Tylan 50 for respiratory problems

[casportpony]

@izziebean , get a tube, it's much safer.

-Kathy

 

[izziebean]

Kathy, I probably should have. Unfortunately, it is too late. I made her some mash of eggs last night and she ate them like crazy on her own. She was enjoying them so much that I video'd it and she'd toss a bunch in her mouth and look over at me. I was giggling and she seemed to be having fun. Such a cute moment. I really thought at that moment 'okay.. she's going to make it'. Then she drank a ton of water on her own... a lot of it. I went to check on her at 2 a.m. to give more fluids and she was happy and warm in the midst of a chicken pile sleeping. I decided not to disturb because she had eaten and drank so much before bed. This morning, she was limp again. She didn't have the energy to stand or walk or eat or drink. I tried giving fluids, but it wasn't helping. Still hoping for a miracle, I gave her one more shot of Tylan. I've held her in my arms for over two hours. She's not moving.. just slow deep breaths. Several times they stopped and I was sure it was over. I cried only to find her head popping up a little, eyes still closed. So, I've wrapped her in a nice warm blanket and set her near her friends so she can hear their sweet chirping. My heart can't take much more. If I talk to her, she will move slightly. I feel like she is just holding on because I want her to. Her body has just shut down. I have stopped giving fluids. Her crop is full. Her body is just not processing anything more.

I guess I should note to those reading this later, the Tylan 50 won't cure or help Infectious Bronchitis. It helps by curing any secondary infections. The virus takes a huge toll on their little bodies so any extra help might be the difference between life and death. Unfortunately for Bridget, the disease was just too much for her. She only weighed .65 pounds so her illness took too much too fast.

 

[casportpony]

So sorry!

-Kathy

 

[daxigait]

I am so sorry too she sounds like she was a very sweet bird with personally.

 

[izziebean]

I went to check on her a few minutes ago and I thought again she was dead. I brought her into the other room and she wiggled her head. I nudged her and she nudged back slightly. I took her back into the bathroom and brought over her friend. She opened her eyes for a minute and took her last breath. Her friend is now panicked and running around making sounds. Bridget will be missed.

 

[casportpony]

Sorry for your loss.

-Kathy

 

[izziebean]

So the saga continues. I was under the impression that after the initial infection and recovery, that the chickens would then be carriers of the disease but have antibodies to fight it off. Nope. Double nope. NOPE NOPE NOPE. /sigh

After the death of Bridget, they all got sick again. Rapid weight loss spreading through the coop. Two sneezers. One wheezer. I've been giving Tylan again. Again it is helping them to recover. Most are doing better. Some still have a couple of days of antibiotics. I'm giving most of them three days of treatment, the ones with the most symptoms are getting five days. The ones will glassy eyes, I've been putting VetRX all over their face and beak. They do not seem to improve until I give them some medicine. I let one of the roosters get pretty sick hoping he would fight it off, but he didn't.

I'm weighing them this time. It's interesting to watch some of the birds. The ones who have lost some weight are a little more limpy when I pick them up. After a couple of days of antibiotics, they weigh more than before and are feisty. Oh mai gosh.. one of my favorite hens flapped in my face really hard tonight when I picked her up. For three pounds, she is STRONG.

That's the update. Hope everyone else's flock is surviving the winter better than us over in Colorado. Snow again tonight. Snuggle up and keep warm.

 

[daxigait]

I am sorry to hear it is back, just be careful with the antibiotics to avoid resistance. My roo has only partially gotten better on the Tylan. He still sounds gargly/snory when he sits on the roost. I am not sure if I am going to move to a second antibiotic or just see if he recovers or needs to be put down.
I lost my Sapphire pullet, she improved from the respiratory problem, but the leg weakness spread to her second leg. The vet gave me a med and the next day the second leg affected improved some, she drank and ate though she shook her head several times while she was eating. I gave her her medication and put her on the warm pad. A while later I heard a commotion and looked over to find her convulsing/flopping. I went and picked her up and she settled briefly and before she died.
Compared to your loses I am ahead, but I am worried about the spread of this as I have several still sneezing that don't seem to be getting better or worse. I am not sure if I need to treat them or not.
I hope yours get better.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Since she is about to mail out more birds, I did message her just now and let her know what the preliminary report indicates. I told her that I was not trying to accuse, but just to inform her that the birds might be IBV carriers.
Also, I don't regret using the Tylan 50 even though this was viral. It might have helped if they had any secondary infections. Oliver, who is now facing the corner, refusing to stand, drink, or eat.. I'm going to push fluids in the hopes that he will eat.

So if I keep my current flock, then I cannot sell them even once they are healthy because they will infect someone else's flock? And any new birds that I bring in to the flock will likely get the virus?

Quote:

Hi! Thanks for all the great responses. I am happy to report that all birds are showing improvements. Yesterday, the little ones again got to go outside and play. I even let two of the roosters out for a couple of hours when the temperatures soared to almost 60 degrees.

I've been doing a lot of reading about IBV. It's interesting because it's a coronovirus which I think is in the same classification as SARS? I don't know. Maybe I should start with things that I have found out. There is a vaccine for the virus, but since there are several different strands.. which are usually located in particular areas (I think three different ones in the u.s.).. it is almost impossible to vaccine for all of the different strains. BUT! vaccination for one might provide some protection against the other. The vaccines are actually live vaccines and are given in 3 stages. Now that my birds have had the infection, they will always have antibodies and we won't have to go through this again.. with these chickens.

For up to twenty weeks after infection, the chicken can shed the virus. After that, they are okay around other birds. The necropsy report is still just in the preliminary stages, so more problems may be found when the final report is issued. The symptoms of my chickens line up almost exactly with what happened to my birds.. even their suggestions on how to help the chickens survive the virus line up with what we tried here. The vitamins with the electrolytes help a LOT. Making sure they drink and eat even when they are lethargic. The giving of random antibiotics 'could' help if there is any other thing going wrong with their system since the virus hits so hard and fast.

How did my little flock of birds get the virus? My first birds were acquired in April/May as chicks. Since 20 of the 24 were roosters, I rehomed 16 roosters. That left me with 8 birds.. 4 roos and 4 hens who got along great. Forum posters on here said that ratio of roo to hen was horrible and that I needed to up my hen count because the roosters could over-mate the hens. So I bought 2 buff silkie hens from a local breeder. That was back in July. I kept them quarantined for 30 days and added them to the flock. Everything was fine. I bought 6 baby chicks from MPC sex'd as females. They have been around the others but were not allowed to roam free with them until recently. The other 2 flew in from california from a breeder who I have been a fan of for quite a while. She breeds polish frizzle bantams and her birds are beautiful. She is NPIP certified with closed flocks and has her birds tested every six months. She has never had any kind of an outbreak. She is a member on these forums and has almost 3 thousand posts. I do not see her as nefarious and I think the birds were clean when they left her farm.

So.. how did my flock get infected? I've narrowed it down to three different ways. 1. My biosecurity sucked. Since my flock free ranges during the day, I wore the same boots around the yard.. in and out of their run.. to the feed store.. everywhere. Those boots are my boots. I could have carried the virus in that way. 2. The mice. My neighborhood has had a horrible infection of mice. I don't think that the mice themselves carry it, but rather the virus can get on their hair and can shed near the chickens. My neighborhood is also full of chicken owners. Since the wind can carry the virus, could have been from them? 3. The new birds. I actually do not believe that the lady I bought the birds from knew that the birds had the virus. In fact, I'm not sure that they did before getting on that flight from California. I actually believe that the truth is that they got the virus from an infected bird on the flight to me. I think one of them got it first and showed little to no symptoms... probably Bridget. They were in a cage far from the other flock but Paris, being the mottled houdan that she is, escaped her pen. I have pictures from that day because I thought it was 'cute' that she was so interested in the new girls. It had been 10 days? I would have to check the photos. Paris died within a week of that picture. She probably had symptoms for 2-3 days but was either hiding them or I just didn't see them as that harmful since she was molting and it was getting cold. The day before she died was a very cold day and I think the virus just hit her poor little body so hard. Had I known how to push fluids, I do think I could have saved her (unless the report says that her kidneys shut down then nothing could have saved her). After that, the virus was just everywhere. Even with good biosecurity and a full 40 days of quarantine, I'm not sure I could have prevented the disaster. Not buying the chickens and having them shipped.. that would have prevented it. Having them shipped, quarantined, and tested.. that would have helped. Cost of the test? $3. I am now learning where and how to have birds tested. I have contacted the lady who does the NPIP in my state. I'm hoping to learn more about testing, how to get testing, etc etc.

If this only turns out to be IBV, then I feel lucky. MG would have been worse. I do think that these birds can eventually be integrated with other birds and won't be contagious.. but not for months. The virus is not transmitted vertically to their eggs. The virus is not transmitted to humans; but, interestingly, the human body can develop antibodies to the virus if the humans are exposed.

Good points boldened.

So the saga continues. I was under the impression that after the initial infection and recovery, that the chickens would then be carriers of the disease but have antibodies to fight it off. Nope. Double nope. NOPE NOPE NOPE. /sigh

After the death of Bridget, they all got sick again. Rapid weight loss spreading through the coop. Two sneezers. One wheezer. I've been giving Tylan again. Again it is helping them to recover. Most are doing better. Some still have a couple of days of antibiotics. I'm giving most of them three days of treatment, the ones with the most symptoms are getting five days. The ones will glassy eyes, I've been putting VetRX all over their face and beak. They do not seem to improve until I give them some medicine. I let one of the roosters get pretty sick hoping he would fight it off, but he didn't.

I'm weighing them this time. It's interesting to watch some of the birds. The ones who have lost some weight are a little more limpy when I pick them up. After a couple of days of antibiotics, they weigh more than before and are feisty. Oh mai gosh.. one of my favorite hens flapped in my face really hard tonight when I picked her up. For three pounds, she is STRONG.

That's the update. Hope everyone else's flock is surviving the winter better than us over in Colorado. Snow again tonight. Snuggle up and keep warm.

Another thing we should always remember in the rush to treat. If we give antibiotics or any other medications without a diagnosis and knowing what we're treating - and then get a necropsy on a dead bird - that can render the necropsy inexact at least or worthless at most.

Our vet school spells out what is needed for an effective necropsy. I'm sure all labs have the same instructions.

Collection and Preparation of Specimens
Necropsy: Live, sick, untreated animals that show typical clinical signs, along with dead animals that have not undergone decomposition or treatment, are the specimens of choice. Dead animals should be necropsied as soon as possible after death. If size permits, animals should be refrigerated until necropsied. The owner should be encouraged to bring animals to the laboratory when the veterinarian cannot. Submission of more than one animal, when possible, will increase the chances of a rapid, accurate diagnosis.

 

[casportpony]

I am sorry to hear it is back, just be careful with the antibiotics to avoid resistance. My roo has only partially gotten better on the Tylan. He still sounds gargly/snory when he sits on the roost. I am not sure if I am going to move to a second antibiotic or just see if he recovers or needs to be put down.
I lost my Sapphire pullet, she improved from the respiratory problem, but the leg weakness spread to her second leg. The vet gave me a med and the next day the second leg affected improved some, she drank and ate though she shook her head several times while she was eating. I gave her her medication and put her on the warm pad. A while later I heard a commotion and looked over to find her convulsing/flopping. I went and picked her up and she settled briefly and before she died.
Compared to your loses I am ahead, but I am worried about the spread of this as I have several still sneezing that don't seem to be getting better or worse. I am not sure if I need to treat them or not.
I hope yours get better.

The fact he is is only partially better could mean that he has a bacterial infection that's resistant to tylosin (Tylan). Could also mean that he has a viral infection. If I had some that were just sneezing I would not treat them... I would only treat the ones that sounded congested.

-Kathy