Parkesy
In the Brooder
Hi all,
First time post after lurking on the forums for a while! I’m sorry in advance for what’s going to be a long winded post!
I was after some suggestions and help on a possible CRD infection in my new flock of chickens. I hope it’s not but the symptoms seem likely. I raised most of these chickens since about 4 weeks old and they are now approximately 18 weeks old. They are a mixture of Rhodebars (inc 1 cockerel), Australorps, a black copper Maran, Plymouth rocks, and a RIR/Australorp cockerel. I added these to a trio of older Hyline browns which are well past their prime but otherwise have been perfectly healthy. I did however lose one to water belly but she was 3 so I guessed that was pretty standard. Some light Sussex’s turned out to be roosters so the breeder made good on his word and replaced them with a random white hen, and a couple of utility australorps. About a week after the swap I also added 2 Wyandotte’s in to the flock from a different breeder to the others. One is 22 weeks and the other about 10 months. I know it was a lot of additions and swapping in a short period of time but I wanted them settled in together while still relatively young so when spring comes around in a few months (Southern Hemisphere) they should well and truly be ready to start laying!
Soon after the addition of the utility Australorps and around the same time I added the Wyandotte’s I noticed one UA would stretch its neck and open it’s mouth. I honestly thought about culling it then and there but thought maybe it’s gapeworm and treatable. Within a few days, a few of the birds would occasionally make a quiet but rattly cough and shake their heads. I still thought maybe gapeworm so dewormed them with piperzine solution which I knew didn’t kill gapeworm but it was a reminder that they were probably due for a worm anyway.
They still occasionally quietly coughed and shook their heads but otherwise seemed perfectly healthy and feeding and ranging around their yard fine.
Then a few days back I noticed our Rhodebar cockerel hadn’t come out of the coop so I went in and he was on the perch with his head tucked in to his chest, eyes were quite watery and he had them both closed and his feathers were wet from mucous that was leaking through the night. I took him out and popped him on the ground but he wanted to huddle down and he looked awful.
I removed him from the flock and set him up in an isolation crate and a heat lamp. One eye looked stuck together so I wiped it out with salty water and he had a lot of mucous around his nose and pussy discharge from his eyes. He would sit with both eyes closed, and just stretch his neck slightly and open his mouth to breath and his mouth also was quite sticky with discharge. I believed it to be a type of infection and all I had on me was some cephalexin tablets for my dog from a couple of years back. He looked on deaths door and with nothing to lose I added a tablet with some water in a nutribullet and syringed some down his throat.
I woke the next morning expecting him dead but he had made a really good recovery. He’s since back to feeding and drinking fine, and I’ve added some more antibiotics in his water, and let him out in a separate area to excercise each day.
I also have 2 young Rhodebar chicks about 6 weeks old in a separate cage I was planning on introducing to the flock shortly but now I know I’ll have to wait and assess the situation.
I’m now not sure what my next steps will be? The rest of the flock seem fine, just a few birds are doing the odd head shake and cough but besides that they seem happy. The RIR/Australorp cockerel is probably the one with most noticeable symptoms besides the Rhodebar who now seems fine except for the slight rattly cough that some of the others have.
Is it worth treating for gapeworm to be sure? And if so will that effect the birds health after a worming 2 weeks back?
If it’s MG the flock has I know most will say cull them all, but I have reservations. Firstly there’s no way of knowing for sure without a test and that’s not available down here from the calls I’ve made. And secondly any replacement birds could carry it too. I’ve heard and read that most backyard flocks are carriers anyway but they just don’t usually show symptoms except under stress or when it’s really cold (and it’s winter here, night time temps are around 2-3’ Celsius)? Plus where I live I’ll have no hope of replacing the rarer breeds like Rhodebars, Wyandotte’s and P rocks. They just don’t come by very easily in Melbourne.
So I’d love to hear from anyone who’s had similar sick birds and what they’ve done, or what they think mine could have? And also if you decided to leave the flock alone, how was egg production affected after the birds recovered, and how were any hatchings? Did you notice a drop in egg hatchings compared to before the birds got sick?
I’m planning on hatching chicks come springtime for friends and also to raise in a small tractor run for meat birds. If they have MG I know giving birds away isn’t ethical, but then If most birds are carriers anyway is it such a big deal? And if I decide to let things run their course, when would it be best to reintroduce the Rhodebar cockerel to the flock again? I feel bad he’s on his own.
Thanks for reading this far if you’re still here!
Thanks,
Nick
First time post after lurking on the forums for a while! I’m sorry in advance for what’s going to be a long winded post!
I was after some suggestions and help on a possible CRD infection in my new flock of chickens. I hope it’s not but the symptoms seem likely. I raised most of these chickens since about 4 weeks old and they are now approximately 18 weeks old. They are a mixture of Rhodebars (inc 1 cockerel), Australorps, a black copper Maran, Plymouth rocks, and a RIR/Australorp cockerel. I added these to a trio of older Hyline browns which are well past their prime but otherwise have been perfectly healthy. I did however lose one to water belly but she was 3 so I guessed that was pretty standard. Some light Sussex’s turned out to be roosters so the breeder made good on his word and replaced them with a random white hen, and a couple of utility australorps. About a week after the swap I also added 2 Wyandotte’s in to the flock from a different breeder to the others. One is 22 weeks and the other about 10 months. I know it was a lot of additions and swapping in a short period of time but I wanted them settled in together while still relatively young so when spring comes around in a few months (Southern Hemisphere) they should well and truly be ready to start laying!
Soon after the addition of the utility Australorps and around the same time I added the Wyandotte’s I noticed one UA would stretch its neck and open it’s mouth. I honestly thought about culling it then and there but thought maybe it’s gapeworm and treatable. Within a few days, a few of the birds would occasionally make a quiet but rattly cough and shake their heads. I still thought maybe gapeworm so dewormed them with piperzine solution which I knew didn’t kill gapeworm but it was a reminder that they were probably due for a worm anyway.
They still occasionally quietly coughed and shook their heads but otherwise seemed perfectly healthy and feeding and ranging around their yard fine.
Then a few days back I noticed our Rhodebar cockerel hadn’t come out of the coop so I went in and he was on the perch with his head tucked in to his chest, eyes were quite watery and he had them both closed and his feathers were wet from mucous that was leaking through the night. I took him out and popped him on the ground but he wanted to huddle down and he looked awful.
I removed him from the flock and set him up in an isolation crate and a heat lamp. One eye looked stuck together so I wiped it out with salty water and he had a lot of mucous around his nose and pussy discharge from his eyes. He would sit with both eyes closed, and just stretch his neck slightly and open his mouth to breath and his mouth also was quite sticky with discharge. I believed it to be a type of infection and all I had on me was some cephalexin tablets for my dog from a couple of years back. He looked on deaths door and with nothing to lose I added a tablet with some water in a nutribullet and syringed some down his throat.
I woke the next morning expecting him dead but he had made a really good recovery. He’s since back to feeding and drinking fine, and I’ve added some more antibiotics in his water, and let him out in a separate area to excercise each day.
I also have 2 young Rhodebar chicks about 6 weeks old in a separate cage I was planning on introducing to the flock shortly but now I know I’ll have to wait and assess the situation.
I’m now not sure what my next steps will be? The rest of the flock seem fine, just a few birds are doing the odd head shake and cough but besides that they seem happy. The RIR/Australorp cockerel is probably the one with most noticeable symptoms besides the Rhodebar who now seems fine except for the slight rattly cough that some of the others have.
Is it worth treating for gapeworm to be sure? And if so will that effect the birds health after a worming 2 weeks back?
If it’s MG the flock has I know most will say cull them all, but I have reservations. Firstly there’s no way of knowing for sure without a test and that’s not available down here from the calls I’ve made. And secondly any replacement birds could carry it too. I’ve heard and read that most backyard flocks are carriers anyway but they just don’t usually show symptoms except under stress or when it’s really cold (and it’s winter here, night time temps are around 2-3’ Celsius)? Plus where I live I’ll have no hope of replacing the rarer breeds like Rhodebars, Wyandotte’s and P rocks. They just don’t come by very easily in Melbourne.
So I’d love to hear from anyone who’s had similar sick birds and what they’ve done, or what they think mine could have? And also if you decided to leave the flock alone, how was egg production affected after the birds recovered, and how were any hatchings? Did you notice a drop in egg hatchings compared to before the birds got sick?
I’m planning on hatching chicks come springtime for friends and also to raise in a small tractor run for meat birds. If they have MG I know giving birds away isn’t ethical, but then If most birds are carriers anyway is it such a big deal? And if I decide to let things run their course, when would it be best to reintroduce the Rhodebar cockerel to the flock again? I feel bad he’s on his own.
Thanks for reading this far if you’re still here!
Thanks,
Nick
