Newbie needs advice asap! Does anyone know about readily available treaments for a respiratory infec

[aelswz]

I have a 16 week old pullet that started sneezing about a week ago. The sneeze has become much more frequent and her poop is a little bit runny. From my online research it seems she has a respiratory infection although fortunately she doesn't have any of the more severe symptoms. There's no change in her behavior, eating, drinking. I did recently change her from medicated chick feed (crumbles) to layer pellets. It's also been very, very hot here (100 degrees) but she has constant fresh water and a cool shed with loose dirt for dust baths. It seems she may need antibiotics and Tylan, Doxy T, Baytril and Metronidazole are what I've found info about. My only source for antibiotics is a local Southern States Coop and they don't carry any of those. A vet isn't really an option. Does anyone have advice for alternatives? Since I'm unsure of her diagnosis a non-antibiotic remedy would be the best case scenario. I'm heading to Southern States first thing tomorrow morning. Please help!

Thank you, thank you!
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[froggiesheins]

What does the store carry? You really need to get some antibiotics and TYLAN 50 would be a good start. Other than that, you can isolate her, give electrolytes in the water, high energy foods, eggs,meat,mealworms, etc...and if possible bring her inside so she can stay cool.......Hope that helps and I hope that someone else replies to ya as well...

 

[aelswz]

Thanks so much for the reply. I called Southern States to double check the options and they carry Terra-Vet 10 which is Tetracycline. It's for "Chronic Respiratory Disease" although obviously I'm not sure what she has. Do you think switching her food from medicated chick crumbles to layer pellets could have anything to do with her sneezing? I'm wondering if I should go back to the medicated feed simply because the flock (7 chickens) has been exposed to something.

Do you have suggestions for an electrolyte additive? Would Sav-A-Chick suffice?