Treating Pullet with Respiratory Illness

[Miccarty]

We just acquired 4 new pullets from local breeders, one Easter Egger from one breeder and 3 other pullets from another at the same swap. Eight days after we got them, on Sunday 4/28, the EE (about 3 1/2 months old) had bubbly eyes and yellow gunk on her beak. I immediately separated her (I did not quarantine as I obviously should have - I am so upset with myself) from the rest of the flock - four 1 year old chickens and the other three new ones.

All the chickens go into the coop/run at night and have supplemental food and water but free range during the day on about a 1/4 acre. There are no signs of illness in the other chickens at this point.

I read a bunch of older posts here and elsewhere in the internet and think it is most likely CRD/mycoplasma and searched the area stores for TYLAN-50 - I couldn’t find it on Sunday so started with vet RX, both orally and wiped on her beak and under her wings. She was eating okay at that point. Then I found TYLAN 50 on Monday and started dosing her last night. She’s about 3 1/2 lbs and I’ve been planning to do 1 ml, 3x per day orally (a little over the .25/lb recommendation I’ve seen but not all of it gets down her throat).

I’m posting a picture - I was hoping to see her perk up a little by now but now she is not eating or drinking. I’ve been giving her water from a dropper but she’s resistant to swallowing that.

How soon should I see results to know the Tylan is working?

Also, I’m assuming since it took her a week to show symptoms that’s about how long it will take to know if the other girls are going to get sick too? Should I be dosing them as well? I put some vet RX in their water but not sure if I should be dosing them all with the Tylan proactively?

Thank you.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

We just acquired 4 new pullets from local breeders, one Easter Egger from one breeder and 3 other pullets from another at the same swap. Eight days after we got them, on Sunday 4/28, the EE (about 3 1/2 months old) had bubbly eyes and yellow gunk on her beak. I immediately separated her (I did not quarantine as I obviously should have - I am so upset with myself) from the rest of the flock - four 1 year old chickens and the other three new ones.

think it is most likely CRD/mycoplasma and searched the area stores for TYLAN-50 - I couldn’t find it on Sunday so started with vet RX, both orally and wiped on her beak and under her wings. She was eating okay at that point. Then I found TYLAN 50 on Monday and started dosing her last night. She’s about 3 1/2 lbs and I’ve been planning to do 1 ml, 3x per day orally (a little over the .25/lb recommendation I’ve seen but not all of it gets down her throat).

Have you been cleaning out the eyes and clearing the mucous from her nostrils too?
She has quite a bit of facial/eye swelling that is likely pus. If there is pus in there it will need to come out in order to heal since chicken pus is semi-solid and is not absorbed.
Flush the eye with saline, remove the pus, apply Terramycin eye ointment. Repeat as needed.

Mycoplasma (MG) usually responds fairly well to antibiotic treatment. There are many respiratory diseases that look very similar. Infectious Coryza is reported to have a foul odor so if she stinks, that may be what you are dealing with, it usually requires a sulfa antibiotic along with the Tylan.
Does she have any mucous or yellow plugs inside the beak as well?

 

[Miccarty]

Thank you so much. She does not smell. I am going to take a closer look at the eye swelling now that I have watched that video.

 

[Miccarty]

Just an update in case it later helps someone else in a similar situation, as the prior threads helped me. One of the older chickens also started to have a swollen looking eye so I finally located a vet that would see chickens today. I took them both. The vet said the initial respiratory infection was probably viral but that the pus was a secondary infection so Tylan-50 was the correct course. I’m keeping both chickens separate and then also dosing the rest of the flock with Tylan through their water.

She also squeezed a bunch of the pus out through the nostrils and advised me to do the same for the next few days.

 

[Barbs Girls]

Poor baby!!!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Just an update in case it later helps someone else in a similar situation, as the prior threads helped me. One of the older chickens also started to have a swollen looking eye so I finally located a vet that would see chickens today. I took them both. The vet said the initial respiratory infection was probably viral but that the pus was a secondary infection so Tylan-50 was the correct course. I’m keeping both chickens separate and then also dosing the rest of the flock with Tylan through their water.

She also squeezed a bunch of the pus out through the nostrils and advised me to do the same for the next few days.

I'm glad you were able to see the vet and thank you for the update.
Did they give you Tylan soluble for the water?

I hope your hens recover, please keep us posted.