What to treat my chick with?

[CVMAKitten]

Hey all!
I have been creeping on the forums for a while now, and this is my first post ever.
I got some chicks from a local poultry farm on August 10th.
I have lost three of my girls so far, and I think I am about to lose another one.
I don't know exactly what is happening, as all the girls look healthy and wonderful, and when I check again, one is just sprawled out and gone.
I currently have one that is sneezing with NO OTHER SYMPTOMS of anything at all. Just a sneeze here and there. I have another one and her eye started watering yesterday. I used VetRX on her eye directly with warm water, and have put a few drops in the brooder. The VetRX and warm water cleaning allowed her to open her eye that had crusted shut, but I really think she needs an antibiotic or SOMETHING. She is still eating and drinking, but with much less gusto than she had before. She is also chirping a lot more. I have been looking at the forums and it seems that Tylan would be the best option, but the only way to get that is through a vet, and I would really like to see if there is an alternative to having to go to the vet. Is there any more direct way to get the antibiotic I think this girl needs? I don't have a second brooder set up, and I do not know how to separate her from her sisters. Is there an alternative to Tylan that would work??
Thank you guys in advance for the help. You have helped me treat pasty butt, led me to an AMAZING coop build that is in progress while my girls are growing, and just really set me up for success caring for my girls and making sure they have everything they could want/need to grow and be happy chickens.
<3
KaSandra

 

[azygous]

You are correct in concluding you need to treat a respiratory illness. Get Tylosin here. https://www.jedds.com/shop/tylan-soluble-100-g/ It mixes into the drinking water so it'll be simple to treat all the chicks proactively.

 

[CVMAKitten]

You are correct in concluding you need to treat a respiratory illness. Get Tylosin here. https://www.jedds.com/shop/tylan-soluble-100-g/ It mixes into the drinking water so it'll be simple to treat all the chicks proactively.

Thank you SO MUCH!!! I could not find where to get Tylosin anywhere!!! You are the best!

 

[CVMAKitten]

You are correct in concluding you need to treat a respiratory illness. Get Tylosin here. https://www.jedds.com/shop/tylan-soluble-100-g/ It mixes into the drinking water so it'll be simple to treat all the chicks proactively.

Azygous,
The treatment has started, but unfortunately I have lost three girls so far. Two before the Tylosin got here, and one after two days of treatment. The other girls were doing ok, but Squints (the one that had her eye crusted shut) had gotten worse. I treated her with Terramycin directly to the eyes and she's doing better but still gets squinty if more than four hours since her last dose. But now THREE more girls have swollen eyes and two more are weepy. I am treating all six of them with Terramycin now, and everyone is getting Tylosin.
They have good airflow, I change out the bedding and wipe down the tub with a diluted bleach/water spray, and they get constant food/water replacement. I feel like I'm doing everything I can, but still feel like it's not enough.
Losing girls is just breaking my heart. Am I the only one losing babies this year? I think it's gotta be CRD.

 

[azygous]

Yes, it sounds like CRD. The problem with CRD is that most are caused by viruses, and those cause secondary bacterial infections. Not all bacterial infections respond to Tylosin. I've been forced to switch to another antibiotic from Tylosin when chickens I was treating refused to respond. Here's what I usually use. https://www.kvsupply.com/item/aqua-mox-250mg-capsules-100-count/P06184/

Here are a few others and an article on this subject.
Tetracyclines, fluoroquinolones, and macrolides are the most effective anti-mycoplasma agents. They are widely used to suppress mycoplasma infection .

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4947986/

 

[CVMAKitten]

So I ordered some Doxy-ty from Jeff's because I was reading about multiple drug interactions as well. I'll see if the Doxy-ty works, and if no response from my girls I'll grab some aqua mox.
How do you use it with your chickens since they are capsules? Pop them open and add it to their drinking water?

 

[azygous]

Chickens do pills easier than we humans do. Just pop a whole pill or capsule directly into the beak. Once in a while, if you don't get it far enough back on the tongue, just like dogs and cats, they can spit it out at an impressive speed. Just fetch the pill and push it into the chicken's mouth again. It goes right down.

 

[CVMAKitten]

That's awesome! I didn't know that!

 

[azygous]

Since you've expressed interest in chickens and pills, here's my tutorial on why chickens have an easier time swallowing a bulky pill than humans do.

We think chickens must have a problem swallowing a large pill just because we do. But their digestive process is different from ours. We begin the digestive process by chewing first, then swallowing. We aren't meant to swallow large chunks. We naturally choke.

Chickens don't have teeth for a good reason. They don't need them. Their digestive process begins after they swallow. The food goes directly into their crop without passing "Go", and then it trickles down into their gizzard where the "chewing" action goes into full swing.

Therefore, chickens can amaze us by swallowing things that we think would choke them, large pills included. But they actually have no problem. Slip the pill into the beak and you'll see it disappear like magic. Unless you don't get it far enough back on the tongue. Chickens can rival dogs and cats at firing a pill across the room like a guided missile, but it's not because they aren't able to swallow it easily.