Should I treat my flock with soluble Tylosin for possible respiratory illness?

[YellowBird0]

Hi All,

I have 1-2 chickens who have been sneezing for the past 5-7 days, and another with a swollen lump under her eye and along her sinus. The lump appeared 1-2 days ago. All are behaving healthy - eating, normal poops, curiously exploring, laying, etc. However I am worried about serious respiratory infection settling into my flock, so I ordered a Tylosin powder to treat their water with (https://birdpalproducts.com/products/tylosin-powder-for-birds), in case all chickens have been exposed to an illness.

I'm still hesitant to use this as I'm conservative about using antibiotics. Everyone seems healthy, just a few sneezes here and there and that lump has me worried. What would you do? Would you treat everyone with antibiotics, or see if whatever is ailing my 3 otherwise healthy hens "runs its course" naturally?

 

[Liz Birdlover]

Last year I took in a few hens & they were sneezing. I quarantined them & put them on Doxycycline & Tylan mix for 10 days then a 2nd treatment a week later when I heard sniffles, for 7 days & they have been well ever since. Medicines do have their time & place. I then followed up with probiotics & got them on the rotation I do with ACV & Oregano, then Garlic & Thyme, added to water, 1 teaspoon of each per gallon. No respiratory issues at all & everyone is still healthy & happy. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure! Nip it in the bud now, you do not want the whole flock coming down with it.

The medicine is available in tablet or powder form. Avoid liquid medications as they do no keep & break down too fast.

https://www.vitakingproducts.com/product-p/res0021.htm

 

[YellowBird0]

Thank you for such a quick response! I'll go ahead and treat the chickens, I agree that medicine has a time and a place! Good idea to follow up with probiotics and natural immune system boosters, as well. I'll post an update in 1-2 weeks here once all the treatments run their course!

 

[Eggcessive]

Can you post a picture of the hen with the swollen eyelid? Is there any bubbles in the eye, or nasal drainage on the nostrils or beak? I would treat the one bird with Tylosin. since that sounds like mycoplasma (MG.) Can you place her inside a dog crate with the medicated water and food inside the run during the day? She could sleep and roost with the others at night. I don’t recommend treating birds unless they have symptoms. The others might fight it off without antibiotics, but if any other develop the same symptoms, treat them. Be sure to close your flock to any birds leaving in the future, because they all will be considered carriers.

 

[YellowBird0]

Can you post a picture of the hen with the swollen eyelid? Is there any bubbles in the eye, or nasal drainage on the nostrils or beak? I would treat the one bird with Tylsoin, since that sounds like mycoplasma (MG.) Can you place her inside a dog crate with the medicated water and food inside the run during the day? She could sleep and roost with the others at night. I don’t recommend treating birds unless they have symptoms. The others might fight it off without antibiotics, but if any other develop the same symptoms, treat them. Be sure to close your flock to any birds leaving in the future, because they all will be considered carriers.

Yes! Here are a couple of picture I took over lunch. Her eye membrane looks healthy and clear to me, no discharge from the nostrils or eyes. She was digging in my garden, which is why her face is covered in junk/dirt.

She is skittish so I decided not to pick her up to feel if the lump is hard or squishy. I'm going to save my one-shot handling for when I have time later today to set up an IC unit for her to quarantine in!

 

[Eggcessive]

It looks like she may have a couple of bubbles in the eye. Since she may be exposed and the others are probably also exposed at the same time, you could probably leave her with the flock at night to roost, and just separate her in a wire dog crate with food and treated water while on the Tylosin antibiotic. She would probably be happier near the others where she could see them.

 

[YellowBird0]

It looks like she may have a couple of bubbles in the eye. Since she may be exposed and the others are probably also exposed at the same time, you could probably leave her with the flock at night to roost, and just separate her in a wire dog crate with food and treated water while on the Tylosin antibiotic. She would probably be happier near the others where she could see them.

Thank you for the feedback! I agree, my chickens always go on a hunger strike after 3-4 days when I fully separate them, I'm sure she'll do better by going home at night and still seeing everyone during the day.