Upper respiratory: Nothing's working and I'm new at this!

[puppylove2145]

I have 14 new chickens. 2 are 6 mo old the rest are about 3 mo old. I've never owned chickens so I'm at a loss as to what to do. Most of them have a strange gurgly sound and occasional cough. A few have shown occasional watery eyes and slightly runny nose (clear) but it's all very minimal and comes and goes (except the gurgling and coughing) also they all seem to have a strange, almost sour smell to their bodies and mouth. My rooster has some discoloration around his neck area from wiping his face. The poop looks great, text book chicken poo! Appetites are the same. They drinks lots of water, and are still active!! Although the 2 -6 mo old hens have stopped laying and my rooster has stopped crowing
I first tried to give antibiotics in the water (duramycin10) for 5 days with absolutely no change. Tried electrolytes/vitamins in water, no change. Fed garlic, no change.
Now I'm sitting writing this thread and reading directions for VETRX and WAZINE17 (wormer) so that I can try them tomorrow.... I'm at a loss! What is going on!? No environmental changes, I'm in Houston so it's not cold, their coop is very well ventilated and they have more than enough room so it's not over crowding. I use pine straw from our yard as the coop bedding. Any ideas??

 

[Shabana]

Sorry to hear that your birds are unwell.
If you quietly pop down to the coop at night you will probably hear them gurgling and popping badly.
Sounds like you are doing everything you can, if there are any whom are ok I would keep them separate tho.

In the uk we can't get meds but in the past I have been prescribed tylan and baytril for mycoplasma by our vet.
I have also used a type of herbal/aromatherapy type smoke bomb in their coop while they are in it to help clear their airways.

When they are stressed, this can come back. They remain carriers. Has anything happened that could've triggered it ?

Best wishes x

 

[Alliesmom]

tetracycline is another antibiotic that can be used in the water. I have used it in the past and it seems to work well. I know sometimes animals can have a resistance to certain antibiotics which makes them ineffective. Also when looking at the labels check to see if the medications are an antibiotic or anti-bacteria. If the antibiotics dont seem to be working it could be bacteria related and you can try to treat them with the anti-bacteria medication. If that seems to work or help improve try moving their coop to a new area if you can. Micro-bacteria lives in the ground and since we cant see it they would likely become re-infested.

 

[dawg53]

FYI: Tetracycline is Duramycin:
http://www.durvet.com/dl/Durvet-Poultry-Brochure.pdf

 

[dawg53]

I have 14 new chickens. 2 are 6 mo old the rest are about 3 mo old. I've never owned chickens so I'm at a loss as to what to do. Most of them have a strange gurgly sound and occasional cough. A few have shown occasional watery eyes and slightly runny nose (clear) but it's all very minimal and comes and goes (except the gurgling and coughing) also they all seem to have a strange, almost sour smell to their bodies and mouth. My rooster has some discoloration around his neck area from wiping his face. The poop looks great, text book chicken poo! Appetites are the same. They drinks lots of water, and are still active!! Although the 2 -6 mo old hens have stopped laying and my rooster has stopped crowing

I first tried to give antibiotics in the water (duramycin10) for 5 days with absolutely no change. Tried electrolytes/vitamins in water, no change. Fed garlic, no change.
Now I'm sitting writing this thread and reading directions for VETRX and WAZINE17 (wormer) so that I can try them tomorrow.... I'm at a loss! What is going on!? No environmental changes, I'm in Houston so it's not cold, their coop is very well ventilated and they have more than enough room so it's not over crowding. I use pine straw from our yard as the coop bedding. Any ideas??

By your description of the odor, it sounds like it could possibly be Infectious Coryza, maybe in conjunction with Mycoplasma Gallisepticum (MG.) Your best bet would be to cull sick birds and bury them deep. Then sanitize everything including coops, waterers, feeders. Then repopulate in 6 months.
If you don't, you will be treating sick birds for the rest of their lives with little or no egg production. Antibiotics will be expensive and surviving birds will be carriers for the rest of their lives. They will pass the disease(s) to other birds.
Here's a link to respiratory diseases in poultry. Scroll down to Infectious Coryza and Mycoplasma Gallisepticum (MG) and read about them if you wish:
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

 

[wildrover]

Everything you have described is what I have been living with/battling the past month: WET POX. The tell tale sign was the odor you mention. Pry open their mouths and do you see a cheesy/thick white substance on the roofs/hinges/throats? It can be a lot or it can be one or two areas that can be removed w a Qtip dipped in saline solution.
I will say, mine first had the dry pox & then some got the wet pox from picking at the ones w dry pox.
I've had two survive the wet pox, two died from suffocation from it ( they smelled HORRIBLE from the infection...usually my chickens don't smell at all), and sadly I had to cull 5 others who couldn't pull through.

If you deem it to be the wet pox, I did electrolytes AND dueromyicin (sp?) at the same time. It's a long battle. Hang in there if you can. If you don't have the time to doctor them, culling is a hard decision but puts them out of their suffering.

 

[dawg53]

Everything you have described is what I have been living with/battling the past month: WET POX. The tell tale sign was the odor you mention. Pry open their mouths and do you see a cheesy/thick white substance on the roofs/hinges/throats? It can be a lot or it can be one or two areas that can be removed w a Qtip dipped in saline solution.
I will say, mine first had the dry pox & then some got the wet pox from picking at the ones w dry pox.
I've had two survive the wet pox, two died from suffocation from it ( they smelled HORRIBLE from the infection...usually my chickens don't smell at all), and sadly I had to cull 5 others who couldn't pull through.

If you deem it to be the wet pox, I did electrolytes AND dueromyicin (sp?) at the same time. It's a long battle. Hang in there if you can. If you don't have the time to doctor them, culling is a hard decision but puts them out of their suffering.

Puppylove2145 birds are eating and drinking normally, that doesn't happen with wet pox nor canker. Sorry for your losses Wildrover. Fowl pox is normally spread by mosquitos. Consider draining sources of standing water if possible. Good luck.

 

[wildrover]

With all respect Dawg53, mine were still eating & drinking as best they could - the ones that succumbed to the wet pox. One was the vision of health & plumpness...till she dropped dead in front of me. LOL.

 

[dawg53]

They may have eaten and drank, getting it past the esophagus might be a different story if lesions were present. They would starve to death.
http://www.merckmanuals.com/vet/poultry/fowlpox/fowlpox_in_chickens_and_turkeys.html

 

[puppylove2145]

Wow, great info here! Ive finished their antibiotics, their wormer and did a vigilant run with the VETRX and electrolyte/vitamin water.... Since my post there isn't much of a change.... Still gurgly and weird cough sound. I'm noticing 2 of them keep getting their eyes stuck shut and I'm having to VETRX them and then they are good for about a day. I've only had them for about 3-4 months and this is my first experience with chickens. My chickens range from 12 weeks to 7 months