Sneezing, Coughing Brahma

[Happycowdog]

Last week, my 8 month old brahma let out a sneeze and she has been making funny noises. Now, the last couple of days she is coughing more frequently and last nite she sneezed on my hand and mucous was present. Her eyes are bright and alert and her poop is normal.

She seems to be acting fine, but she was very vocal the other day when she layed an egg. Also, a few weeks back, I found an egg broken on the floor of the coop. It had a very, very thin shell and I think it broke on the way out. I am sure it was hers. I wasn't too alarmed as I read that happens sometimes. I really don't think it would have anything to do with her symptoms now, but thought I would mention it just in case.

I was going to go get antibiotic to put in H2O today. Would that be okay? Or should I do something else? Maybe bring her inside the rest of the winter? Or do you think she'll be okay to stay outside in these freezing temps? My flock is eating Purina Layena pellets. I use large pine shavings and I just swept out the coop and replaced shavings a week ago. I clean poop every other day...

Also, I should mention....when the nighttime temps get in the single digits, I turn a red heat lamp on. Bad idea?

 

[Miss Lydia]

It might be a good idea to isolate her just in case it's contagious which most is.. you need to make her comfortable with some heat and make sure she has plenty of fresh water with maybe poultry drench or poly-vi-sol w/o iron added also ACV is good to added don't add all of this at once but use every other day changing them out. fresh food, grit and there are varying degrees of thought about heat in the coop besides the major worry of fire. If you use heat you have to make sure you have plenty of ventilation because heat causes humidity which is not good for the chickens. your the only one that can make that decision. I don't use heat and alot of people on here don't either. chickens can take very cold temps.. but not if their sick.. you say this started when you changed the bedding could that have triggered this? but seeing mucous makes me worry something else is going on.. I will give you a few links to read and maybe they will help you decide whats best..1.. www.shagbarkbantams.com/oxine.htm
this is another post I found that might help

he last post from ToniLee is exactly correct and some of the other posts had incorrect information. I'm a pharmacist and I just calculated it out, (after I measured the exact amount of powder in one package of Duramycin-10, 6.5oz, just to make sure.)

One package has 13 tbsp in it and you need roughly (rounding up for simplicity reasons) 1 tablespoon of Duramycin-10 per gallon of water. That breaks down to 3/4 teaspoon per quart of drinking water. The solution is stable for only 24 hours and new solution must be mixed up every day. Treatment is NOT for 3 days (as posted earlier in this thread) but rather for a minimum of 7 days or you will get resistance.

And trust me, you do NOT want to develop resistance to this antibiotic or you will have to move to Tylan, which is much more expensive and harder to obtain. It's all to easy to get resistance to CRD in large flocks (50+ birds), as they keep spreading it from one to another. So just as soon as you get done isolating and treating some of your chickens and think you have it erradicated, you lose another chicken to it. Pretty soon, the drug doesn't seem to be working and voila, you have a resistant strain of CRD to that antibiotic. (I just had that happen, and with Tylan of all things.) Don't let it happen to you or your losses could be very high.

So in summary...

1 package of Duramycin-10 (tetracycline HCl) = 6.5 oz

1 package = 13 tablespoons

800mg/gal dosage: 1 tbsp per gallon

800mg/gal dosage: 3/4 tsp per gallon

 

[ginormous chicken]

Can you eat the eggs if you put Duramycin in the water and the entire flock drinks it?

 

[Happycowdog]

Thank you very, very much. There certainly are not any veterinarians around here that I know of. Thank goodness for this site!

So, does this sound like CRD? I got three silver laced Wyandotte hens back in early November. Everybody seemed healthy. The quartantine is over, and now this? I heard that all chickens carry this disease, and symptoms appear when chickens are stressed. Is this true? This brahma is my absolute favorite hen. I love her so much...I hate it that this happened to her. She is so sweet and she seems to wander by herself most of the time, but still gets along with everyone else. She taps on my window on the front porch. I am very upset.

 

[Happycowdog]

Quote:
Great question! I wouldn't think so...right?

 

[Miss Lydia]

no eating of eggs for I believe 14 days but I'll check on that. you can treat your flock but don't sell or bring any new birds into your existing flock or they will get it. In other words your will have a closed flock.

Duramycin a.k.a tetracycline hydrochloride

The label and online sites listing Duramycin state " Not for use with laying hens" and that has been repeated throughout this and other forums. By reading the label you might assume that to cure or protect the chicken that you can never use the eggs its produces again -- this is what some of the other posts have suggested.

I want to eat the eggs that these baby chicks will lay but, I was still unsure and concerned so I contacted Durvet directly and spoke with Mark G.

Duramycin 10
Durvet recommends:

1. Duramycin can be given to chicks at anytime before 16 weeks (this is what it is made for.)

2. For hens already laying (16 week or older) : Do not use eggs for 21 days after treatment ends.


Link for Durvet Contacts:
http://www.durvet.com/corp_contact_us.html

Link for Duramycin:
http://www.durvet.com/prods/DURAMYCIN_119/DetailSheet.html
http://www.durvet.com/DS/119_DS.pdf
http://www.durvet.com/L/119_L.pdf
Last edited by tagra123 (04/28/2009 9:44 am)

 

[Happycowdog]

Thank you very much Miss Lydia!