Raspy Breathing, Skinny

[mmwellsfarm]

It's been a long time I've dealt with this but I've had several recently die that at first I thought was a cold from the weather changing but more and more are getting raspy breathing, very skinny, sneezing, and now gasping. I feel like now they are drowning in their own lungs like maybe it's pneumonia or possibly something else but I wanted to check with others so I treat them correctly. I've lost 4 and successfully saved 6 but I'm running out of sick bays and if it's contagious I need to know if I should treat my whole flock and with what. I noticed in one pen one chicken, not sure which, has weird reddish tint poop but doesn't look like it's blood though. I removed it all before I took a picture unfortunately.

 

[Debbie292d]

I would get them on an antibiotic asap and also vitamin water like Nutra Drench or Poultry Cell. The reddish poop is concerning but watch for that again and determine if it's something they ate or if it is indeed blood.

If you have no vet to get some antibiotics from, AquaMox is Amoxicillin and I know Chewy has it and probably other pet stores. It's for aquarium fish and comes in 250 or 500 mg. A regular chicken needs 250 mg twice a day for 10 days. My silkies get half that.

After that, you'll need to get them on some probiotics.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

It's been a long time I've dealt with this but I've had several recently die that at first I thought was a cold from the weather changing but more and more are getting raspy breathing, very skinny, sneezing, and now gasping. I feel like now they are drowning in their own lungs like maybe it's pneumonia or possibly something else but I wanted to check with others so I treat them correctly. I've lost 4 and successfully saved 6 but I'm running out of sick bays and if it's contagious I need to know if I should treat my whole flock and with what. I noticed in one pen one chicken, not sure which, has weird reddish tint poop but doesn't look like it's blood though. I removed it all before I took a picture unfortunately.

Can you clarify - you've been dealing with illness for a long time or it's been a long time since you've dealt with respiratory illness.

Have you brought in new birds?

If you've dealt with this before - how did you treat it, was the treatment successful?

How old are the birds?

Any bad odor?

Any lesions or yellow crusty material inside the beaks?

Any bubbles or pus in the eyes?

Photos of the poop and chickens would be helpful.

Amoxicillin is not the treatment of choice when dealing with Respiratory Illnesses.

If you are dealing with Mycoplasma, use Tylan/Tylosin, Tiamulin or Tetracyclines to treat symptoms.
If you are dealing with Infectious Coryza, use a Sulfa Antibiotic.



If you lose anymore, it would be a very good idea to send the body to your state lab so you know what you are dealing with, this way you can give the correct treatment(s).
https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html