Tylan 50 question, rather urgent

[Tesumph]

Hey all. Last night I noticed one of my RIR was withdrawn and both eyes were stuck shut with mild sores under one. Turns out the at least 5 of 27 have this eye thing going on with lethargic symptoms and a ton of mucus production from eyes and in the worse ones, beaks.
I'm confident that it's mycoplasma, so I'm rushing to get Tylan 50 and some needles because I don't think the tetracycline I have on hand will help the bad ones very much.
My question is, obviously I start medicating the sick ones immediately but what about the rest of the flock? Do I give a round of injections to all 27? That sounds nightmarish. Or should I start the not obviously sick ones on Tylan or tetracycline in their water? Wouldn't that hurt the sick ones if they drank more oral medication while having injected medication?

 

[Tesumph]

Please anyone? I have tetracycline/duramycine and Tylan 50. Sick chickens get Tylan injections, what about the rest of the flock?

 

[MrsBrooke]

I would get a blood test from the vet to determine what they have. Tylan doesn't treat everything, unfortunately... And giving antibiotics that will be ineffective isn't the best idea.

Short of that, isolate the drippy, lethargic chickens away from the rest of the flock IMMEDIATELY.

Sores under her eyes? Could you post a picture of this? It could be injury, Fowl pox, or bug bites.

Do the ones with eye stuff have a bad smell around their heads?

If you suspect mycoplasma, there are things you should consider: A chicken that pulls through mycoplasma is a carrier for life and can infect other birds with or without showing symptoms.

It is advisable (if it is mycoplasma) that the birds showing symptoms be put down and their bodies burned. It's that serious. This is why I recommend getting a blood test at the vet. If it's infectious bronchitis, that's one thing... Mycoplasma is a whole other beastie. At the very least, should it be mycoplasma and you decide NOT to cull, you will need to maintain a closed flock... Birds can come in, but no birds go out.

I don't mean to scare you... I just want you to be armed with all the information.

Let us know!

MrsB

 

[Tesumph]

Thank you for the advice, but if I came across as being new to all of this, I'm really not. We've dealt with our fair share of illness in our history of chickens, this is just the first time we've caught a contagious disease early enough where not all of the flock is showing signs, so I'm not sure whether to treat all or some.
I don't say that to be rude or proud, I just don't think that anyone should so freely give the advice to cull an entire flock as a better option than keeping a closed flock. Our flock is actually completely closed already, our chickens are pets first, and any monetary gain second. We don't show, sell, or interbreed with other flocks.
I am very well acquainted with mycoplasma from having pet rats, and I have talked to my vet about the flock. I'm almost positive it is mycoplasma, and if not from research I do believe Tylan has a good chance of treating whatever it is. The medication in choice isn't really the problem here..
I can post a picture of their eyes. I'm not sure what the sores are from but I know it's not fowl pox, fingers crossed its just from them scratching at their irritated/blinded eyes. No smell, it is not coryza.

 

[MrsBrooke]

I'm glad to know you've done research on it and consulted a vet!

Personally, we cull sick birds, but I do remember mentioning closed flock as an option.

Sorry to hear you've got this going around.

Unsure about the Tylan dosage, but I do know the TerraVet water soluble powder treats mycoplasma. If you search the forum, you'll probably be able to find the dose to treat for just about anything.

On a semi-related note, we cull sick chickens to prevent wild birds, rats/mice, and other people from carrying the disease elsewhere. Our chickens are not pets, but we don't show, sell, or otherwise share our birds with the outside world as of yet. We breed from our own stock, and a chicken that's susceptible to diseases like that shows genetic weakness or lowered immunity, so we cull.

We all do the best we can for our flocks' health! I apologize if I came off too pushy. It certainly was not my intention. <3

MrsB

 

[casportpony]

If what they have is mycoplasma, Tylan will probably work, but it will not work if they have a virus or gram negative infection like E.coli or pseudomonas.

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

If I were going to give Tylan 50, I would give 1/2ml per pound orally twice a day. Why? Because that's how much Tylan powder they're supposed to have in one day, and orally because the shots can cause injection site necrosis.

Tetracyline and oxytetracyline doses are here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...e-and-tetracycline-powder-doses#post_16002461

-Kathy

 

[Tesumph]

Alright, thanks all. The four sickest hens are indoors and medicated with Tylan, the rest of the flock is getting tetracycline in the water. I noticed some of them with raspy breath so I'm jumping on it before the mucus starts.
The four girls eyes are starting to look better, only one of the whole lot is stuck shut and the sores are gone on all the eyes except the still stuck one. I'm thinking the sores are a combination of the swelling and them scratching/ rubbing their eyes. The other eyes are clearing up, some are still very bubbly but they can keep them open.
Fingers crossed they improve with the medicine so I can know for sure its "just" a treatable bacterial infection.