Sneezy birds not responding to antibiotics (Duramycin/Tetracycline)

[schnebbles]

Sorry your little one died I had a sneezing silkie for quite a while. It got better then came back, I did the duramycin 7 days and she was actually still sneezing, but it finally went away on it's own. Not too long after the antibiotics.

 

[HenOnTheHill]

I'm sorry for your loss.

The same thing happened to one of my chickens when I dosed her with Tylan200. She was a bantam Wyandotte pullet, about 4 months of age. She had some sort of respiratory disease that manifested itself as a swollen ear, and then progressed to swelling of the sinuses and wattles. I at first thought that she had an ear infection, so I treated her with Penicillin. That didn't work, and her sinus infection became obvious, so I switched to Terramycin. She improved for about 5 days, and then got worse. Finally, I got Tylan200, and gave her one .2cc injection. Within an hour, she appeared to have trouble breathing, began having seizures, became too weak to stand, and died. I don't think that I overdosed her; I think that about two weeks of antibiotics, combined with her illness, finally killed her. The Tylan injection just added to those stresses, and it was the final straw.

Thank you, I am sorry you had to learn through a similar experience. It is hard when they have such little bodies and the tiniest thing can make such a big impact. See my post above... Unfortunately, I do think that I gave her more than she required based on her weight (now I'm ready to go out and buy a small food scale). Whether that is what killed her, or whether she would have died anyway I will never know. As one of my girlfriends tried to reassure me, she died when I was at least trying to help her and would have definitely died without any intervention, so I guess that is what I have to accept. Hopefully we can at least save the older pullet. She has always been the feistier of the two and was never as sick as the younger one, so maybe she'll pull through. Cross your fingers!

On a different note: Don't you love the wyandotte breed? I have two blue-laced reds and they are two of the sweetest birds in my flock.

 

[HenOnTheHill]

Sorry your little one died I had a sneezing silkie for quite a while. It got better then came back, I did the duramycin 7 days and she was actually still sneezing, but it finally went away on it's own. Not too long after the antibiotics.

Thank you. I was hoping that would magically be the case for mine, but there was one day off between the Duramyacin and when we tried the Tylan and in that day, they did get more sneezy and weepy, so I don't think they would have mended naturally. I am glad that yours did though! Silkies are funny little birds!

 

[casportpony]

Don't be hard on yourself, I doubt that the amount you gave her killed her, it was probably stress and dehydration and possibly hypoglycemia from not eating enough.

-Kathy

 

[HenOnTheHill]

Don't be hard on yourself, I doubt that the amount you gave her killed her, it was probably stress and dehydration and possibly hypoglycemia from not eating enough.

-Kathy

Thank you again, I appreciate your support. I "chickened" out and only gave Giuli .35cc for the second dosage. My hubby thought that she might be a little less than 2 lbs. so we erred on the side of caution. That was 20 minutes ago and she is still with us...hopefully I will find her well in the morning!

 

[BantamLover21]

Thank you, I am sorry you had to learn through a similar experience. It is hard when they have such little bodies and the tiniest thing can make such a big impact. See my post above... Unfortunately, I do think that I gave her more than she required based on her weight (now I'm ready to go out and buy a small food scale). Whether that is what killed her, or whether she would have died anyway I will never know. As one of my girlfriends tried to reassure me, she died when I was at least trying to help her and would have definitely died without any intervention, so I guess that is what I have to accept. Hopefully we can at least save the older pullet. She has always been the feistier of the two and was never as sick as the younger one, so maybe she'll pull through. Cross your fingers!

On a different note: Don't you love the wyandotte breed? I have two blue-laced reds and they are two of the sweetest birds in my flock.

Yes, Wyandottes are great.

I have a large-fowl Columbian Wyandotte, who is the sweetest bird in my flock, along with a Silver-Laced Wyandotte. I also have White Wyandotte Bantams, which are really adorable.

 

[HenOnTheHill]

On to the next part of the puzzle: We've given three injections now (.4cc last time-I got brave) and my little bird does not seem to be showing any signs of improvement. She is still sneezing and a little gaspy, and now her right eye is bubbly. She is eating, drinking, and moving around as well as she was before. Am I being impatient? How quickly should the Tylan 50 be working?

 

[HenOnTheHill]

Update on the sick bird: She did respond to the Tylan and now seems better. The question that I now have is: when it is safe to re-introduce her to the rest of the flock? She does weeze if she gets excited or scared, so I guess her respiratory system was compromised when she was ill. She would be a carrier for whatever she had (as I understand it). Is there a danger for her to be with the other birds now that she is better and now longer sick?

 

[BantamLover21]

Update on the sick bird: She did respond to the Tylan and now seems better. The question that I now have is: when it is safe to re-introduce her to the rest of the flock? She does weeze if she gets excited or scared, so I guess her respiratory system was compromised when she was ill. She would be a carrier for whatever she had (as I understand it). Is there a danger for her to be with the other birds now that she is better and now longer sick?

You can introduce her (though I would wait a few more days) to your flock whenever you want. However, she is most likely a carrier, so there will always be a chance of other birds in your flock falling ill. To help prevent this, I would give your flock vitamins and probiotics in their water every week or so to strengthen their immune systems. Try to minimize stress in your flock, and watch for any signs of disease. I'm sorry to say that if your entire flock becomes infected, it might be best to cull, disinfect, and then start new. Good luck!

 

[HenOnTheHill]

What type of vitamins do you recommend? I don't plan on adding any more chickens and I have no interest in hatching/selling any babies, so hopefully the rest of the birds stay relatively healthy and can do their thing for the next few years. My other option is to move her to my mom's house with 1 or 2 other chickens to live out their days in her barn. It is kind of crazy to spend time and energy to heal her and then not be able to keep her with everyone else. I suppose that is why people cull, I just don't have the heart to do it.