Runny nose

[cheekychicka]

Hi folks, just looking for some advice.
My 6 girls have been on antibiotics for the last 9 days. This is after I discovered a runny nose on one of my two news brahmas.

The two new ones are separated but the whole flock is being treated as they had mingled.

The original ones nose seems okay now, maybe a little crusty but not runny like before. The second one developed a runny nose on about day two of treatment and still has it. I've also noticed a discharge on a couple of the older girls.

The discharge is clear and does dry to form a crusty plug over the nostril. They are on doxycycline 50 (half for the older girls and quarter for the smaller girls ).

Everyone is acting normally and eating ok. I'm giving them a bit of kefir milk and coconut water (they love it). The news ones appetites are amazing. I'm filling up their container daily (would expect every other day).

One of the older girls iso sitting on half a dozen fertile eggs which I would like her to hatch (in about 19days) Another has just gone broody too.

Do I keep going with the antibiotics or should I go back to the vet to get something stronger? Is there anything else I can do to help boost their systems?

Would love to have this sorted before the chicks come along. I need the quarantine cage for mum and bubs. P'S what should I clean the cage with before putting the new family in there?

TIA

 

[Pork Pie]

It could well be that the cause of their symptoms is not bacterial so antibiotics will not cure it. I would imagine that if it was bacterial nine days of antibiotics would have sorted things out. Adding vitamin supplements / electrolytes to their drinking water will help give their immune system a boost.

Ct

 

[Eggcessive]

Yes, 9 days on antibiotics should be enough by now. Doxycycline is in the tetracycline family, which is used for many chicken respiratory problems. Since most common diseases such as infectious bronchitis and MG, along with others, can make your flock carriers, the new chicks may well become ill. MG can be transferred in the hatching eggs. IB will make carriers for about a year, while MG can make carriers for life. Knowing what disease you are dealing with might be helpful in the future, so you would know whether or not to add new birds or if vaccinations might be helpful. Testing is available, depending on where you live.

 

[casportpony]

Hi folks, just looking for some advice.
My 6 girls have been on antibiotics for the last 9 days. This is after I discovered a runny nose on one of my two news brahmas.

The two new ones are separated but the whole flock is being treated as they had mingled.

The original ones nose seems okay now, maybe a little crusty but not runny like before. The second one developed a runny nose on about day two of treatment and still has it. I've also noticed a discharge on a couple of the older girls.

The discharge is clear and does dry to form a crusty plug over the nostril. They are on doxycycline 50 (half for the older girls and quarter for the smaller girls ).

Everyone is acting normally and eating ok. I'm giving them a bit of kefir milk and coconut water (they love it). The news ones appetites are amazing. I'm filling up their container daily (would expect every other day).

One of the older girls iso sitting on half a dozen fertile eggs which I would like her to hatch (in about 19days) Another has just gone broody too.

Do I keep going with the antibiotics or should I go back to the vet to get something stronger? Is there anything else I can do to help boost their systems?

Would love to have this sorted before the chicks come along. I need the quarantine cage for mum and bubs. P'S what should I clean the cage with before putting the new family in there?

TIA

If you still have some that are sick it would be a good idea to call your vet and talk about switching to a different antibiotic.

-Kathy

 

[kfelton0002]

A runny nose is often a symptom of CRD (chronic respiratory disease) of which all chickens are carriers. Other symptoms include cough/sneezing, runny or bubbly eyes, fluid in the lungs/airway that sounds as a rattle in the chest with breathing. Symptoms begin to appear when chickens are under stress, which can be from shipping, molting, intestinal parasites, etc. We treat symptomatic chickens with a daily IM injection of Tylan 50, 1 ml/cc in the breast muscle for 3 days. Younger fowl can be treated with a water soluble called LS-50 and it works excellently well. It isn't life threatening unless the chickens "hump up" and become lethargic and stop eating. Good luck!

 

[kfelton0002]

Also it is good practice to worm any new poultry and inspect for mites/lice, and treat as needed, as parasites are a major stress to chickens. Treating the flock with water soluble vitamins and electrolytes helps to replenish lost minerals from laying also.

 

[kfelton0002]

Sorry I keep adding as I re-read your post. Cleaning pens and brooders with a 10% bleach solution will suffice to kill bacteria, coccidiosis, etc.

 

[casportpony]

Tylan will probably work if it's just mycoplasma, but Tylan will *not* treat E. coli or pseudomonas.

-Kathy

 

[cheekychicka]

Thanks everyone. I had typed a long reply but it appears to have not posted so will try again! It’s a bit laborious typing one fingered on the phone though!

 

After advice from CTKen on an earlier thread I went looking for electrolytes and vitamins. Couldn’t find any electrolytes and the only vitamins at the local stockfeed store were for ornamental birds. They even seemed a bit surprised I was asking? I started using the coconut water (as ice blocks) to cool them down with the added bonus of natural electrolytes (averaging around 30C here atm). I will keep looking though.

 

I’ll go back to the vet tonight to see if there is another treatment option. There’s only one poultry vet that I know of in Canberra, Australia.

 

I’ve had two tapeworm outbreaks since August – obviously the first round of treatment didn’t work, but the second appears to have. The new chickens were treated as soon as they arrived as a precaution.  As I said, everyone seems fine otherwise and some days there’s no discharge and other days the nostril is blocked with crust. I haven’t noticed sneezing but not sure what a chicken sneeze would look like. No breathing problems other that mouth open breathing in the heat of the day. Once they cool down it stops. Did notice a bit of runny brown poops in the new ones cage today though, but they all seem to have the odd runny tummy and then the next one is fine.

 

Will post back when I’ve been to the vet for the benefit of future readers. Hopefully it’s not anything serious! Thanks again all for the advice 

 

[kfelton0002]

If it was E.Coli or pseudomonas you could smell it more than likely, and the drainage wouldn't be clear. It would be a purulent (stinky) yellow/green, or pus color. I work in healthcare.. it's nasty stuff.