Treating the flock??

[Sweetwtch]

So I'm now really worried! We had a silkie die about 2 months ago. She was a lot smaller than the rest, was eating and drinking but just up and died one day. Now tonight with the loss of my other girl. (she was making an almost hacking noise, couldn't stand) I am totally freaking out. I am Very new to having chickens and so unsure of what to do. Do you treat your flock with something to prevent diseases? Here are some symptoms that my chickens are showing. Sneezing, runny noise (Almost all of them) A couple of them are almost throwing up. This yellow ish liquid will come out of their mouths. Also we noticed they do have bugs. We have treated with Mana pro poultry protector. All of their ages and breeds range. We have some that are around 6 months old, young as 5. Out of 16 we only have 2 that are laying. I feel like I am totally doing everything wrong. We clean their coops once a week. I use water to rinse it out, Vinegar on the areas with heavy poop, Rake out all of the wheat straw, I dust the area with DE, add something called nesting box blend ( herbs that are suppose to detur bugs). We are feeding cracked corn, cracked wheat, and layer feed. What am I doing wrong?? What should I be doing??

 

[SilkiesnFrizzle]

What kind of "bugs" do they have? What does thier poop look like? Any behavioral changes in birds..ie lethargic. It sounds like a respitory infection could be the culprit, but need more info.

 

[Judy]

It's nothing that you are doing or not doing for their care, it's what was brought onto your property. Unfortunately, you are probably dealing with one of the viral respiratory diseases that plague chickens. This is why careful sourcing of your birds plus quarantine of added birds is so important. At this point, I'd suggest you have them tested to determine what they have, then research and make your plans accordingly. At the very lest, if you keep the chickens. you should maintain a closed flock, meaning no birds or eggs for hatching should ever leave your property.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...ow-a-buggery-nose-on-my-roo/0_20#post_9778598

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/birdbiosecurity/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/12751/urgent-reminder-please-quarantine-newly-acquired-birds/0_20

 

[Sweetwtch]

I see two different kinds on them. Both are small. One is black and the other is a pale yellow color. I'm thinking both lice and mites? As far as behavioral changes. Only 2 have changed. The one that died tonight, and another hen. She seems more needy if that makes any sense. She seems a bit down in the dumps. But is still nice and plump! We have not added any new chickens to our flock in months. The only ones we have gotten were placed in a new area to themselves, and they came from a friends farm. If I am dealing with a viral respiratory disease, what on earth do I do? I am trying to find a vet in my area that will look at chickens. But so far I am having no luck at all. I bought some of those vitamins you put into their water. I was going to start that tomorrow when they got fresh water.

 

[Mehjr10]

Treat the coop for the bugs with Sevin dust, pyrethrin or my preference Spinosad. With the spinosad I will spray the birds and the coop to keep the bugs off. Gnats, mites, lice etc. You can also dust the birds with the sevin dust... The DE does not help much Imo.

Sound like they have a respiratory issue.. I would treat with the following two, see it that will take care of them.. As the previous poster stated most if not all respiratory issues are for the life of the bird.. And when bringing in new birds other than chicks from a reputable hatchery need to be quarantined..

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/631458/miracle-la-200-dosage-and-vetrx-for-crd-treatment

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/752691/tylan-50-injection

https://sites.google.com/a/poultrypedia.com/poultrypedia/medicine-chart




Hope this helps.

 

[Sweetwtch]

Which Sevin dust? I want to make sure to be using the correct one! I just picked up some Ytex garden and poultry dust this afternoon. Will that also be ok to use? Or is the Sevin better? I have never heard of spinosad, but I like the idea of being able to spray the coop. So I will look into that first thing tomorrow! Thank you so much for those links! I'm going to find the meds and get to treating. We have no intention of getting anymore chickens until all of these are gone. They are pretty much just our pets. And the only thing I see the DE doing for us, is keeping the flies at bay. That's seriously about it! Obviously did Not do what I thought since my girls have bugs. : (

 

[Judy]

5% Sevin garden dust. What you bought is probably fine as well.

Here is an older article about treating them that recommends Sevin, although Mehjr10's redommendations are great, too. But this gives you some pics so ou know what to look for.

http://ohioline.osu.edu/vme-fact/0018.html

 

[Sweetwtch]

Thank you very much!!