Respiratory illness

[BirdLeaf]

Most of my outdoor chickens (I have chicks and young birds in the house or garage) are getting sick. Two have died so far, and one is missing but presumably dead somewhere in the pasture.

Symptoms are: Sneezing, nasal and eye discharge, very swollen faces (especially around the eye and presumably the air sac), and cold feet. Some birds have been gurgling while breathing, some have stopped laying and one blasted out a paper thin egg when we picked her up for treatment with Tylan50 given orally. Not all the birds are sick. They are eating and drinking more than usual, the sickest birds have been refusing to leave the heat lamps in the coop and I’m not sure if they’ve been eating at all. Poop is a bit runny for some, mostly pretty normal though.
I’m panicked! Not sure how this came to be but I’m suspecting the dairy across the street because they’ve attracted flocks of birds who occasionally die on my property and they fly through the chain link fence and steal feed. Anyone had anything like this happen?

 

[Chickielady]

wow, have yoy gotten tested for AI ?
That is scarey stuff there !

Look up symptoms for mycoplasma gallisepticum, this may be exactly what you have.

It can run in families and the disease passed down from hen to chick.
I have had birds hatched from shipped eggs develope this disease right around their 6 month to 10th month of age.
Not all of them had it, but the ones that did had to be culled.

 

[micstrachan]

No, but there is a post on these forums giving instructions for using ciprofloxacxin eye drops for respiratory infections. Keep in mind, antibiotics only help bacterial (usually secondary) infections and don’t help with viruses or fungus. I’ll try to find the post.
There are many knowledgable chicken keepers on these forums who can help with advice on which antibiotics to try, plus the dosing and course of treatment, as well.

 

[Eggcessive]

Once a respiratory disease is in the flock, it remains until all birds are gone, since the survivors remain carriers. I would get a necropsy done by your state poultry lab to get a diagnosis. If the farm nearby has sick birds, your new birds may get it again.

It sounds like mycoplasma (MG ) or coryza from the symptoms. Tylan 50 dosage is 0.2 ml per pound given 2-3 times daily for 5 days. It will treat symptoms but not cure the disease or prevent them from being carriers. Sorry that you are dealing with this.

 

[micstrachan]

I suggest you trust those with more experience (like @Eggcessive who just posted) more than me, but I did find that post in case you would like to read it.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...welling-cure-treatment.1156995/#post-18155569

 

[micstrachan]

Forgot to mention, MG came to my mind, too, but I don’t have all the infections along with their recommended treatments memorized.

 

[Chickielady]

Once a respiratory disease is in the flock, it remains until all birds are gone, since the survivors remain carriers. I would get a necropsy done by your state poultry lab to get a diagnosis. If the farm nearby has sick birds, your new birds may get it again.

It sounds like mycoplasma (MG ) or coryza from the symptoms. Tylan 50 dosage is 0.2 ml per pound given 2-3 times daily for 5 days. It will treat symptoms but not cure the disease or prevent them from being carriers. Sorry that you are dealing with this.

Yes that said, with Coryza the bird will stink...infection stink. I have never had birds get cory, but have seen some (believe it or not) at a poultry auction, stink to high skies, and looked the same as your photos.
I have treated some of mine with MG with Tylan, injectible and it just is not worth it.
The disease is passed on vertically to the chick, and all survivors remain carriers and even appear cured and healthy, the disease (MG) can reoccur any time the bird is stressed. Never forget the "Pump handle Respiration" with MG, as the bird reaches up with their heads in attenps to grasp air, it looks like someone using an old pump handle for water. Sorry for you !

 

[BirdLeaf]

This is the worst. If the weird wild birds are carriers, I can’t ever turn my chicks outside or do anything to prevent it from happening again. Does this illness also effect geese and ducks? If the flock is culled, how do I sanitize the coop, run and pasture?

Pictured is the type of dead birds found all over our property

 

[chickens really]

My Birds have ILT and I use Oxy-Tetra-A water soluble antibiotics for the entire flock till all symptoms are gone.
Possibly that's the issue with your Birds?..Keep them warm and get the antibiotics. It won't cure them of the disease but get rid of any infection.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

View attachment 1252097 This is the worst. If the weird wild birds are carriers, I can’t ever turn my chicks outside or do anything to prevent it from happening again. Does this illness also effect geese and ducks? If the flock is culled, how do I sanitize the coop, run and pasture?

Pictured is the type of dead birds found all over our property

@BirdLeaf If you are finding dead wild birds all over your property, I highly recommend that you contact CSU as discussed in your other thread https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/hen-with-skin-issue.1219030/page-2#post-19491766
Give them a call, they may actually come to you to collect the dead birds on your property and might be able to take some mucous swabs from your birds while they are there.

I'm very sorry your girls are not getting better. You mention they may not be leaving the roosts to eat/drink?