Sneezing and wheezing

[Mason Farm and Ranch]

Ok, I'll get started on finding what you tow @Wyorp Rock and @Mason Farm and Ranch recommended, drug wise. I will try and get them tested first, if that's possible to get results within a day or two, otherwise I guess I will just treat them with antibiotics for the very likely mycoplasma at least, and wait results for the mouth (in case it's canker I mean).

Tylan/Tylosin or Oxytetracycline -> do you guys have suggestions when it comes to dosage and administration routes (injections and where, or orally, etc) for either of those?

http://www.poultrydvm.com/drugs/oxytetracycline

http://www.poultrydvm.com/drugs/tylosin

http://www.poultrydvm.com/drugs/metronidazole

 

[Wyorp Rock]

If the lesion is from Fowl Pox, there's really no antibiotic treatment. Fowl Pox is a virus.

This is why you need to try to determine what you are dealing with so you can give the correct treatment.
Give your state lab a call in the morning and see about getting the testing done so you can get started with treatment(s).

 

[NestingMillenial]

Ok. Does that mean you think the respiratory thing and foaming eye could also be due to fowl pox? I would LOVE to hear that it is not necessarily mycoplasma <3

 

[Eggcessive]

Wow, you are dealing with a lot of possible problems with your new birds. Whoever sold you these birds must have known they could be carriers. I agree with wyorp rock to try and get some testing to determine what you are dealing with. Sometimes sacrificing the sickest bird for a necropsy by the state vet would be the best way to screen for diseases.

MG is opportunistic and when a chicken had fowl pox, it might show up because conditions are right. The foamy eye is a common sign, and if that chicken has MG, they all will be carriers. Hopefully the yellow material inside the beak is wet pox virus, not canker, a protozoan infection which would also be contagious to the others. Fowl pox virus from mosquitoes is common in Texas and the south. If the breeder had canker and MG, plus came with lice, they should not be allowed to sell chickens. I would be tempted to return them and start over, but that is up to you. Dealing with so much can be very expensive, and would discourage most people from ever getting chickens again. Getting healthy day old chicks from a hatchery is the best way to start a new flock free of diseases.

 

[NestingMillenial]

I am indeed dealing with a lot and I am totally bewildered by this (and frankly, yes, I'm also discouraged: had I known I would never have gotten pullets at this stage).

The henhouse I got them from doesn't have even one single review below 5 stars on Google and their FB page is filled with raving comments, so I am very confused about what's happening to me. I also didn't have birds before and the backyard and coop are 100% new/virgin ground as far as poultries are concerned. I am so so confused by all what's happening here. I have had them 2 weeks only T_T

The lice and mites where only on that one bird who got the signs of fowl pox first, at least. But that's really the only saving grace in this.
The grower did propose that we cull and they would replace them but if they have carrier birds, is it even worth it?
Like, what is the likelihood that the pullets caught all this in the 2 last weeks they spent at my place (factoring in the fact they were stressed by the move, that TX experienced wild temperature swings and cold waves within their first week after the move and that they are all molting - so I am assuming that's just a lot on them. I am also half wondering if the molt is actually the result of the stress because it is really visible this week and was less so before)... Anyway, what is the chances that this is what's happening as opposed to the pullet having come with it all brewing in already? Because if the latter, I better not accept a replacement anyway :/

Also, if it ends up being MG and I decide to treat and keep the flock as a tightly closed one, how often do you think they will relapse and need treatment? I have them for eggs so if I have to treat them with antibiotics every month or so, and thus not being able to eat the eggs, this is not going to work out...
I already like them enough that I really don't want to cull them, but I need to stay pragmatic too
And there is the question of weather my keeping them means I would be acting as a reservoir for the whole surroundings of other backyard chickens and wild birds (especially since my pullets free range the backyard instead of being tightly quartered in a covered run). I don't want to be unethical and make a mess just because I didn't want to cull.

I would love some input on those things from you guys. I am lacking the experience that I feel would be needed to deal with a situation that seem as complex as mine here. If you have a minute to play this "what if" scenario with me, it would be tremendously helpful!
Edit to say: I am definitely calling the state vet first thing tomorrow and trying to get those tests going asap!

 

[NestingMillenial]

Oh and I should say: the only reason I didn't go with day old chicks is that everywhere I looked, they sold them by 10 or so. Ideal Poultry doesn't ship with less than 10-ish chicks for example, etc. Had I known the mess I was heading into, I would have driven there of course, but I had no idea.

 

[NestingMillenial]

I was checking the references for tests to ask for tomorrow, when calling the state vet: I see that they don't have any for the avian type of trichomonas that causes canker in chickens.

How long do I have before it could kill my birds? For example, if I treat in function of the tests result and assume the mouth plaque is either from the MG (if the test is positive) or fowl pox related, how long can I wait to see if it goes away that way, before coming to the conclusion that it is canker if it doesn't (and still have time to treat by then)? What's the timeline there?

 

[NestingMillenial]

So the test results came back today - I sent samples from two pullets and one came back positive for MG. I am assuming that if one is testing positive, them really all are.

What do I do now?
I am talking with the state vet tomorrow morning but I would appreciate your opinions:

1) do I treat everyone with Tylosin or Oxytetracycline. If yes I know someone linked the dosages from a site above but one only has dosage for ophthalmic ointment and Tylan is injectable but I am pretty sure I remember reading somewhere it could be given orally?

2) were I to keep my (closed) flock as a carrier flock, how often should I expect relapses? I am in TX, we get very sudden temperature drops with every winter (cold waves where the temps drop 40F in a day, happens a couple times every winter), would that do it? Are they going to relapse every time they molt too? What is this going to look like?

 

[Eggcessive]

Yes Tylan can be given orally in chickens. Does the yellow material inside the beak smell terrible? Canker is said to smell bad, fowl pox should not.

 

[NestingMillenial]

I tried to check that again when I was swabbing her and honestly her mouth just smelled like she was an animal to me. I mean stronger, you know, but that's it. Would canker be real awful, makes-you-jerk-back-or-gag kinda thing? If yes then it wasn't like that.

What are the dosages for oral Tylan? And how long would you give it?