Not sure what else I can do - need help!

[acbunker]

For the past 3 months I've been fighting with something in my chickens. They were sneezing, coughing and wheezing.

I'm semi-new to the chicken thing, having them for not even 18 months, but until March of this year I had only 6 and now I have 3 pens and 25 total (plus 7 meat birds).

* First I gave them Duramycin-10 for 14 days. I thought they all got better, but one month later they started to show the same symptoms.
* I gave them Duramycin again, majority got better, but a few weeks later, same thing with 60% of them.
* It then came to me that they probably had cocci, so I gave them:
** Corid for 5 days,
** De-wormer for 1 day,
** Rooster Booster for 5 days
** I also powdered them with lice/mites dust powder on the day before I started the Corid treatment. I did that for 2 days.

Now I have the young birds (3 months old) looking "sleepy" and sneezing, even saw mucus in the mouth of one of them. I also have a couple of 5 months old sneezing with the heavy mucus sound. The young ones are not active, kinda droopy. And I have one adult that isn't too happy, but I'm treating her for a mild case of scaly legs.

My runs are muddy now but this will be fixed this week, since the rain finally stopped and they will get dry - and I can add 2" or 3" of sand in them.

Coops are cleaned once/week.

What else can I do?? What could it be??? I'm lost...

Thanks in advance!

 

[Eggcessive]

I haven't had chickens that long, but here is what I would do. Don't get any more chickens, and close your flock (none going out.) Try treating with Tylan50, or even better Denagard or Denagard plus Duramycin. Denagard (tiamulin)has a synergistic affect with Duramycin. The Denagard is hard to find except online from QC Supply, and a little pricey. Read up on it before you get it because it is bitter tasting, and you might have to add flavor to it or put the liquid into some food. Denagard can also be obtained under the name chevimulin. Check back here for dosage or look it up. Denagard can be used as a preventative at 1/2 the dose once a month.You obviously have either mycoplasma gallisepticum or coryza in your flock, so I would either treat the chickens you have until they die off, or cull them now and start over (after waiting a month or two.) The next chicken that dies--definitely get it necropsied by the state to see what exactly they have. Many times there are more than one disease present. Here is a link for state vets for necropsy: http://agr.wa.gov/FoodAnimal/AnimalHealth/statevets.aspx

 

[acbunker]

Thanks for your reply. I did some reading and OUCH! No wonder they don't get 100% better...

Wow, that's sad... I just bought the Denagard ($5 cheaper at Valley Vet Supplies online). But if I decided to cull my entire flock, instead of keeping a closed flock, can I keep some hatching eggs so I can get the breeds I want again? Or is it transmissible to eggs as well? If yes, how can I make sure I buy birds, or even hatching eggs, from birds that are 100% healthy?

My flock used to be completely healthy until I decided to get birds from other people in order to breed and sell hatching eggs... I bought some adults but majority I hatched and raised myself.

So sad...

 

[justapirate]

Found this site one day on google, it's helped me out a bit: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044
Helps identify common poultry diseases.

 

[acbunker]

Holly moly!!! It could be 500 different things!!!

Wow...... I might have to take a live bird in for a necrosis. And pray that it has what the other ones have! Wow...... I'm...... Speechless!!

Never thought the chicken thing could be so complicated... :-(

I spent a lot of money on my birds, got roosters and hens from different people so I they wouldn't be talked, was expecting I would be able to breed and show them, not cull the entire flock. Wow.......

 

[acbunker]

I spent a lot of money on my birds, got roosters and hens from different people so I they wouldn't be talked, was expecting I would be able to breed and show them, not cull the entire flock. Wow.......

I spent a lot of money on my birds, got roosters and hens from different people so they wouldn't be "related", was expecting I would be able to breed and "possibly" show them, not cull the entire flock...

(stupid auto-correct!!)

 

[acbunker]

Thanks for the advices. Denagard worked really well!

I first thought about getting rid of everybody and start all over again, but then a friend of mine was looking for a flock of layers... I gave her my chickens at the right time: life forced me to move to FL and I now live in a condo.

She's in love with the Ameraucanas, the Red Rhode islands, and the Wyandottes. The roos were all re-homed, but one that she kept.

Unfortunately, no more chickens for me, not until life changes again - but you never know right?