Suspected CRD: Name Change...Diagnosed Coryza

[Sony57]

Okay, to a lot of ya all I know I am going to sound dumb...but I cannot seem to help myself!

I purchased 5 chicks Oct 8th ranging from 8 to 12 weeks old. I think my chickens have CRD, but I am unsure. I have done a few things but I feel like I am failing them! The story starts a few days after I brought them home:

I noticed my Australorp (the 12 week old) smelt bad October 10th, which this could have been present the whole time but I did not notice it until then. Her eye looked funny on Tuesday, the 11th. The 12th I gave her a bath and made a vet appt for the 14th as that was the only time I could find an available CK vet. He suspected CRD but since her breathing was clear and she otherwise seemed healthy we decided it was likely to be a bacterial infection that may have occurred during transport (2 hour drive). He checked the eye for trauma but that was not apparent. He also discovered after a fecal test that she had coccidiosis. He recommended she be kept separate but it was likely that if she had something infectious the others were already exposed. If the others were to develop eye pus or respiratory issues I should cull.

She got better! I used tetracycline in her eye and another oral antibiotic for the coccidiosis. I treated the others with corid just in case. Everything got better.

Everything was better until 11.01.16. I noticed my cuckoo maran, who was then a little over 10 wks, was being very lethargic. That night the australorp began breathing heavily. I isolated the two and put them under a heat lamp. I started adding oxytetracycline to their water. By 11.02.16 the barred rock who was about 11 weeks had a watery nose. I added her to the sick pin. On 11.03 I saw one of the remaining two sneeze and then added the remaining chicks to the "sick bay."

Nothing changed for several days, the lethargic one stayed lethargic, the sneezy wheezy australorp remained sneezy and wheezy, and the barred rock had an occasional runny nose. The other two had an occasional sneeze but were otherwise fine. I purchased Tylan 200 11.06 and discontinued the oxytetracycline. I administered .25 ML oral doses to the australorp and cuckoo once a day. On 11.09 the cuckoo stopped eating and drinking, her eye also swelled up like the australorps did when I first got her. I started giving the cuckoo the tetracycline topical eye med. On 11.10 I started giving them all boiled eggs. I blended boiled eggs with water and electrolytes and administered oral doses to the australorp and cuckoo who both seemed to stop eating. The australorp began eating normally after, but the cuckoo is not doing so well. The barred rock sounds more raspy but is as spunky as ever. The other two are totally fine.

Poop: I have noticed more runny light stinky brown poop (cecal). The only other thing is that the Cuckoo's poop is covered in white but has a light green tint to it.

Should I start giving the tylan as an injection? How much should I give, and to whom? Should I be doing something else? When not mixing corid or antibiotic with water they have always had probiotic, ACV, or electorlytes in their water. (electrolytes even when antibiotics have been given).

I know people will say cull, but that is not an option to me...so please spare me of those comments.

 

[Pyxis]

Do the other sick ones have a bad smell too? If so you're dealing with coryza, which is not treated with tetracycline, but instead with Tylan 50 or Sulmet, which would explain why the tetracycline hasn't been working for you. Baytril is the very best medicine to treat it with, but to get that you would need to take each bird to the vet and get a prescription for it for each one.

If you don't mind dropping over $100 on a test, this place will test your birds for you to see what exactly it is that they have so you can know for sure what you're dealing with and how best to treat.

I know you don't want to cull, which is fine, but just be prepared that it's possible that now your girls are going to get sick again whenever they are stressed, such as when they molt, when they come into lay, if there's a cold snap, etc, and will need to be treated again, and any new birds you add will also be infected. I also means that as soon as a bird comes onto your property, it can never leave to someone else's flock or you'd be complicit in spreading this disease to other flocks.

 

[Sony57]

Thank you Pyxis,

I appreciate your response. I have been hum hawing on what to do. I am surprisingly considering culling because I feel evil for letting them suffer, and I am worried about other chickens.

My plan of action:

I have reached out to Zoologix regarding pricing and procedures for sending samples.

If the sick chickens survive until I am able to send samples then that will be ideal. I also plan on contacting my vet to determine how to get a necropsy done in case I am unable to get usable samples if they expire naturally.

I am going to give an update on the birds at this time, sorry it will be lengthy but I think others might benefit from the list of symptoms; particularly if I am able to obtain a diagnosis.

Both birds are eating and drinking on their own at this time.

I have to put the Cuckoo in front of the food and water or she will just lay where she is under the heat lamp; but she does eat and drink on her own at this times. I am continuing to apply the tetracycline cream to the Cuckoo whose eye has been swollen shut. Her eye has slightly improved but not enough to give me hope. She is very listless but puts up a big fight with a blood curling scream when I apply the eye meds. A few times I noticed a caked bugger and wipe it away but no signs of difficulty in breathing.

The Australorp is still wheezing, and occasionally it sounds like the whistling from a balloon in which the mouth is partially pinched. She also sneezes, usually two or three times in a row just before or after making those sounds. Most of the time her beak is slightly open and you can see by the rise and fall of her back that her breathing is labored. She has no nasal or eye discharge, and as I said is eating and drinking regularly. At times she is listless but other times she acts fairly normal.

I have decided to stop treating with antibiotics and have been adding VetRx near both chicks' nostrils. I put some in their water and bedding as well. I switched to hay from wood chips hoping for less dust. I have electrolytes, ACV, and Probiotics, and regular water that I alternate between. If they stop eating on their own I will let nature run its course...again I want them to survive, but right now the important thing is hoping they survive long enough to get a diagnosis. Depending on the diagnosis I will treat or do what I have to in order to protect others.

 

[Sony57]

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