Hello all! I posted very recently about my breeding roo who passed away overnight due to an unknown illness. The whole flock seems to be sick, but with different symptoms. They are all wheezing and/or coughing with a loud mucus-sounding cough. Other than that they seem to be acting normal. Poop is normal, eating normal, drinking normal, etc. Any advice? Thank you?
It sounds like they have a respiratory illness. Several can present with similar symptoms, so without testing, it would be hard to know exactly which one you're dealing with. Infectious Bronchitis (IB), Mycoplasma (MG), Infectious Coryza and ILT are a few of the more common illnesses. Antibiotics may help treat any secondary infections, but won't cure the illness. You can try injectable Tylan50 to see if that makes any difference, you can find it at most feed stores like
Tractor Supply. Dosage is .10ml per 1pound of weight given 2-3times per day for 5days. Watch to see they eat/drink well.
As for culling - get some testing done. A lot depends on what you have and what your goals are. Respiratory illnesses are contagious and generally
all birds that have been sick, recovered, housed together, etc. regardless if they ever show any symptoms are considered carriers for life. If you are planning on breeding, selling, giving away/trading hatching eggs, chicks, started pullets, etc., then having testing is important. If you are keeping them for your own use as a closed flock, then can try to manage illness/symptoms as they arise.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044
It looks like MO has at least 2 labs - give them a call or check out their site for more information, they can tell you what they do.
http://agriculture.mo.gov/animals/health/diagnosticlabs.php
