SICK CHICKENS!!!! antibiotics not helping PLEASE HELP no one around here knows anything!!!!!!!!

[redrum81]

since my last post about the coughing and congestion, i now have my second chicken that has both eyes swollen shut and watery...and puss...i have taken all of my birds off of antibiotics because i didnt know it messed up the eggs. i gave one of my chickens to someone and it got their chicken sick. something is going on terrible around my place. i am new at this and do not have a clue. after two months of this, i am ready to call it quits. with over 30 birds (turkeys, guineas, bantees, americanas, white leghorns, RIR's, and production layers, thats hard to do no i do not have all of those birds together. i separated the bird with the swollen eye, but half of my egg birds are sick in the same pen. not with swollen eyes, just sneezing and congestion. stools seem to be not as runny now.

 

[redrum81]

i mean no one in my town area

 

[casportpony]

Can you take the sickest one to a vet? Or send it to a lab for necropsy? If you live in the US, many States have free necropsy services.

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

Many reason antibiotics might not work:

• If it's the kind you mix in the water, they might not be getting enough of it.
• If it's a pill,or liquid, they might not be getting enough of it.
• If it is a bacteria, the antibiotic you're using might not be effective against that bacteria.
• It could be a viral infection
• It could be a fungal infection.

-Kathy

 

[redrum81]

i dont know where to take them. No vet in my town can tell me anything. seriously....not ONE!! i dont know how to "send" a sick chicken somewhere....and i certainly cant find out which antibiotic to use as i dont know the illness

 

[casportpony]

What State do you live in?

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

i dont know where to take them. No vet in my town can tell me anything. seriously....not ONE!! i dont know how to "send" a sick chicken somewhere....and i certainly cant find out which antibiotic to use as i dont know the illness

You could try Tylan (tylosin), which you can get at most feed stores in the cattle section or you could try Baytril, but Baytril is banned for use in food animals, so you should research that first.

-Kathy

 

[Mehjr10]

What antibiotic did you have them on?

 

[casportpony]

i dont know where to take them. No vet in my town can tell me anything. seriously....not ONE!! i dont know how to "send" a sick chicken somewhere....and i certainly cant find out which antibiotic to use as i dont know the illness

You would have to make an appointment with the vet so they could get a sample and send it off to the lab.

This is a post I did on how to send a bird off for a necropsy:

How to Send a Bird for a Necropsy​

They need the whole bird, refrigerated, not frozen. If you live in CA, there are four labs that do necropsies on poultry (chickens, turkeys, waterfowl) for free. I know that they do out of state necropsies, but I think they charge for those. You could call them and ask what they charge for out of state "backyard poultry". The lab I use is the one in Tulare, CA. If you are in CA, call them and ask for their FedEx account number, it will save a bunch on shipping charges.

CAHFS
18830 Road 112
Tulare, CA 93274-9042
(559) 688-7543
(559) 686-4231 (FAX)
[email protected]


The other labs are listed here:
http://www.cahfs.ucdavis.edu/services/lab_locations.cfm

If it's Friday, unless you want to overnight for Saturday delivery, I would suggest shipping on Monday for Tuesday delivery. What you need to do, if you haven't already done so, is put your bird in your refrigerator, NOT the freezer! Then you need to find a box, line it with styrofoam (I use the 4'x8'x1" stuff from Home Depot. You can also get smaller pieces at an art store like Michael's, but is way more expensive. Click here to see foam options. You'll also need at least one ice pack. Here are some pictures that I took of the last bird that I sent:

Box lined with foam on four sides and bottom. Seams of foam taped sealed.


Box, sides, bottom and and top.


Frozen ice pack in ziplock baggie.


Brown paper on top of ice pack.


Hen in ziplock baggie on top of brown paper.


Brown paper on top of hen.


Ice pack on top of brown paper.


Lid on top of brown paper.
​

Inside the box you should also include a submission form in a ziplock baggie. Do not tell anyone at FedEx that you're shipping a dead animal... that seems to really worry them. Just make sure that nothing will leak.

Hope this helps!

-Kathy

 

[Mehjr10]

If they were mine i would dose with either LA-200 at 1ml per bird injected into the breast. 1st dose with follow up in 3 days or Tylan 50 .5ml per bird injected into the breast or orally 7 days.


https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/631458/miracle-la-200-dosage-and-vetrx-for-crd-treatment

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...-swollen-eye-and-bubbles-with-runny-nose-help

https://sites.google.com/a/poultrypedia.com/poultrypedia/medicine-chart


Kathy may have more precision on dosages?