sick chickens

[jbryson]

need some advice on what to do. I have two 2 month old chickens that are making weired noises when they breathe, one sounds like it is snoring and the other sounds like it is wheezing, they are eating and drinking and walking around fine. I have 12 total and these are the only two doing this. It has been going on for 2 days. i did recently get 4 new birds from my neighbor and they seem fine. we have been getting alot of rain at night for the past week and i had to clean pine shavings out of coop due to wetness could the moisture have anything to do with it. do i need meds. any advice would help

 

[rcentner]

it could be a few different upper respiratory diseases...they can be hard to differentiate from each other. Infectious Laryngeotracheitis (ILT) and mycoplasma are probably the most common. Sometimes they recover on their own, you can use antibiotics to prevent a secondary infection, but then there are egg withdrawl times you should adhere to. Tylan is a very popular antibiotic that is available at tractor supply. It is contaigious no matter what it is and it can spread through the flock in the next few weeks.
In my experience with the upper respiratory diseases I have had birds die overnight, birds that are sick for a few weeks and recover and birds that have never gotten sick.
If the birds are gasping for air (beaks in the air, neck extended, open mouth) they will not make it without supportive care and antibiotics.
There are labs that you can send samples to if you want to find out what it is, but I have never gone that route due to cost.

good luck

 

[jbryson]

thanks for the advice, i will try the tylan and see how it goes. should i go ahead and worm them at the same time, since they are not laying eggs yet