Runny nose

[cafarmgirl]

Absolutely agree 100%. It would be an absolute last resort for us though. We have been very fortunate not to run across anything so horrible that we can't take care of on our own so far. Veterinarians in our area do not specialize in poultry or birds and I'm sure they wouldn't even know where to begin in treating one. Hence my skepticism on veterinarians in general I guess. lol. Animal clinics around here are reserved for the typical pet and not livestock of any kind. We kind of have to learn from the "old timers" and fend for ourselves.

I admit I feel the same about many vets! Even the avian vet we use in the next town over is very knowledgeable about parrot type birds of course but that doesn't always correlate with poultry! They are all birds yes but chickens are not parrots. So for most stuff I do the same as you, talk to people with a lot of experience and do a lot of research. It's a shame it's so hard to find a vet who knows poultry, and so expensive.

 

[casportpony]

Says somewhere that out of state fees are double the amount shown:




-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

-Kathy

 

[cafarmgirl]

One can always have their vet draw blood and/or do swabs and send it to UC Davis for testing. Out of state fees are quite reasonable.
http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/cahfs/local-assets/pdfs/fee lists/Poultry_fee_list_33115.pdf

-Kathy

That's what we did. It was several years ago and I can't for the life of me remember what I paid but I know the tests he sent off were cheaper then the office visit.

 

[casportpony]

Quote: Can't go wrong with their pricing. Bonus that you can save using their FedEx account to ship.

-Kathy

 

[cheekychicka]

Thanks @casportpony - I'm in Australia so their out of state fees will be a bit much! Lol. If the Roo has to be 'moved on' I'll ask the vet if there is somewhere around that does it.

 

[cheekychicka]

Are we making progress? The last round of antibiotics stopped just over a week ago. Two still had running noses and most were raspy. Since then I've been treating with altone on food, bioaktiv in their water and a homeopathic respiratory blend in an attempt to try to help their own immune systems start fighting this.

Runny noses appeared to dry up in the last few days but two of my older girls are very wheezy when I pick them up. Is this the disease going through the stages or a secondary infection?

I gave them all a bath on Saturday -noticed some mites, trying to get broody off the nest as well as dirty rear ends. Unfortunately one fought me as she went in the bucket and she ended up completely submerged. She came up but spent the next few minutes gurgling away. I thought I was going to lose her then and there. Five days on she's still here behaving normally for the most part, but today I noticed she had a runny nose again and her wheezing is worse than everyone else. Should I be concerned or keep trying to boost immune systems?

 

[KF0002]

Are we making progress? The last round of antibiotics stopped just over a week ago. Two still had running noses and most were raspy. Since then I've been treating with altone on food, bioaktiv in their water and a homeopathic respiratory blend in an attempt to try to help their own immune systems start fighting this.

Runny noses appeared to dry up in the last few days but two of my older girls are very wheezy when I pick them up. Is this the disease going through the stages or a secondary infection?

I gave them all a bath on Saturday -noticed some mites, trying to get broody off the nest as well as dirty rear ends. Unfortunately one fought me as she went in the bucket and she ended up completely submerged. She came up but spent the next few minutes gurgling away. I thought I was going to lose her then and there. Five days on she's still here behaving normally for the most part, but today I noticed she had a runny nose again and her wheezing is worse than everyone else. Should I be concerned or keep trying to boost immune systems?

Since you last posted, we have had to treat a new Speckled Sussex rooster I bought for CRD symptoms (bubbly eyes, runny nose, chest rattle). He was a little thin but didn't show symptoms before we bought him or else we wouldn't have brought him home. We wormed him and treated with our usual go-to med of Tylan 50 injectable for 3 days and he is fine now. He is healthy as a horse, eating and drinking well, and breeding our SS hens like a pro. He is a young cockerel so I look forward to keeping him in my SS breeding pen for quite some time.

I'm not really sure what the solution is for your chickens. My answer may not be what you are looking for. I would do the Tylan, but hey what do I know? I'm just a redneck chicken farmer with a degree in nursing. lol I have no degree in veterinary or avian medicine, but I do know Tylan works for us. You can buy it online, maybe Randall Burkey or even Tractor Supply. You can find a video to show you how to prepare and administer the injection on Youtube. The injection isn't going to harm them, so what do you have to lose at this point? It may very well be the cure you are looking for. We give 1 ml in the breast muscle daily for 3-5 days. You can call to check with your vet on the dosage for your birds just to be safe. Best of luck!

 

[cheekychicka]

Thanks @kfelton0002 - the tylan was the next step if their own defences didn't kick in with some holistic help. I was happy to see the runny noses stopped so thought maybe it was working its way out of their systems. I wondered if its back on Holly because of her near drowning and is actually a sign that she's sick from that.
Unfortunately you need a prescription for tylan in Australia, even to order online (from what I can see on the Internet) so it will be another trip to the vet. Interestingly, the broody who got sick with the green poo on the nest (we lost all her eggs btw) isn't showing any signs atm. Fingers crossed she's through it!

 

[cheekychicka]

@kfelton0002 a question about the injections - they're all really skinny at the moment. No real breast muscle to speak of. Even their crops aren't especially full. Is there another muscly part it can go into?