Respiratory infections & wheezing

[Fluster Cluck Acres]

It’s still pouring (figuratively anyway) over here at the aptly named Fluster Cluck Acres… long post warning…

We have respiratory infection. Several symptomatic chickens, so I intend to treat the entire flock. I have Tylosin powder on order, supposed to arrive Thursday.

Is there anything I can do in the meantime to help? Anything I can get faster or might have on hand to help? (I have fish mox tables but not enough for 26 chickens). I can get things from Walmart or Tractor Supply tomorrow night.

The symptoms seem to be coming on fast. This is my first time dealing with respiratory issues.

I heard one suspicious wet sneeze 2 days ago, which prompted me to order the Tylosin. Tonight I have many chickens symptomatic including several ladies breathing very heavily. By that I mean that I can hear them breathing. One is making a wheezing or whistling noise as she breathes.

No one is in complete distress fortunately. No gasping or open mouth breathing. No one is lethargic. Everyone seems to be eating & drinking like normal. But is there anything I can do to alleviate the heavy breathing? Anything I can give them until the Tylosin arrives? The symptoms seem to spread every few hours, so I’m worried what the situation will be in 2 days…

There doesn’t seem to be egg withdraw with Tylosin. But what about for butchering? I have 3 young cockerels in this flock plus 1 genetically unsound hen who are slated for the soup pot over the next few weeks. We’re very novice to processing birds, so it’s an all day extravaganza for us to process just 2 birds. It’s not something we can quickly do (St Patrick’s day would be the first open day we have to process any birds). Then no time until the following weekend. I won’t take them to a butcher since they’re probably contagious. Can they be safely consumed by people after Tylosin? What about consumed by animals?

One hen is on her last day of Miconozole for sour crop. Anyone know if there’s concern about mixing meds? Can a stargazing hen also have vitamins (b complex and/or E) while on Tylosin?

How often does the water need to be refreshed with Tylosin?

I appreciate any responses. Thanks in advance!

 

[Eggcessive]

Tylosin should be mixed every other day. Always add the water to the powder. Treat for 5 days. It is not necessary to treat birds who are not having symptoms. Have you seen any bubbles or foam in one eye, eyelid swelling, nasal drainage, or additional sneezing from the same ones? Amoxicillin doesn’t treat MG or coryza, and most other respiratory diseases are caused by viruses, which do not respond to antibiotics. Tylosin treats MG symptoms which include the eye bubbles, swollen eyelids, and can have some of the other symptoms. If you can get a couple of chickens with symptoms tested by asking your state vet, that would be good. Zoologix is a lab that will do testing for 8 diseases, and they will send you the materials to collect samples.

 

[Fluster Cluck Acres]

Tylosin should be mixed every other day. Always add the water to the powder. Treat for 5 days.

Thank you.

It is not necessary to treat birds who are not having symptoms.

I have at least 10 of my 26 adults in this flock I want to treat. I have 7 birds with symptoms and at least one of my 3 Bielefelders (can’t tell them apart). My concern is that I only noticed my Buckeye because I happened to be there when a rooster mated with her and afterward she had a yucky wet sounding cough. Otherwise she seems fine. And my Wyandotte mix I only heard her heavy breathing when she happened to come up next to me to look for treats. So I was thinking I should treat the entire flock since I’m worried other birds could be symptomatic but I haven’t caught them yet. Plus I don’t really know how to treat only the 10 birds with the Tylosin powder.

Have you seen any bubbles or foam in one eye, eyelid swelling, nasal drainage, or additional sneezing from the same ones?

One of my orpingtons had something on her eye about 2 days ago. I couldn’t tell what it was but we flushed with saline and it has not returned. In hindsight I wish I paid closer attention (at the time I wasn’t suspicion of respiratory issues) Yestersay I looked closely and none of the hens had anything in their eyes.

Amoxicillin doesn’t treat MG or coryza, and most other respiratory diseases are caused by viruses, which do not respond to antibiotics.

Good to know. I didn’t want to use up my stash of Aqua mox.

Tylosin treats MG symptoms which include the eye bubbles, swollen eyelids, and can have some of the other symptoms.

From reading posts here and online it seemed like MG is fairly common, so that was why I opted for the Tylosin.

None of the hens are visibly congested. I can just hear it. When I was looking at one coughing hen with a flashlight, I could see there was wetness on her face, but it was clear and then, not mucousy. So that also makes me wonder if more are symptomatic but I haven’t Spotted it yet.

If you can get a couple of chickens with symptoms tested by asking your state vet, that would be good. Zoologix is a lab that will do testing for 8 diseases, and they will send you the materials to collect samples.

I will try to call the state vet and see what they say. Hopefully I can collect samples from live birds so I wouldn’t need to take the actual birds somewhere and risk spreading anything. I also hope they have a drop box or something as I’m sure I’ll be at work during their hours.

 

[Eggcessive]

You might be dealing with a virus, unless you see the eyelid swelling or eye bubbles. Infectious bronchitis virus is common, and it usually eventually infects most of the flock. Antibiotics do not work against it, but may help if they get a secondary infection, such as MG or others. With IB virus, symptoms may last for several weeks to a month. Mine had that years ago, and it eventually went the the whole flock. IB can affect the reproductive tract and kidneys of young birds. Look for any wrinkled egg shells. There are other viruses, but symptoms can help to identify what they may be.

 

[TillyPeeps]

I have MG or MC (not sure which one that they carried from the hatchery) in my flock. It's always getting worse during winter time. I usually add dry oregano and thyme leaves to their feed and it does help. If someone is wheezing, I just treat her with antibiotics. When spring coming, they free range in a fenced yard and are mostly symptoms free. I believe fresh air and warm weather help a lot.

 

[Fluster Cluck Acres]

You might be dealing with a virus, unless you see the eyelid swelling or eye bubbles. Infectious bronchitis virus is common, and it usually eventually infects most of the flock. Antibiotics do not work against it, but may help if they get a secondary infection, such as MG or others. With IB virus, symptoms may last for several weeks to a month. Mine had that years ago, and it eventually went the the whole flock.

Did you treat with anything during that time?

IB can affect the reproductive tract and kidneys of young birds. Look for any wrinkled egg shells. There are other viruses, but symptoms can help to identify what they may be.

Symptoms are wet coughs and sneezes, and what sounds like breathing restricted by mucous or wetness. When I get to my computer I can try to post a video.

I’m happy to say that while I was so afraid their conditions would deteriorate, they seem to be settling down. I can no longer hear the heavy breathing from the hens, and the sneezing/coughing has decreased.

Eyes are clear, granted at night they took on a swollen eyelid appearance. But I think it may be a lighting trick from the flashlight/flash. Does Ash’s eye look swollen to you?


Also when using a flashlight, I can see wetness on the faces of the sneezing birds. However there is no obvious discharge or gunk around eyes or nose.

One of my hens’ combs is all jacked up. I assumed it was because she’s low in the ranks, but then I got worried about wet foul pox. I checked a bunch of hens’ mouths and didn’t spot any obvious lesions.
Triscuit’s comb:


The Tylosin arrived tonight. I’m still planning to begin it tomorrow. I did see one more symptomatic hen tonight. And one of my indoor babies was sneezing, but I’m hoping it was just a result of them being outside on a field trip and exposed to new allergens.

 

[Fluster Cluck Acres]

Look for any wrinkled egg shells.

Is this what you mean by wrinkled? I have a hen who has laid a few eggs with a single ripple in them. It’s usually very subtle and not noticeable. But then she just laid this one that is probably a double yolker. The ripple or wrinkle in this shell is way more pronounced than usual.

 

[Eggcessive]

No that is a body checked egg. It is here in this article below as well as a wrinkled egg with possible causes listed:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/common-egg-quality-problems.65923/

 

[Fluster Cluck Acres]

No that is a body checked egg. It is here in this article below as well as a wrinkled egg with possible causes listed:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/common-egg-quality-problems.65923/

Thank you.

For some reason, I’m not getting notifications from this thread.

I wonder if the body checks can be a secondary result of either the crop issues or respiratory thing that’s happening in my flock right now. Or the respiratory thing is causing the crop issues. My girls are a mess . I have one hen who has been occasionally laying these body checked eggs, but tonight I collected one from a different hen.

I started them on Tylosin because I don’t know what else to do. I had all but 1 hen’s crops cleared, and this morning I found 1 relapsed and a new impaction in one of my older hens. A few other hens had crops that hadn’t emptied overnight and had the “dough ball” in them.

I don’t know if there is any drug interaction between Miconozole and Tylosin, so I don’t want to do both at the same time unless I know it’s safe. For now the bad crops (full and feel like hard clay) are getting coconut oil and massages. I have one particularly bad hen whose crop is so pendulous it damn near drags the ground and it’s full of rocks going on several weeks now. Can’t keep a crop bra on her, Miconozole, stool softener, and coconut oil have not cleared her crop. She is one of the few who isn’t sneezing or congested so I guess she’s got that going for her. Poor girl’s crop is bare underneath because all the feathers broke off. I haven’t tried surgery because she doesn’t seem to be impacted. It’s mostly watery & full of rocks/oyster shells.

If my flock does have infectious bronchitis or a respiratory infection, how long will they remain contagious? I have 7 chicks who are rapidly outgrowing their indoor brooder and want to move outside, but my outdoor brooder is inside my coop. How long would I need to wait to avoid exposing them to infection? Or how far away do they need to be, if I find an alternate location for an outdoor brooder?

I won’t be able to possibly do testing until next week. If we end up culling the hen with the bad crop, I wonder if there would be any benefit to having her tested since she’s not showing respiratory symptoms. But even so, I think the crop issues I’m dealing with are the more pressing matter (unless it’s caused by the respiratory thing). The sneezing & coughing, although spreading, are occurring a lot less frequently and with less intensity than from a few days ago.