Sick Chicken

[wdp67]

Hi all,
I have a couple chickens out of 8 I just purchased. 2 of them seem to have a cough, one of the 2 has mucous coming out of its nose and eyes. I have segregated them from the rest and have been giving them some antibiotic for a few day. The cough has pretty much cleared up but the one is still lethargic, not eating and have been having to force the water. Any ideas?? Thanks in advance.

Walt

 

[Eggcessive]

Contact your state vet or local extension agent to get some testing. Mycoplasma, infectious bronchitis, coryza, and ILT are some of the common r espiratory diseases that can spread among the flock. Antibiotics don't always treat symptoms, and many of them make carriers of your flock. It helps to know what is going around. They can get secondary infections, making a simple infection worse.

 

[BarbiD]

What antibiotic did you use and how did you administer it? If you're using one mixed in the water and the hen is not drinking, you may want to consider one you can give orally, like Tylan-50. I recently purchased 3 new pullets and they all had runny noses (no other symptoms). After oxytetracycline in the water for 8 days and no improvement, we switched to 1 cc of Tylan-50 orally. BUT some respiratory infections are bacterial or fungal and an antibiotic will not help. If it is bacterial or fungal, I'd give them free choice minced garlic and I added a few flax seeds because they like to peck those so it helps with them actually eating the garlic too. I think my girls definitely had a bacterial/fungal issue because they've really perked up and no runny noses since I stopped the antibiotics and did the garlic. They also have a smashed garlic clove and a splash of apple cidar vinegar (with the mother) in their waterers. All my girls get that. Good luck and post back!

 

[Eggcessive]

​What antibiotic did you use and how did you administer it? If you're using one mixed in the water and the hen is not drinking, you may want to consider one you can give orally, like Tylan-50. I recently purchased 3 new pullets and they all had runny noses (no other symptoms). After oxytetracycline in the water for 8 days and no improvement, we switched to 1 cc of Tylan-50 orally. BUT some respiratory infections are bacterial or fungal and an antibiotic will not help. If it is bacterial or fungal, I'd give them free choice minced garlic and I added a few flax seeds because they like to peck those so it helps with them actually eating the garlic too. I think my girls definitely had a bacterial/fungal issue because they've really perked up and no runny noses since I stopped the antibiotics and did the garlic. They also have a smashed garlic clove and a splash of apple cidar vinegar (with the mother) in their waterers. All my girls get that. Good luck and post back!

I just wanted to clarify something. Bacterial diseases and mycoplasmas are the ones that respond to antibiotics. Viruses and fungal diseases do not. Many diseases start out as one problem, and then become complicated by secondary infections.