Please help with my sick chickens

[Emmamiko]

If possible try and get some to give to them.
I'll tag the experts.
@azygous @Wyorp Rock @Eggcessive

I’ll definitely go get some from in town tomorrow

 

[Emmamiko]

This is my most lethargic girl I just woke her up to take these pictures I was pleased to see that they seemed kinda maybe interested in the watermelon I brought out to them.

 

[Emmamiko]

Call and ask. Any "cycline" will probably work. You can also call a pigeon supply shop and ask for pigeon sulfa.

The way a secondary infection works is a bacterium, usually a common garden variety germ like E.coli or salmonella, present in feces, will attack a sick chicken when their immune system is being hammered by the first bacterium. So now you are treating two different bacteria. All bacteria are not created equal, so while one antibiotic works on one, it often won't work on the second one.

When humans get sick, our doctor may test our poop or swab our throat to see what bacterium is making us sick and then tailor the antibiotic to the bacterium. But we often can't afford to do that for our chickens. So we guess according to the odds.

If it turns out it's a virus that's making us or our chickens sick, we are really up a creek because viruses often are shape shifters and that's why we can't treat most of them. It's just too hard due to their constantly changing nature to nail them down to develop a medicine for them. (Covid is an example)

So I have to order tri sulfa, and it won’t be here until Monday. It just dawned on me though, I have doxycycline 100mg capsules here at home. Could I mix with water and give them this?

 

[Emmamiko]

Okay, new development this morning. Could they have coccidiosis?

 

[Emmamiko]

Okay, took my sickest chicken to the vet. They said it was a lingering respiratory infection. Wanted to prescribe sulfa antibiotic that was way to costly for me to get from them. So I ordered Tri Sulfa powder, they said to call and they would give me dosing. They can’t tell me now until tomorrow. If I have to wait I’ll wait. But I was hoping someone could possibly help me with dosing so I can start my girls on this today. It would be for an oral dosing. My chicken is right at 4lbs

 

[ValarieF]

Also try to get some nutrition in them try egg yolk with a teaspoon of electrolyte water in a syringe. Very carefully put a couple of drops on the side of the beak see if they will eat it and feed them that way. They need to eat and drink do the same with plain water.

 

[azygous]

It's easy. Mix according to the package directions into the water the chickens drink. For just a few chickens, you may want to conserve and avoid waste by adjusting the proportions downward. You may safely treat all the flock to make things simple.

 

[Tookie]

I did think it was respiratory because of the congestion. That’s why I started them in tylan. But now the 2 that are still sick have no congestion just very lethargic.

Do you have any Nutri-Drench?

 

[Emmamiko]

Is tetracycline something I could get at TS?

 

[Emmamiko]

Also try to get some nutrition in them try egg yolk with a teaspoon of electrolyte water in a syringe. Very carefully put a couple of drops on the side of the beak see if they will eat it and feed them that way. They need to eat and drink do the same with plain water.

I have actually been giving them predialyte and ensure per the vets instructions. As well as another supplement I had to order that I can’t recall the name of right now. It’s been helping a lot but they need the antibiotics to get better.