Respiratory illness?

[Shireen]

I have an Ameraucana chicken who suddenly got sick. She was fine during the day and started wheezing bad in the afternoon/evening. We separated her and put her in a warm room. Despite wheezing and sneezing, she continued to eat normally. She has the watery, green diarrhea and the brown diarrhea. Comb, wattles, legs, and eyes look normal. She laid an egg yesterday. This morning she is fine. No wheezing or sneezing. I suspect she still has diarrhea. The rest of the flock seem healthy. The only sign I've seen in her earlier (and the rest of the flock) is shaking her head as if she had a runny nose. We do not have a vet in the area who treats chickens. I am not sure what is wrong with her or what to do about it. I can't keep her where she is for long (laundry room). The flock consists of 3 other chickens and 3 ducks.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would get some oxytetracycline or Tylan from your feed store and treat her for a possible respiratory disease. Tylan comes in a powder for the water, or you can get Tylan 50 injectable, and give it orally or by injection. Dosage of Tylan 50 is 1 ml twice a day for 3-5 days for a full sized chicken. The others have already been exposed, so they may or may not get it. Here is a link to read about the respiratory diseases infectious bronchitis, mycoplasma (MG,) coryza, and ILT: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

 

[Kayajost]

Just curious:

 

[Kayajost]

if i give her the medication and she doesn't have a respiratory illness, is it okay? Will the medicine be bad for her if she ends up not having the illness?

 

[Eggcessive]

It is not going to hurt her to give antibiotics. I don't recommend them unless there is a reason to use them. Wheezing is not normal. Sneezing can be a virus that will not respond to antibiotics,m but could also be a bacterial or mycoplasmal illness. With any antibiotic, I would probably throw out any eggs for at least 3 weeks.

 

[Shireen]

Thank you for your help. I will try to find the antibiotic.

 

[Pork Pie]

Adding vitamin supplements or electrolytes to the whole flock's drinking water will help give their immune system a boost and fight off whatever they are suffering from.

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