Upper Respiratory Infection -- What is it? Can I continue to eat their eggs?

[KatGold]

Hi Folks,

After a long drought, we had four days of cool rain. My chickens were out in it for the first day and seemed to enjoy it.

By the second day of rain, two hens were making groaning sounds, whistling and sneezing. I separated them and started treating with Tetroxy HCA. The third day, I found another hen and pullet were symptomatic, so I put them in with the first two hens.

I figured they'd be fine in a week or so and all was well (they are showing improvement but there are still some sneezes). It's been several days since separated them, but this morning I found a new hen who is moaning. I put her in yet another cage with her own Tetroxy.

I'm using the dosage I found here:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/583041/tetroxy-hca-280

This post references "air sac infection caused by MG/MS and E Coli."

My questions to you:

• Is an air sac infection another way of saying an upper respiratory infection? Or is this something I need to know more about?

• How would I know if I have an e. coli problem? And if it is a problem, can I still eat the eggs?

• I have a mixed-age flock comprised of: 2-year old hens, 5-month old pullets, and weeks-old chicks. Should I treat everyone with Tetroxy to prevent a full-on outbreak?

Thank you so much for whatever information you can share!

KatGold

 

[Gracie9205]

Hi Folks,

After a long drought, we had four days of cool rain. My chickens were out in it for the first day and seemed to enjoy it.

By the second day of rain, two hens were making groaning sounds, whistling and sneezing. I separated them and started treating with Tetroxy HCA. The third day, I found another hen and pullet were symptomatic, so I put them in with the first two hens.

I figured they'd be fine in a week or so and all was well (they are showing improvement but there are still some sneezes). It's been several days since separated them, but this morning I found a new hen who is moaning. I put her in yet another cage with her own Tetroxy.

I'm using the dosage I found here:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/583041/tetroxy-hca-280

This post references "air sac infection caused by MG/MS and E Coli."

My questions to you:

• Is an air sac infection another way of saying an upper respiratory infection? Or is this something I need to know more about?

• How would I know if I have an e. coli problem? And if it is a problem, can I still eat the eggs?

• I have a mixed-age flock comprised of: 2-year old hens, 5-month old pullets, and weeks-old chicks. Should I treat everyone with Tetroxy to prevent a full-on outbreak?

Thank you so much for whatever information you can share!

KatGold

You should not eat any animal or their eggs if they are being treated with antibiotics. I would check the antibiotic's packaging. It usually tells you how long to wait before the animal is safe to eat again.

 

[KatGold]

I've read that some people don't treat for upper respiratory infections at all. I've also read that some illnesses and kill and entire flock.

What is the best management practice for this kind of situation?

 

[Gracie9205]

I'm not going to sit around and watch my flock die off! I'd fix the problem before it got out of hand. Check with your feed store and ask for a broad spectrum antibiotic such as Duramycin. Good luck!

 

[De Wet]

it can be any cold deseases, treat it with fosbac plus T it is a oral base treatment it contains fosamycin and tylon

 

[dawg53]

I'm not going to sit around and watch my flock die off! I'd fix the problem before it got out of hand. Check with your feed store and ask for a broad spectrum antibiotic such as Duramycin. Good luck!

Antibiotics only treat symptoms with respiratory diseases, they do not cure the disease. Surviving birds will remain carriers and will infect new birds added to a flock. A closed flock must be maintained and strict biosecurity procedures must be in place to prevent the spread of the disease(s.)
It's best to cull birds infected with respiratory disease, disinfect everything and wait several months (or longer) before starting over.

 

[Gracie9205]

Antibiotics only treat symptoms with respiratory diseases, they do not cure the disease. Surviving birds will remain carriers and will infect new birds added to a flock. A closed flock must be maintained and strict biosecurity procedures must be in place to prevent the spread of the disease(s.)
It's best to cull birds infected with respiratory disease, disinfect everything and wait several months (or longer) before starting over.

I honestly didn't know that! I have never had an outbreak in my flock (knock on wood), so I was just going off of what I'd heard. Thanks for the info.

 

[dawg53]

I honestly didn't know that! I have never had an outbreak in my flock (knock on wood), so I was just going off of what I'd heard. Thanks for the info.

Yeah, there's alot of horror stories here. You dont know how many posts there have been where someone has a nice healthy flock until they bring home a couple of new birds from a swap meet or neighbor down the road...the new birds introduce a disease to an otherwise healthy flock..sad but true...total disaster.

 

[Gracie9205]

Yeah, there's alot of horror stories here. You dont know how many posts there have been where someone has a nice healthy flock until they bring home a couple of new birds from a swap meet or neighbor down the road...the new birds introduce a disease to an otherwise healthy flock..sad but true...total disaster.

If these birds carry the disease their whole life, then I guess it wouldn't even help to quarantine them would it?

 

[dawg53]

If these birds carry the disease their whole life, then I guess it wouldn't even help to quarantine them would it?

Quaranting new birds for at least 6 weeks will give you a good idea if the new birds are infected/infested with something, then treat or cull accordingly. Keep in mind that respiratory diseases have different incubation times...that's why it's recommended 6 weeks quarantine. There are a few diseases that have longer incubation times, it's always a risk. Usually though, the stress of quarantine will bring out the worst of an infected bird in a couple of weeks. You'll want to practice biosecurity too. Diseases can be transmitted on clothing, shoes, hands, sometimes airborne etc...Keeping newly quarantined birds the farthest away from a healthy flock is best.