Sick chickens possibly coccidios and Coryza???

[Mnchknmamma]

Please Help!
Does anyone know if chickens can get sick and die from possibly coccidiosis that may have turned into a respiratory infection?
I’ve lost several chickens from possibly coccidiosis over the last week but the last 2 that died had large masses on their eye. One died before I could do anything with it’s eye but I removed a lot of gunk from the 2nd ones eye but it still died this morning. It also had a nostril that had just started draining and it was crusty and stopped up.
I’m worried now that they may have had something that could possibly be passed to my other chickens. I’ve looked at everything I can find but every time I try to check the symptoms I always end up at Coryza because of the eye. I’m unable to determine if the lump on the eye was just from the chicken being sick, as they were sick for quite a few days before the eye issue, and not having a good immune system to fight a regular respiratory infection or should I be worried about a disease that can spread to my other chickens? I didn’t notice any coughing or sneezing or any other symptoms before the lump developed on their eye and there was no bad smell so I’m not sure what to do. Can’t find anything other than Coryza that causes lumps on the eye. I don’t want to give unnecessary antibiotics to my other chickens but don’t want to lose more. I lost one older hen a few days ago but it’s death didn’t seem related since she was pretty old but now I’m not sure.
Should I medicate them or just leave them and hope for the best?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Does anyone know if chickens can get sick and die from possibly coccidiosis that may have turned into a respiratory infection?

I’ve lost several chickens from possibly coccidiosis over the last week but the last 2 that died had large masses on their eye. One died before I could do anything with it’s eye but I removed a lot of gunk from the 2nd ones eye but it still died this morning. It also had a nostril that had just started draining and it was crusty and stopped up.

I’m worried now that they may have had something that could possibly be passed to my other chickens.

I’m unable to determine if the lump on the eye was just from the chicken being sick, as they were sick for quite a few days before the eye issue, and not having a good immune system to fight a regular respiratory infection or should I be worried about a disease that can spread to my other chickens?

didn’t notice any coughing or sneezing or any other symptoms before the lump developed on their eye and there was no bad smell so I’m not sure what to do.

Welcome To BYC

I'm sorry you are having trouble.

Can you post some photos of the chicks, eyes and poop?
How old are the chicks?

Have you administered any type of treatment for Coccidiosis?
Where are you located in the world?

You mention that they were sick for a while before the eye issue - what symptoms were you seeing?
They did eventually develop respiratory symptoms though correct?

I would keep them separated from your existing flock, try to practice good biosecurity when tending to the chickens which can be hard to do in a backyard setting. It's very possible that whatever is going on with the chicks can spread to your other chickens, so it's a good idea to get some testing to find out what you are dealing with. If you are in the US, sending samples, a body or sick bird for testing can give you information. There are also independent labs that will accept swabs for testing.

It would not be uncommon for a chicken to suffer from more than one illness/condition. Coccidiosis overload is common in young birds, it affects the intestines and is treated with a Coccidiostat like Amprolium (Corid - which is not an antibiotic).
Respiratory diseases like Mycoplasma, Infectious Coryza, Infectious Bronchitis and ILT can all present with similar symptoms. Infectious Coryza reportedly has a foul odor which you say there was no bad smell, so you may be dealing with Mycoplasma or a combination of illness - hence the need for testing.

Antibiotics may help if the illness is bacterial (like Mycoplasma), if it's a virus (like IB) then they can still be used to help treat secondary infection.
Tylosin (Tylan) is often used to treat the symptom respiratory disease (Mycoplasma), there is no cure and birds that recover (and those exposed) would be considered carriers.

General care for pus in the eye would be to flush with saline, remove as much pus as you can and apply an eye ointment like Terramycin. Do this several times a day, working on the pus as you go.




State lab lookup:
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahln/downloads/all_nahln_lab_list.pdf
Independent lab testing:

http://www.zoologix.com/

http://www.vetdna.com/test-type/avian-bird

 

[Kiki]

@Wyorp Rock covered my few questions.

 

[Mnchknmamma]

Welcome To BYC

I'm sorry you are having trouble.

Can you post some photos of the chicks, eyes and poop?
How old are the chicks?

Have you administered any type of treatment for Coccidiosis?
Where are you located in the world?

You mention that they were sick for a while before the eye issue - what symptoms were you seeing?
They did eventually develop respiratory symptoms though correct?

I would keep them separated from your existing flock, try to practice good biosecurity when tending to the chickens which can be hard to do in a backyard setting. It's very possible that whatever is going on with the chicks can spread to your other chickens, so it's a good idea to get some testing to find out what you are dealing with. If you are in the US, sending samples, a body or sick bird for testing can give you information. There are also independent labs that will accept swabs for testing.

It would not be uncommon for a chicken to suffer from more than one illness/condition. Coccidiosis overload is common in young birds, it affects the intestines and is treated with a Coccidiostat like Amprolium (Corid - which is not an antibiotic).
Respiratory diseases like Mycoplasma, Infectious Coryza, Infectious Bronchitis and ILT can all present with similar symptoms. Infectious Coryza reportedly has a foul odor which you say there was no bad smell, so you may be dealing with Mycoplasma or a combination of illness - hence the need for testing.

Antibiotics may help if the illness is bacterial (like Mycoplasma), if it's a virus (like IB) then they can still be used to help treat secondary infection.
Tylosin (Tylan) is often used to treat the symptom respiratory disease (Mycoplasma), there is no cure and birds that recover (and those exposed) would be considered carriers.

General care for pus in the eye would be to flush with saline, remove as much pus as you can and apply an eye ointment like Terramycin. Do this several times a day, working on the pus as you go.




State lab lookup:
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahln/downloads/all_nahln_lab_list.pdf
Independent lab testing:

http://www.zoologix.com/

http://www.vetdna.com/test-type/avian-bird

 

[Mnchknmamma]

Welcome To BYC

I'm sorry you are having trouble.

Can you post some photos of the chicks, eyes and poop?
How old are the chicks?

Have you administered any type of treatment for Coccidiosis?
Where are you located in the world?

You mention that they were sick for a while before the eye issue - what symptoms were you seeing?
They did eventually develop respiratory symptoms though correct?

I would keep them separated from your existing flock, try to practice good biosecurity when tending to the chickens which can be hard to do in a backyard setting. It's very possible that whatever is going on with the chicks can spread to your other chickens, so it's a good idea to get some testing to find out what you are dealing with. If you are in the US, sending samples, a body or sick bird for testing can give you information. There are also independent labs that will accept swabs for testing.

It would not be uncommon for a chicken to suffer from more than one illness/condition. Coccidiosis overload is common in young birds, it affects the intestines and is treated with a Coccidiostat like Amprolium (Corid - which is not an antibiotic).
Respiratory diseases like Mycoplasma, Infectious Coryza, Infectious Bronchitis and ILT can all present with similar symptoms. Infectious Coryza reportedly has a foul odor which you say there was no bad smell, so you may be dealing with Mycoplasma or a combination of illness - hence the need for testing.

Antibiotics may help if the illness is bacterial (like Mycoplasma), if it's a virus (like IB) then they can still be used to help treat secondary infection.
Tylosin (Tylan) is often used to treat the symptom respiratory disease (Mycoplasma), there is no cure and birds that recover (and those exposed) would be considered carriers.

General care for pus in the eye would be to flush with saline, remove as much pus as you can and apply an eye ointment like Terramycin. Do this several times a day, working on the pus as you go.




State lab lookup:
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahln/downloads/all_nahln_lab_list.pdf
Independent lab testing:

http://www.zoologix.com/

http://www.vetdna.com/test-type/avian-bird

I live in south Alabama near the Gulf Coast. We have extremely hot humid weather here and lots of rain. My chickens in the tractor are almost 9 weeks old and just before they got sick we had rain every day for about 2 weeks. When it wasn’t raining we had 100% humidity with temps in upper 90’s. So keeping them dry was pretty much impossible for me. About a week ago I noticed some were really listless and lethargic as well as really pale with diarrhea. We are pretty sure it was Coccidia at that point because of the conditions and symptoms. I lost 5 of them in one day even though I had gotten them to eat and drink some. I moved 6 more that looked like they were getting sick but had not gotten severe yet. In less than 2 days they were back to normal. I moved 2 others that were a little more sick and they lasted for a few days and then developed the lesion on their eyes and went downhill, lasting only a few more days. Which was longer than I expected. They became severely pale and lethargic and I attempted to get some electrolytes in them at least because I knew they would die of dehydration if nothing else but by then I think it was too late.
I didn’t take pictures. Should have. Lesson learned there. I do still have the chick that died today. He was so bad I was about to cull him just to be humane.
I’m not sure how much it would cost to send him somewhere but if it cost very much unfortunately I wouldn’t be able to afford it right now.
One of my main concerns is the possibility that the ground may be infected and how to treat it so it doesn’t runoff or leech into other areas with the amount of rain we have. My hens free range and were all around them before I realized how serious this was. But so far they are healthy. I also have 9 chicks in a brooder. 3 are 8 weeks and 6 are around 5 weeks and they have had no exposure to any of it, but I’m not sure how to treat the ground. My hens have already been exposed and hopefully will continue to do good. The chicks will be in their brooder for a few weeks. Or longer. Not sure when it may be safe to let them out. Sorry I’ve written such a long narrative here. Just not sure which info is pertinent so I end up with overload. If anyone has any suggestions I would really appreciate it!!! I wish I had a vet here that could test for coryza. They eye is the only symptom that makes me think coryza. But even when it developed there wasn’t any noticeable coughing or sneezing. And again none of us noticed a bad smell. I even took Sudafed and my allergy medicine to make sure I could actually smell it good. I’m looking into getting tests run. Hopefully that will work out so I can get a definitive answer! Thank you Wyorp Rock for the great info and links!!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

You mention lesions on the eyes, if you can get a photo of that it would be great. Perhaps you are dealing with Wet Form Fowl Pox? Did you happen to look inside their beaks for mucous/lesions, etc.

I would refrigerate the body of the one you lost this morning, then call your state lab - they should be able to tell you about pricing. Each state is different some are very reasonable while others are way out there on pricing.
http://agi.alabama.gov/divisions/veterinary-diagnostic-labs

 

[Turkeytom25]

I am sorry for your trouble. It could definitely be Chronic Respiratory Disease which is caused by Mycoplasma. Usually the symptoms of this disease can be dormant until it is complicated by another disease like Coccidiosis. Chickens that get Mycoplasma and recover are often carriers of the disease but show no symptoms. Did you introduce any new birds to your flock recently that could have been carriers?