Treating upper respiratory infections

[Eggcessive]

These links are very helpful.  Thanks for sharing.  Do you think we need to move onto Tylan or should we just wait it out and keep giving him the nutri-drench?

I would wait because the people I respect say to treat with DiMethox or sulfadimthoxine, that it is better than Tylan for coryza. You may be seeing the worst part of his disease now. I have never treated coryza, but it takes time to get over, and it is never cured. I have read that it can last for weeks. I am glad he is doing better.

 

[lucciana]

This is my first time raising chickens. I got four chicks six weeks ago. Two silver laced wyandottes, one australorp and one Americauna. They have been healthy and growing like crazy. Then a week and a half ago I got three chicks. A White Wyandotte, speckled sussex, and Golden sex link. They all looked and acted healthy then a couple days later the wyandotte's left eye started watering and the next morning it was a little crusty. I thought that maybe she got something in her eye or one of the other girls pecked her. So I cleaned it with warm water and put a little neosporin around it. The next day it looked a little better and didn't seem to be watering any more. The day after that it started watering again so for about a week I have been cleaning it out. Now this whole time she has been eating and drinking and hasn't acted sick. She also can still see out of the eye. It looks like she has been wiping her eye on the top of her wing. Yesterday it looks to be a little puffy and I noticed that all three of the little girls have started to sneeze. Everyone still acts healthy but now I am starting to suspect that it is infectious bronchitis. I am super worried and am not sure what to do. I had the big girls in one brooder and the babies separate in another but the brooders were next to each other. Yesterday the big girls were moved out to the coop.

So my questions are do you think its bronchitis, or some kind if eye problem? If it is what can I do about it? I researched last
night and saw different people say to use sodium salicylate 1gm/liter, terramycin, duramycin or tylan for bronchitis. Also if the little ones do make it though is it safe to put them with the big girls once they are healthy? I was reading up on infectious bronchitis and it sounds like since its highly contagious that the big girls have most likely already been exposed to it.

 

[amandarc]

Hi,
You should probably bypass the Terramycin and Duramycin-those versions are less strong, less effective than the Tylan 50-your goal right now is to subdue the symptoms so no secondary illness can take hold also
.
Tylan 50 will help your birds heal/recover from the cough, sneezing etc. BUT it will not cure it. Bottom line is your entire flock has been exposed now even though only some are showing outward signs of the illness. Chickens don't get 'colds', they get viruses and bacterial infections etc. MS and MG are the biggest offenders of respiratory issues. But you will only be guessing at what your birds have unless you take some live birds and dead birds to be necropsied by your local agricultural vet or exchange.

The best you can do besides testing for illness is to disinfect your waterers, feeders DAILY, and clean your roosts etc. and keep bedding as clean as possible. Give Tylan 50 injections (which work quickest & are more effective than oral doses) at a rate of 1/2cc subcutaneously into the breast for full size chickens & 1/4cc for bantam size  (switching breast sides each injection) or to inject behind the neck between the shoulder blades subcutaneously 2x's per day for a duration of 5 days. The reason you inject 2x's a day is that Tylan 50 is effective in the system for a period of only about 8 hours. In more severe cases where your bird is struggling to breathe or is very very lethargic, you can give Tylan 50 every 3x's daily.

Injections can be intimidating. Google how to give a chicken an injection and you should find the exact step by step instructions. Tractor supply carries tylan 50, syringes, and you should use about a 22 gauge needle.

Isolating your sick from the 'healthy' ones while under treatment (even though they have all been exposed now) is recommended in order to reduce the airborne and direct swapping of fluids. Isolating will help control the spread of the symptoms, but your birds will always be carriers-there is no cure-no vaccinations to cure what disease they may have. "Vaccinations", only help control and reduce the symptoms of the illnesses=they do not eradicate the disease. You can reduce illness outbreaks by minimizing stress, practicing cleanliness, good nutrition, and antibiotics to reduce the chance of any secondary issues occurring.

What if a few birds are sneezing, should I give all of my flock shots of tylan 50? I have 10 birds. 3 are sneezing, 1 has the mucous rattle sound. Thanks! This post is super helpful

 

[RooRidgeFarm]

What if a few birds are sneezing, should I give all of my flock shots of tylan 50? I have 10 birds. 3 are sneezing, 1 has the mucous rattle sound. Thanks! This post is super helpful

Hi, I would recommend that you go ahead and isolate the 3 if you can and treat just them first. If you see or hear symptoms in any of the others, then begin treatments on them. It's best to keep a treatment record-which bird you are treating, when you start, and mark the date when you should finish for each bird as you begin injections. Trust me, you will get confused on when and which birds got their shots and when the end of treatment date for each should be unless you keep a quick record and check off morning and night injections.

The other choice, is to try and let them ride it out. You can get Vet RX for poultry and follow the directions. It helps clear the mucous etc but is not an antibiotic (you can use this in conjunctions WITH Tylan or without it). Another help that you may want to do ALONG WITH or WITHOUT the Tylan shots is to mix up organic apple cider vinegar and water (about 1/3 avc to about 2/3 water) and using a plastic syringe or dropper administer orally about a half to 1cc per bird depending on chicken size. Be careful to not aspirate the chickens. You can google how to administer liquid to chickens to make sure you don't put the mix down the windpipe.

Using the vinegar solution will GREATLY help cut the mucous so they can breathe much better. If you decide to do the Tylan injections, make sure to boost their nutrition and try to offer some probiotics during and after the treatments. They will need 'good' bacteria after their treatment to help them recover.

Hope this may be helpful and wishing you a speedy recovery for your birds!

 

[amandarc]

Thank you for your reply. currently I have been giving them probiotics apple cider vinegar and vitamins in their water since they were 6 weeks old. now they are 10 weeks old. I think I will wait on the tylan 50 until I think symptoms persist. I currently do not have anywhere to quarantine more than one bird. can I reuse the needle tip that go to the syringes if I have boil them in water? if I choose to Medicate

 

[RooRidgeFarm]

Thank you for your reply. currently I have been giving them probiotics apple cider vinegar and vitamins in their water since they were 6 weeks old. now they are 10 weeks old. I think I will wait on the tylan 50 until I think symptoms persist. I currently do not have anywhere to quarantine more than one bird. can I reuse the needle tip that go to the syringes if I have boil them in water? if I choose to Medicate

It's possible that you can use the needles for more than one injection, BUT here is what happens: The rubber stopper that you have to insert the needle into will dull the needle each time you insert it into the medicine bottle. Also, each injection into a bird dulls the sharpness. It will get more difficult and more painful for the chicken if you reuse the needle. I have used a needle twice before after sterilizing it, but I don't recommend it. I know that I personally wouldn't want the doctor to give me a needle that was already dulled from prior use lol.

So bottom line, yes you can reuse, but it gets painful for the chickens

 

[amandarc]

Ok that's helpful. I have 24 needles, I'm good for a while. I was just curious to know. Thank you!

 

[casportpony]

Quote: Many vets will use a new needle to fill the syringe and another new needle to inject the animal because of that. Great post!

-Kathy

 

[fcqberry]

I too have a similar problem. I just started raising a few chickens. I recently bought two laying hens to go with my young pullets which I had already purchased at a local auction. I lost one of the pullets due to unknown problems then late last week one of the laying hens which I had purchased at local sales spot developed a respiratory problem. She is very congested and has a hard time breathing. She eats very little and just lays/stands around listlessly. She stays at the water container drinking a lot. Three days ago I started putting Oxytetracycline in their drinking water thinking this would be the cure for her and would prevent my other chickens from getting the same thing. So far she continues to get worse and I am fearful she will die within a few days. If anyone could offer a suggestion I would appreciate it.

 

[casportpony]

I too have a similar problem. I just started raising a few chickens. I recently bought two laying hens to go with my young pullets which I had already purchased at a local auction. I lost one of the pullets due to unknown problems then late last week one of the laying hens which I had purchased at local sales spot developed a respiratory problem. She is very congested and has a hard time breathing. She eats very little and just lays/stands around listlessly. She stays at the water container drinking a lot. Three days ago I started putting Oxytetracycline in their drinking water thinking this would be the cure for her and would prevent my other chickens from getting the same thing. So far she continues to get worse and I am fearful she will die within a few days. If anyone could offer a suggestion I would appreciate it.

Can you take her to a vet? Do you have any Baytril or Cipro?

-Kathy