Respiratory infection in egg laying hens

[Frans Farm]

My flock of 20 laying hens has recently been hit with a nasty respiratory infection. about half to two thirds of the flock showed symptoms of lethargy, sneezing, gurgling, open mouth/gasping and the worst affected 4 or 5 stopped eating and drinking. 3 ended up at the vet for injectable antibiotics. One died but had another physical problem that was not contagious.
The whole flock was treated with oral antibiotics for 7 days. I quarantined the worst affected. Its been just under a week since the main flock stopped being given antibiotics and stopped showing symptoms. They are still laying very few eggs and much smaller eggs (5-8 eggs a day down from a solid 15-16 eggs a day).
Has anyone else experienced this in their flock? Are they likely to return slowly to their original egg production or do I have to cull? Any advice or sharing of own experiences welcomed!
Have asked vet for advice but they cant tell me exactly what it was (apart from a respiratory infection) or advise on what to do now.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

How old are they?

Most respiratory diseases do impact egg quality and production. Without testing, it's hard to know which one you were dealing with. Mycoplasma and Infectious Bronchitis are 2 that come to mind with the symptoms you describe. They should eventually resume laying eggs, unless there are other complications. Infectious Bronchitis can linger up to a year and is known to cause wrinkled eggs and watery albumen. Mycoplasma makes birds carriers of the illness for life (those exposed and the ones that have recovered too) and symptoms can re-appear during times of stress (molting, changes in flock dynamics, etc.).

As for culling, that depends on your goals. If you are selling, trading, giving away hatching eggs, chicks, started pullets, then having some testing is always a good idea. Having an illness like Mycoplasma, most people keep a closed flock, treat symptoms as they present or cull the sickest and try to breed forward for resistance.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

Just for curiosity - did you add new birds within the last 30days?

 

[Silkiesarefluffydinos]

It seems that the winter cold is beginning to spread respite diseases around... right now we have 2 hens who have broncitis.. it could be a severe form of broncitis, but I'm not really sure.. any swelling around the face?

 

[Frans Farm]

Hi Wyorp Rock, My chickens range in age from 16 weeks to 1 year and i have 3 older birds 3+ years old. I have a feeling these three birds may have bought it in originally. I have added three birds in the last 30 days- two 6 week old Araucana chicks and a 16 week old Silkie hen. They appeared in good health but one of the birds that is proving the hardest to recover is the now 13 week old Araucana hen who is still at the vet. She is one half of a breeding pair. I noticed very vague signs of the illness in my Australorp rooster prior to their arrival, but being new to serious chicken diseases i was unsure if he was sick or not. He appeared fine apart from a slight gurgle/raspy crow which did not seem to be getting any worse. next minute.... How do i test for what type of respiratory illness it is? The vet i have recently started taking them to since i moved is abit useless with chickens. They were not even keen on giving me antibiotics to treat them at first which delayed treatment and probably contributed to the large problem i now have. Think i'll be changing vets, or culling my entire flock and getting out of chickens.

 

[Frans Farm]

Hi SilkiesareFluffydinos, (great name by the way! so true!)
No they dont have any facial swelling.
The outbreak did occur around the time we had very variable weather which my partner believes contributed to the spread of the disease. It was 30 degrees one day, followed by heavy rain and storms in the afternoon, then back to wet and kinda cold.

 

[Silkiesarefluffydinos]

Hi SilkiesareFluffydinos, (great name by the way! so true!)
No they dont have any facial swelling.
The outbreak did occur around the time we had very variable weather which my partner believes contributed to the spread of the disease. It was 30 degrees one day, followed by heavy rain and storms in the afternoon, then back to wet and kinda cold.

(Thank you!)


If it is spreading throughout your flock, and with the symptoms, I think it is infectious broncitis. I researched a few other respiratory diseases for extra imformation because I am dealing with a similar, but not as severe problem with a few of my hens, and so far, Infectious broncitis is the closest match I've found that matches your birds' symptoms. It makes since that after the rain and cold, that the disease would get worse. One of our hens has really bad breathing, and I only started noticing it after a week of rain and 40-50 temperatures during the day, much colder at night. Good luck with your birds!

 

[Frans Farm]

thanks for the info everyone. ok. so my flock must have heard about the full flock cull i was planning and have laid 13 eggs from 16 birds today (pretty close to what they were laying before this devilish thing hit). does this indicate they have recovered? I understand that they will still be carriers. I plan to cull any that are obviously are not recovering. They have been off antibiotics for nearly a week.
Are their eggs safe for human consumption after having this bug or no?
how long should i discard eggs for after antibiotics?
any chicken immune boosting tips?
how do i ensure that i dont acquire any more carrier birds? can you buy chickens that are vaccinated against this?
My rooster was also affected. does this mean he will pass this to his young? if so, hes out of the breeding program!

 

[chickens really]

My Birds have ILT...Its a respiratory disease and they are carriers..All Chickens carry disease...Times of stress bring out the symptoms..Drops in temp, adding new Birds..New Birds that are carriers for diseases your Birds do not carry are easily transferred....All you can do is close your flock and never bring in new Birds...
After antibiotics you should wait 10 to 14 days before using eggs..No point in killing the Rooster, all the Hens are carriers too...Some show symptoms while others just pass it on....The entire flock is infected...

 

[Wyorp Rock]

thanks for the info everyone. ok. so my flock must have heard about the full flock cull i was planning and have laid 13 eggs from 16 birds today (pretty close to what they were laying before this devilish thing hit). does this indicate they have recovered? I understand that they will still be carriers. I plan to cull any that are obviously are not recovering. They have been off antibiotics for nearly a week.
Are their eggs safe for human consumption after having this bug or no?
how long should i discard eggs for after antibiotics?
any chicken immune boosting tips?
how do i ensure that i dont acquire any more carrier birds? can you buy chickens that are vaccinated against this?
My rooster was also affected. does this mean he will pass this to his young? if so, hes out of the breeding program!

It sounds like they are recovering
The type of antibiotic used determines the withdrawal (throwaway) period of eggs, ask your vet for that information.
Immune boosters - offer some poultry vitamins once a week and some probiotics for a few days since you had them on antibiotics.
Without knowing which particular respiratory illness they have, there is no way to know if there is a vaccine available. Look at articles with title like "breeding forward for resistance" this will give you some tips.

Glad it seems they are improving, good luck!