Hello! My chicken, Puffy, has a REALLY bad case of respiratory illness. I know to treat her with Tylan 50. My questions are: 1. Can we use a year-old bottle of Tylan 50 that has an open hole in the top? Did it expire and go bad? Tylan 50 is actually pretty expensive where I live, and that old bottle is the only one I have on hand right now. 2. If I can use that old bottle, I know I have to treat her at least 2 times a day five days in a row. Until I have 5 free days straight that I can treat her, should I treat her only today just to hold her over? I don't have 5 days in a row for a while yet. Thank you so much! Puffy is such a sweet Silkie, and has been with us for a long time; 9 years! I would hate to lose her now.
If you don't have 5days in a row to treat the silkie I would either find someone to help you treat it or cull it so it don't infect the other birds if it hasn't already.
Just my thoughts. If the bottle has open hole in the top and has been sitting around for a year, then get new. I would not treat for just one day. Tylan50 needs to be administered correctly for it to be effective. Dosage is 10-40mg/kg given 2-3 times a day for 5 days in a row. Do you have anyone that can do this for you? What symptoms do you see?
Symptoms: -severely clogged nostrils -bubbly eyes (sometimes, not so much anymore) -lump on the side of her face Yes, I think I have someone to treat her for me. Puffy has always been with the flock. She was one of the last two remaining original chickens from the first year I ever bought chickens, so the entire flock has it already. In fact, I already treated another hen for respiratory illness. Puffy's is now the most severe, so I want to treat her ASAP. The others are actually doing pretty well, showing no other symptoms besides a little bit of clogged nostrils. So I plan to treat over the summer when I have a lot more time. I have eight hens in my flock. Thank you very much you two for responding with your great advice!
If she is sick now, why are you planning on waiting until summer to treat her? It may be helpful to post some photos of her. If she has clogged nostrils you need to try to get those cleared. You can use a warm compress to help soften mucous or sometimes 1-2 drops of Hydrogen Peroxide dropped directly on the hardened mucous can soften it up. Gently work the plug out of the nostril. Use an orange stick (for cuticles), toothpick or similar. It may take a few days to work all of it out depending on how agreeable she is and how badly impacted the nostrils are. Facial swelling, bubbly eyes, mucous could be CRD (Mycoplasma), Infectious Bronchitis, Infectious Coryza or ILT. It's hard to know which one without testing. Hopefully she will respond to antibiotic treatment, but you need to start asap to help give her some relief. Facial swelling is often due to pus, it may go down once you get the nostrils cleared, but keep watch on that. If the eyes have mucous or pus, clean those out too, use saline and apply a eye ointment like Terramycin a couple of times a day. Keep in mind that respiratory illnesses make birds carrier of disease even when they recover. Your whole flock is considered carriers, so keeping a closed flock would be the practical thing to do. If you are unable to offer her extra care at this time and she worsens, culling her is something to consider.
Im waiting until summer for the other birds in my flock. Puffy will be treated ASAP. Thank you for the advice about unclogging the nostrils! I will try that as well.