Respiratory Illness in RI Red?? Need Help....

[tenbensel]

I have a RI Red who was coughing or sneezing for about a week. I went online, looked around, and learned that I could give antibiotics to the chickens. I have all of them on Tetracycline, yesterday was the last day-day 5. The only reason I opted to put all on it was because one of our inherited Ameracaunas died suddenly the previous day. We don't know how old she was or anything. She started hanging out under our front porch which wasn't terribly unusual for her, she was a bit anti social, anyway the next day she stayed in the pen and coop hanging around on the floor and in a nest I made for the guineas which in on the ground out in the pen. Our chickens are let out of there pen and free to roam our 7 acre lot most of the day, then put in around 5-6pm. The day she died she stayed in the pen not coming out...I thought she was trying to lay, because since we had gotten her back in August she had stopped laying. Anyway the sick RI Red has been on Tetracycline for 5 days now, with no obvious improvement. She improved at first but now coughing the same as she was before. What else could be going on here??? I bring her in when the others go in for the night, she has been sleeping in a cat carrier and seems to be quite comfortable, she doesnt make a peep until she's out and about foraging, then starts with the coughing again until I bring her in. My husband jokingly thinks its an act so she can be an inside chicken. Anybody have any thoughts? I don't want ot have to cull her but we are hoping ot get some new chicks in May and don't want to introduce them into a "sick" situation....
Thanks for any HELP.....

 

[dawg53]

I recommend that you keep your hen seperated from the others. Respiratory diseases are contageous and birds remain carriers for life even if treated with antibiotics. Most of the diseases are virusus. Tetracycline isnt too potent, step it up to tylan 50 injectable. You can administer it orally to your hen. Dosage is 1/2cc once a day for 5 days. You can go 7 days only if there isnt improvement by the 3rd or 4th days. You'll need a syringe with a needle to withdraw it from the bottle. Tylan 50 injectable can be found in the cattle section at a feed store.

 

[tenbensel]

If a chicken with a respiratory illness will always be a carrier do I need to just get rid of her? Since we will be getting new little chicks soon? I do not typically think of animals as disposable but would hate to end up losing all of them because I was too sympathetic to make a difficult choice??

 

[tenbensel]

Our sick RIR died after 5 days of administering Tetracycline in water (after not seeing improvement switched to injectable Tylan-50). We made it through 2 doses of that but she continued to get worse and worse finally ended in death. Bad situation. Hopefully the remaining members of our flock will be OK. Will be keeping an eye on them. We have recently lost a Guinea Hen(hit by car), a Buff Ameracauna (unknown cause) and now our RIR Hen (my daughters favorite "Shelly" to (respiratory illness)). Who would have thought raising chickens could be so emotional.

 

[dawg53]

You might want to read through this thread. Sorry for your loss.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...mycoplasma-mg-chronic-respiratory-disease-crd