My flock of 16 chickens seems to have a respiratory infection going on. We introduced 6 new birds to the flock last week and they seem healthy but the established group seems to be sneezing/ coughing and have yucky eyes that have bubbles in them. There is no smell as of yet with them. I have been doing lots of reading and it sounds like it could be coryza or mycroplasma. How do I tell tbe difference? They seemto be eating and drinking well. A vet visit is not an option.......I really do not want to kill off the entire flock.
The new chickens may have been carriers. In hindsight you should have quarantined the new birds for 30 days or longer. Many people will then sacrifice an older bird to go in with the new birds to see if it gets sick, since carriers won't always show symptoms. It is hard to tell the difference between coryza and MG without testing, but coryza usually has the bad odor, and the eyes can be very swollen, pus-filled, and sometimes the wattles are swollen. Nasal secretions tend to be thicker in coryza. Tylan 50 injectible and Tylan Soluble Powder can be used for both, but sulfadimethoxine or Sulmet used in addition to Tylan will treat Coryza better. Your chickens will be carriers for life, so you cannot sell or give away birds or hatching eggs. If one dies I would get a necropsy by the state vet to identify the disease. Here is some info: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044
