Respiratory infection in closed flock (show birds)

[Miriah132]

How the heck does a closed flock get respiratory infection? I’m not exactly sure which specific infection it is. They sneeze a little bit during the day but at night is when you can really hear the gurgling when they breath. They do have nasal discharge but no other symptoms, they eat/drink/and scratch around well. This all started just a few days ago. I’m also wondering what this means for my breeding pairs? Would I be able to sell their chicks? And will my show birds ever be able to be shown without risking the health of the other birds? I’m so bummed about this! It all happened after we got a good rain(live in Texas so we don’t get much of it). Please help! We got Tylan but are having problems finding needles small enough for them.

 

[Eggcessive]

They can get respiratory diseases from wild birds, and we can track the germs in on shoes, clothes, etc from feed stores, poultry shows, etc. You can give Tylan orally by removing the needle. Dosage is 0.3 ml per pound of weight twice a day for 3-5 days. Tylan only helps for MG and bacterial illnesses. If it is a virus or a fungal infection, it won’t help those. Infectious bronchitis, a virus could be what is affecting them. You can get some testing for that and MG most likely through your county extension agent, NPIP testor, or ask your state vet poultry lab. Infectious bronchitis (which could be the problem) can leave them carriers for 5 months to a year, so as long as you don’t hatch or add birds to your flock for a year it won’t spread. Then they should be free of it. It can cause a slow down in laying, and you might see wrinkled egg shells. MG will make them carriers for life, so good to get tested. Here is a good link to read about symptoms of common diseases including resp diseases: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

 

[Miriah132]

Thank you for the info! Would the lab be able to just send me a test for me to do at home or would it be a draw blood and send it off type of thing? So if it is mg, most likely the birds will need to be culled? I can’t believe this is happening! Is there anything I can give to future chicks/chickens to prevent this? I read there are vaccines available, is this true?

 

[KentuckyRooster]

Tylan usually does the trick. Are you having a lot of heat or fires/smoke?

Up here a lot of us are seeing sneezing and a surge in resp illness because the heat and smoke are weakening the birds allowing bacteria to get in the sinuses.

 

[Miriah132]

Tylan usually does the trick. Are you having a lot of heat or fires/smoke?

Up here a lot of us are seeing sneezing and a surge in resp illness because the heat and smoke are weakening the birds allowing bacteria to get in the sinuses.

Heat yes, smoke no. It’s been about 105 average here. When the rain hit it got down to about 88 I think but that’s about it

 

[dawg53]

You might to want to check and see if there is mold or fungus growing anywhere inside the coop as well as ensuring soiled litter is removed regularly due to ammonia fumes. Mold/fungus spores can cause similar symptoms.

Mycoplasma diseases are best treated with Denagard (Tiamulin.) There is no resistance nor egg withdrawal period using Denagard.
You'll need blood work taken from your sickest bird to determine if it's MG, a necropsy is not needed to determine if it's a mycoplasma disease. A vet should be able to draw blood and send it off or if he's an avian specialist, he should be able to do the testing himself.
Eggcessive provided excellent info regarding testing info.

If you bought your show birds from a breeder or at an actual showing, it's possible the birds were already infected with whatever respiratory disease it might be. If you already owned the show birds and brought them to a show, it's possible they picked up a disease from other birds at the show. Infectious Bronchitis (IB) can travel several hundred yards from infected birds via the wind and can infect closed flock birds, same at a showing.

 

[Eggcessive]

Each state handles things differently. I would contact your state NPIP tester to see what they test for. Some state vet offices will direct you to where you can get testing, in some states such as mine, they insist that you go through a local vet for testing. What state are you located in? California is easy to deal with, and some others with vet poultry departments. This link has state vet and poultry lab contact info where you can discuss testing:
http://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm

 

[Miriah132]

Thank you all for your responses. We started treating with tylan50 but it’s just not working out with treating 50+ chickens twice a day! Have any of you used the soluble powder? This would be much easier for us but I want to make sure I get the right one and hopefully one that isn’t $50+ if possible!