Sick chickens

[plb91780]

I made a rookie mistake and introduced new chickens into my flock without keeping them separate first to monitor for illnesses. Banging my head against the wall now trying to figure out who to treat for what.

I have 4 that sound like they have bronchitis. 2 are from my existing flock, and 2 are new. The new ones, along with a few who are not coughing have very loose, if not watery stool. I have everyone who I know is sick separated. I put 1TB of oxytetracycline in a 1 gallon water bowl. I didn't see them drinking much so I very slowly syringe fed some to them.

Is there anything else I should be doing. The girl at TSC told me to get that but I'm wondering if I should have gone with the Tylan injectable that I have seen on posts here. Should I switch? Is the diarrhea related?

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. The problem with sick chickens and medication in the water is that they may not be drinking enough of it to help themselves if they are sick. The Tylan 50 injectible is usually and best given as a shot into the breast muscle, but many use it orally. It is much less expensive ($14) compared to the Tylan Soluble Powder ($55) to be used in the water, and goes pretty far. Try giving some probiotics or a little buttermilk or yogurt to help with diarrhea. This is a good link for reading about the most common respiratory diseases to compare symptoms among IB, MG, ILT, and coryza: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

 

[plb91780]

Thanks. I actually mixed some of their medicated water with some chick mash and yogurt this morning and they gobbled it up!!