Respiratory infection?

[The Golden Egg5]

When I was putting my chickens up for the night, I noticed my rooster had some rattling breathing. He also sneezed a few times. He is a 16 week old speckled Sussex. He had no discharge or watery eyes from what I could tell, and eats great. I have heard Vet Rx was a good product and not too expensive. Any thoughts on this? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[The Golden Egg5]

Thank you! I will keep an eye on him for a while and update you on how he is doing. I hope this just blows over and is nothing serious.

 

[The Golden Egg5]

He is doing really good! When I put my ear on his back, all I heard was his heartbeat. So that was all clear. When I put my ear to his nose, there was a bit of "stuff" in there. Not enough to be heard away from his head though.

 

[The Golden Egg5]

This is him

 

[The Golden Egg5]

I will in the morning if he is still doing it.

 

[The Golden Egg5]

Thank you! Would I have to do it to all the birds or just the ones exhibiting signs?

 

[Kiki]

Great!
I'm glad he is doing fine!

 

[The Golden Egg5]

Should I go ahead and get the tylan 50? Or just watch her for a while?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Did your cockerel recover completely? No more discharge, sneezing, congestion, mucous?

The EE, I would keep watch on her at the moment. You can flush the eye with saline to see if that helps.

Bubbles in the eyes and facial swelling could be an indication of respiratory disease.

It's hard to know what's going on with your flock. It seems that your symptoms come and go. Respiratory issues can be caused by a number of things - dry dusty bedding and feed, poor ventilation, molds, ammonia from feces and respiratory disease are a few of the more common causes.

Check to make sure that there is plenty of ventilation in the coop (window/vents open), check to see if there is any moldy areas in the coop/run and that feed is fresh (not moldy - this time of year feed molds quickly).

If her symptoms get worse or she develops mucous coming from the nostrils, sneezing, coughing, etc., then it may be appropriate to treat with antibiotics. Keep in mind that antibiotics will only treat secondary infections and not cure respiratory disease. Depending on your chicken keeping goals (selling/trading/giving away hatching eggs, chicks, etc.) it may be best to have some testing performed to know what you are dealing with.

See that she is drinking well, offer some poultry vitamins in the water for a few days.

Keep us posted.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Also, how would I flush her eye out? Like I feel like I will accidentally hurt her.

If you have a helper that would be great
You can "swaddle" her loosely in a towel to help control her wings and feet. Turn the head and flush the eye like you would a human.