Sneezing

[chanceitup]

Hello All -

I am relatively new to the world of raising chickens, but currently have 10 chickens of mixed breeds. I recently noticed a few of them were sneezing, which was causing bubbles through their nostrils. I also noticed that unfortunately they were stretching out their necks and seemed like they were trying to get some air. After a bit of research, I landed on it possibly being gapeworm. I recently gave them 3 ml/gal of fenbendazole to try and nip it in the bud. After giving that to everyone for 3 days, I have been giving nutri-drench to try and boost their immune. I usually either give them VetRx or chicken e-lixir in their water regularly. It's only been a few days since giving them the de-wormer, but haven't seen much improvement, from what I can tell.

My question/concern, is should I be doing anything else, or possibly looking into an antibiotic in case it's not related to gapeworm?

Thanks in advance,
Chance & chickens

 

[Eggcessive]

Sneezing and gasping is more likely a respiratory disease. Infectious bronchitis (IB) or mycoplasma (MG) might be possibilitiesIB is a virus and will not respond to antibiotics. MG cannrespond to certain antibiotics, such as Tylosin and others. Fenbendazole can treat gapeworm, but it is given orally for 5 days in a row. Dosage is 0.23 ml per pound or 1 1/4 ml for a 5 pound chicken. It does not mix in water and will settle out.

 

[chanceitup]

I was on the fence as to it being gapeworms or some sort of respiratory disease. I was able to easily find safeguard and figured it was worth trying. What I couldn't find are definitive antibiotics that I should try, though I have recently found the Tractor Supply near me carries Tylan 50 and figured that might be what I try next, but wasn't sure and didn't want to give antibiotics if they weren't needed. After reading more on this (here), it does sound like it could be related to respiratory.

If that is the case, would the next best step be to try and give that orally? Since from what I can tell, the soluble version requires a prescription.

 

[Eggcessive]

Are you seeing sneezing every few minutes in the same chickens? Is there any swelling around an eye or any bubbles in the eyes? If not, I would treat this as a virus for now. Tylosin is Tylan, and the powder is found online for pigeons. Tylan 50 which has been hard to find in feed stores for the last couple of years, can also be given orally. If you suspect MG, then tylosin would help symptoms.

 

[chanceitup]

I was out earlier and noticed it happening every so often, but didn't time it. But it did seem to be happening enough for me to notice. I haven't seen any bubbles, and no extreme swelling, but did think one of the chickens had a more pronounced eye than normal. I see one of the signs of IB is 'loss of pigment color in shells', and after thinking about it, one of the hens eggs were lighter in color, but at the time I didn't think a lot of it. When you say treating it as a virus, meaning treating it as IBV versus MG at this time?

It's sounding like Tylosin is the answer thus far. I didn't realize the soluble was available for pigeons, that is helpful thank you. Would something like this be good? Powder

 

[Eggcessive]

Yes, if there is no bubbles in eyes or swelling of the face, I might treat as IB virus. Tylosin can treat MG symptoms. It can take a few days to get it in the mail, but if you need it, it may help treat symptoms. Here is some reading about common diseases, including IB and MG:
https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

 

[chanceitup]

I'm really trying to not postpone giving them antibiotics as soon as possible, so I was hoping to find a faster option. Will definitely look at getting that so I have it on hand, but would Tylan 50 given orally be my only option? Not exactly pumped about trying to give all of them this orally, but definitely would give it a whirl if I'm limited in options. With it getting cold out (luckily it's back to the 70's next week), I don't want this persisting.