Watery eyes and open beak?

[rookie2014]

I have a small flock and just added a new roo and 2 hens. Yesterday one of my older hens died and another hen looks like one of her eyes is closed up. I checked last night and a different hen has really watery eyes with tinny bubbles it looks weird. A couple times I saw one hen opening her beak for an extended time as well. All 3 of the new birds are acting fine and appear to be in great shape.
I'm really confused because I've kept a small flock for many years with no problems like this before.

 

[Eggcessive]

Unfortunatly, this is a good illustration why it is best to always quarantine new chickens away from your flock for at least 30-45 days to watch for symptoms of disease, lice and mites. Chickens who have been in a flock affected by respiratory disease can become carriers, but they may not show symptoms until they are stressed. I would suggest you read this link about the diseases infectious bronchitis, mycoplasma gallisepticum (CRD,) coryza, and infectious laryngotracheitis (ILT.) Then decide if you need to cull your flock or to close your flock to any new chickens until all of your present chickens have gone. Antibiotics (Tylan, Gallimycin, Tetracyclines) will only help mycoplasmas and bacteria, but not viruses. Here is the link: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

 

[Fancychooklady]

I quarantined mine for 6 weeks and it wasn't till that time that symptoms appeared . I never introduced them to my flock . I'm glad that you have found the right thread to post on. I have used doxycycline on mine and it seems to have the symptoms under control. As eggcessive says if you decide to keep them going its important to close your flock. No birds in or out.

 

[rookie2014]

Thanks for your help and support. I thought I had everything figured out. I researched the best breeders got an awesome roo and two super hens and now I am humbled. Right now the remaining flock is on Tylan 200 and everybody is active and looking a little better. The weird thing is that only my old hens have got sick so far not the new ones. I have done some research that says this is pretty common thing and most flocks in the USA will be exposed to this stuff every year. Anyway I have 6 chicks several weeks old from my old hens and once I hatch 20 more chicks from my new super BLRW I will cull the entire flock

 

[Eggcessive]

I think I would try to get a chicken tested to see if it is MG, ILT, or coryza because many times there are multiple diseases or secondary infections. There are vaccines available so you might want to vaccinate your chicks, but it is not good to do this unless you know what they have. Fortunately most respiratory diseases are not infectious after a few days (except for ILT which may be around for 6 weeks.) So disinfecting a coop, run, and equipment can stop the spread especially after waiting a few weeks. Here are a couple of good articles on MG:
http://umaine.edu/livestock/poultry/mycoplasma-gallisepticum-faq/
http://www.poultrydiseases.net/online/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14&Itemid=26

 

[rookie2014]

Should have the results from the lab in a week.