Please please please help me this time! I don't know what is wrong

[a123andpoof]

Okay I have a flock of 21 chickens. only around 5 don't seem to effected. I know the cause but I don't know what exactly is wrong. Over the winter the waterer went bad it started leaking and there was nothing I could do. I know you need to keep the bedding as dry as possible, well until I had the money, or my parents felt like buying new waterers their was nothing I could do it was either no water or wet bedding. This was a daily thing. I would clean it up but within a few minutes it was wet again. This went on a few months. Anyways FINALLY got some new waterers. So wet bedding was the problem and it has been eliminated. Now the chickens some are sneezing and weezing a bit though for most it isn't to bad their is ONE who sounds terrible. She sounds like she is crying and sneezing every few minutes/ seconds. What can I do for her. I am thinking of just dosing the entire flock. She was fine yesterday well other than occasional cough or something but when I posted on here no one seemed to care and the one person who tried to help made it seem like it wasn't a big deal. One reason I stopped coming on here. But seriously I am desperate my girl sounds terrible and I don't know how to help. I am thinking its respitory can I treat it as such? I had a girl who had it earlier this year and she recovered but I think it came back again. I don't know what else to tell you other then sneezing, wheezing, some open mouth breathing though not to much other then from the one hen. They all drink, eat and act normal. Could it possibly be some version of a cold? It is winter here and many of them have bald butts due to the fact of an over aggressive rooster. He has been separated. Anyways please help!

 

[a123andpoof]

Come on! Don't do this! Just someone please help my chickens!

 

[marlene]

I am new to keeping chickens so can't really be of any help to you, sorry. I hope someone comes along soon and helps you out

 

[chicken mom]

Have you tried antibiotics, also what does there poop look like. You can tell alot by there poop. I would separate the good from the sick looking too

 

[farm-a-zootical]

Well, I'm new to raising chickens also, although I was was a round them much of my life. I'll answer, though, because I care, but not because I'm knowledgeable. I'm falling back onto my youth. I'm sure you know by the efforts you made that they should really have less wet places as possible to bed & for their feet, taught to me by my grandmother. Also, worms will make them weak & more easily have respiratory problems. If not that, something like Tylan will probably do you much good. You can dose it several different ways. Do a 'Tylan' search. It's available at TSC, I bought some there for my chicken first aid kit, or other farm suppliers. The search should give you a dosage chart. I'm even less experienced on the 'worm' problems. However, given the wetness & weather, common sense points something like Tylan. Do you have a nice red brood lamp bulb to put on them? Can you bring the sickies in to treat them?

 

[seminolewind]

So are you saying 16 are affected? Yes, do Tylan antibiotic. Also, the coop needs to be dry, and try to find dust free shavings, so they say. Ventilation is more important then being cold. Chickens need ventilation.

If you have any new chickens, them bringing an illness in is possible. Wet bedding can spew mold spores which is no good to breathe.

 

[BBUTTER]

Have you completely changed the bedding, or just put fresh bedding on top? If it were me, I would dig to the very bottom just to be sure there wasn't mold underneath. I would also check every bit of wood in there to be sure it wasn't moldy. Untreated wood that stays wet can mold. Check under anything like feed containers, etc. that sits on the ground.

I had a prob with my chicks and Seminole suggested I give them sugar mash--great advice. It gives their system extra energy to fight the illness. I would also be sure they get some electrolytes in their water. I saw someone suggest giving poly-vi-sol baby vitamin drops, as well. I think making a heat lamp available is a great idea as long as they can also get away from the heat if they get too hot. Be sure they get plenty of sunlight, too. Their immune systems are naturally fighting the illness. You just need to give those immune systems all the help you can give.

I am personally opposed to using antibiotics and would rather let nature take it's course on my own chickens. BUT to each his own, and you might want to try that if it is something you have no problem with.

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

Chickens don't get colds so you most likely are dealing with a respiratory infection. Tylan 50 injectable is the most recommended antibiotic. Alternately you can use the Tylan water soluble. This might be easier to use since you have so many chickens and most are affected.

If you wish to use Polyvisol baby vitamins, make sure it is the kind without iron. You can also get vitamins from the feed store specifically for chickens that you put in the water. But i would not put that in the water at the same time as the Tylan, if you go that route. Clean dry bedding and good nutrition is the best remedy. i would hesitate putting a heat lamp in the coop, as it has been the cause of many a coop fire. As you get them past this illness, make sure you routinely check them for mites and lice, and worm on a bi-annual to quarterly schedule.

i know it can be frustrating when you come here for help and no one responds. Trust me, that has happened many times to me. Sometimes others just don't have an answer. This is a voluntary forum and many people have jobs and families and farms to tend to, so can't be on all the time. What i try to do when i don't get an answer is to use the "Search" function and look through other posts for advice. Most questions have been answered before by experts here, so you can glean a lot of good information just by looking.

Please let us know how things are going. i am hoping your chickens make a full recovery.

 

[chickimoma]

Definitely sounds like they have a respiratory illness. I would hit the whole flock with an appropriate antibiotic of respiratory illness; you should be able to find some at the feed store. I don't like to use antibiotics either but what little I know about respiratory illness is that they can carry it even if they act OK, eating, drinking, etc., and pass it to new chickens that come into the flock It can affect egg production for the rest of their egg laying careers so don't mess around, treat them all for about 10 days. I agree with the advice to really clean out and treat the coop for mold, mildew etc. I know you said you took out the wet stuff and put in dry. Now go back in and completely clean the coop, roost, walls, everything. If you have a vet that will take a poop sample and test it, see what they can find out. If the flock has internal or external parasites, you should treat for that also because it adds to their problems trying to recuperate. Face it, if you have to do an egg withdrawal for the antibiotics, you might as well treat for parasites too, as long as it doesn't stress them out too much. I would also give them a nutrition drench and electrolytes in their water. They need all the boosting possible. Once you have completed the course of antibiotics, give them some natural yogurt to help replace the good stuff in their digestive systems. I sometimes mix yogurt, applesauce, wheat germ oil, fish oil, and stuff like that with oatflakes or left-over cooked whole grain or oatmeal cereal to give them a boost. And yes, you have to be careful when bringing a new chicken into the flock because they can have parasites and things you don't know about that will be spread to your flock. Only once have I brought in started pullets and sure enough, one had a little sneeze, soon most of mine were sneezing. The previous owner said it was "allergies", but I have not found any source that says chickens can have allergies, and allergies don't spread. I treated my flock as described and everyone got better. If they are still carrying a respiratory virus, there is nothing I can do about it but try to keep them in good condition. I don't know much about fungal or mold related problems. I did have a pullet who got sour croup from eating moldy food and it was really hard to find reliable treatment options, so I know it is frustrating. I would love to see more vets having more extensive avian training and allow me to bring in one of my pet chickens from time to time. Mostly they won't take "poultry" because it has been an on a large, industrial level with mandatory state regulations, inspections, etc. If they get sick, they get destroyed, the facility sterilized, and then the company starts over again. We don't operate like that and vets should look at our pet chickens the same way they would any pet bird.

Good luck and keep researching here and on other sites. Try State and University poultry sciences to get familiar with facts because there are a lot of ineffective "home" remedies out there. I have used some of those myself, especially if I know it won't hurt anything. Stuff like live-yogurt, electrolytes, and wheat germ oil are well documented to help, but they are not cures.

 

[a123andpoof]

No cleaned the bedding and put fresh down. Took all the wet stuff out. As I said before I tried to keep it dry, but it was impossible, but everything is dry now. it is actually pretty warm out being like 40 degrees. I can't really seperate them, and not sure I want to anyways I would like to just treat them all and get it over with. What is the sugar mash you used? I can put a heat lamp out for at night. I went to a local farm supply store they are know about chickens being they raise them there. And I guess it has been really common in my area. I haven't noticed any worms in their poo or on the their butts.
Would it be safe to give them worming medicine as a preventive such as you would give a cat or dog. but one made for chickens of course.