came out of them too. I sat outside for about an hour after and they seem to be fine but they are drinking a lot of water. I looked to see if there was anything they could have gotten into but there’s not. I have been changing out food dishes, waters and bedding everyday, I rake the run everyday hoping that it won’t spread, I never seen worms in the poop. Idk what else to do. I’ve tried everything other than a vet because unfortunately no one in my area deals with chickens. I’ve googled and googled but nothing seems to give me a straight answer. The EE and the RR are perfectly fine it’s only the BR. Ughhhhh.... I’m open to any ideas feel free to tell me if I’m doing something wrong or missing anything.
Is it warm where you are? Sounds like it could be respiratory -- is it a lot of sneezing or just one-off sneezes? The puffed up and sleeping a lot also could be parasites or coccidiosis. The fenbendazole was good but unfortunately DE isn't effective in birds already carrying parasites. How old are these birds? What were the conditions like where they came from? Is it all 8 barred rocks that are sick and none of the easter eggers? Are they crowded in the coop they're in now? It's good that they felt better with the VetRx. If it's bacterial and respiratory, they will likely need medication. If it's viral, it depends on what they have. Hopefully it's parasites as that's likely the "easiest" to address. Is there no one around who would do a fecal float for you? Some non-chicken vets might do it, or even the feed store maybe? Edited to add that there's lots of opinions on DE but it generally hasn't been proven effective at really anything, preventative or otherwise. A lot of people still use it just because, but you should probably still de-worm with medications a couple times a year anyway.
Idk what kinda environment they where in prior to me It’s a lot of sneezing actually. I looked into coccidiosis but the symptoms didn’t match. their poop is normal with no discoloring or smell. They are 9 months old now and only 3 of the BR are sick. None of the EE Are sick. I have them in two separate coops. The coops are actually quite big, 8 BR are in a 4x8x6 so it’s plenty big. I only use the DE to treat for mitesand The safeguard for worms. Where I live there isn’t a bet for 100 miles. Guess I’ll just have to call and see.
And also it’s quite cold here. It’s been high of 40 low of 15. Lots of wind guts up to 60mph. I dont heat the inside of the coops just plastic on the north side to keep drafts out. I do keep heat lamps outside though. No dust in the coops either. What’s really weird is the EE are fine and they said they where all together so idk
Hmm with a lot of sneezing, I'd think respiratory for sure. Maybe mycoplasma? I think mycoplasma gallisepticum presents with sneezy respiratory symtpoms. Is there a way to further quarantine the three sick BR? If it's MG, you can treat it with antibiotics (not sure which :/) but my understanding is that it can resolve on its own with supportive care. Hoping someone else chimes in with more useful info! Edited to add that DE still won't treat active mites -- you need chemicals for that. Even as a preventative it's questionable. Not trying to be rude! But if you ever have a mite infestation, get the hard stuff to knock 'em out!
I have poultry dust too maybe I should use it but I wouldn’t say they are infested with mites it was more of a precaution than anything. I have the three separated now and I’m gonna look into antibiotics thanks
The poultry dust with permethrin is good! No, I didn't mean to imply they were infested or anything. I just remember when I had mites I used DE and it did *nothing* so then I did some research and figured out it generally does nothing, so in the case of you ever having mites (hopefully never) just treat with chemicals. A lot of antibiotics are available at places like TSC or Rural King. Even if they're sold for goats or cows or fish, etc. they can generally be used in chickens. People on here are typically great with dosage but you'll need to be able to weigh your birds. Do a little more research and hopefully someone will chime in with more useful info to guide you to the right drug. Hopefully you've caught it early enough that, if it is MG, they can recover just with supportive care. If it is mycoplasma, though, I think they will be considered a lifetime carrier even once they've recovered and it's dormant. So if that's what it is, just be aware that in times of stress symptoms might crop up again and new birds should be introduced with caution as they may contract it even from asymptomatic birds (I'm pretty sure anyway).
Thank you for all your help! I’m going to call around and see if I can at least get fecal tested and go from there. Sucks that no vet one around here deals with chickens based on me calling prior to all this mess hopefully they can at least do that. I never thought about antibiotics for fish I’ll keep you posted
Can you post some photos or a video of the BR? (for video upload to youtube, then provide us a link) It does sound like the BR have a respiratory disease. Mycoplasma, Infectious Bronchitis, ILT and Infectious Coryza are fairly common in chickens. You can try treating her with an antibiotic to see if the symptoms improve. Tylan50 can be found at feed stores like Tractor Supply. Dosage is .25ml per pound of weight given orally 3 times a day for 5 days. Respiratory diseases make birds carriers and those exposed for life. Generally disease like Mycoplasma does respond to treatment, so I hope she gets better. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044