Respiratory infection in my biggest barred rock

[bmill88]

Hello all,
This evening my husband had noticed that my biggest girl Candy, was sneezing and had mucus coming out of her little nose. We have separated her from the other birds, but won't have access to antibiotics until tomorrow. I was wondering since these infections can be very contagious, how long should I keep her separated and would it be a good idea to go ahead and give some antibiotics to the other birds as well? Her behavior seems normal and her poops are normal. She is also very needy and wants to be right on my shoulder next to my neck even though this makes her hot. She absolutely hates being away from her sisters and I want to put her with them as soon as possible. Any advice would be helpful

 

[Wyorp Rock]

How old is she?

It sounds like a respiratory illness.
Any discharge from the eyes, is she just sneezing, or is there coughing, rasping/rales, as well?

There are several illnesses so nailing down which one can be a bit of trial and error.
Antibiotics can treat any secondary infections and help with relief of some symptoms. Most respiratory diseases are viral so there is technically no cure and affected birds are considered carriers for life (there are a few exceptions).

Personally I would not treat any birds that do not show any sign of illness, but of course, that is up to you.
To help with the loneliness you can add a stuffed animal and mirror (like those used for caged birds) to her isolation ward.

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

 

[bmill88]

How old is she?

It sounds like a respiratory illness.
Any discharge from the eyes, is she just sneezing, or is there coughing, rasping/rales, as well?

There are several illnesses so nailing down which one can be a bit of trial and error.
Antibiotics can treat any secondary infections and help with relief of some symptoms. Most respiratory diseases are viral so there is technically no cure and affected birds are considered carriers for life (there are a few exceptions).

Personally I would not treat any birds that do not show any sign of illness, but of course, that is up to you.
To help with the loneliness you can add a stuffed animal and mirror (like those used for caged birds) to her isolation ward.

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

She has this deep raspy cry, but it's not all the time. I have been observing her for the past couple of hours and she has been churping like normal. I have not seen her cough. Other than her sneezing and runny nose she looks/acts normal. She is 11 weeks old.

 

[Pork Pie]

As Wyorp highly points out, its difficult to narrow down what respiratory illness is the cause, as many of the symptoms presented are the same. If one can discount fungal or allergic causes, then antibiotics and vitamin supplements / electrolytes added to drinking water is the best that one can do, in the absence of consulting a vet (and assuming the vet is experienced in treating birds). Some members would not treat with antibiotics, without a proper diagnosis, i should point out.

Personally, i would treat the whole the flock, but again, there are no hard and fast rules, so do what you feel is best.

Good luck
CT

Just seen this thread that might be helpful to you

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/755483/treating-upper-respiratory-infections

 

[Wyorp Rock]

There is a symptoms chart at the end of the link I provided earlier that is somewhat helpful and antibiotic options are listed with each description. Infectious Bronchitis (IB) and Mycoplasma Gallisepticum (MG) (CRD) are a couple of the more common respiratory illnesses found in backyard flocks.

If you want to try an antibiotic you can use some Tylan 50 injectable, but give it orally to your chick, 1/4 ml twice a day for 3-5 days. Again the antibiotics may not help, so you would have to judge if she is getting worse .Tylan Soluble Powder for use in the water is more expensive but you can use that as well, dosage of that is 1 tsp. per gallon of water for 3-5 days.

Keep an eye on the others to see if they start showing any signs/symptoms as well.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/919968/infectious-bronchitis
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...2-weeks-what-is-wrong-with-them#post_16876342