sick chickens!

[csirois]

Hi everyone...I am new to chickens this year, we got a few chickens from Murray Mcmurray and loved them! I also took in some free brids...which I seriously regret...someone was sick and made all my girls feel yucky....runny eyes,noses, seems like an upper respiratory infection to me. So I bought some broad spectrum antibiotics...terramycin...not sure how much to put into their water...five gallon jug I believe..also it advises to not eat the eggs from treated chickens...does this mean that we can NEVER again eat their eggs? Any advice would be so appreciated...thank you...and I have learned my lesson on taking in "free" chickens!

 

[Michael Apple]

Dose Terramycin soluble at 2 tsp per gallon of water, making a fresh solution each day. Oxytetracyclines aren't absorbed as well as Chlortetracyclines. Add 1/2 tsp of Ascorbic acid soluble powder, or a half cup of cranberry juice to the dosed water solution and it will help with absorption. 7-14 days is usually recommended for soluble tetracyclines since CRD is stubborn. The affected birds will be carriers for life, so any birds you add to the flock will contract it if the respiratory problem is viral.

Let us know how treatment goes. Injectibles are faster acting than water dispersibles. Also, if you don't see improvement in a week of current treatment, you may want to consider Tylan soluble powder or the injectible made by Elanco.

You can eat eggs, but wouldn't eat them during treatment. Slaughter withdrawal is stated on the label, so I believe 4 days withdrawal after last treatment would be fine to start eating eggs again. Make sure the coop is dry and clean. A good disinfectant like Oxine AH should be activated for us to clean waterers and feeders. Inactivated, it can be used to mist birds having respiratory stress.

Oxine AH: http://www.shagbarkbantams.com/oxine.htm

http://www.revivalanimal.com/Oxine-Fogger-and-Oxine-AH.html?sku=15101-801

Note: Citric acid is the activator and can be bought at most grocery/health food stores.