What to use to treat respiratory infection?

[Callaleigh]

Hi all! I’m wondering what to use to treat a suspected respiratory infection in my flock. I had one sick chicken that didn’t make it, she passed away today. Her symptoms were runny poop, lethargy, droopy wings, head shaking, hunched up, tail dropping, and a gurgly noise when she breathed. This morning I noticed that the right side of her wattle was swollen. She didn’t make it though the day. I went on a search for a water soluble antibiotic to treat the rest of the flock with, as I imagine she spread the virus to the rest of the girls. Have two farm supply stores in my town, tractor supply and southern states. Neither had any and I was told that the laws changed at the beginning of this year, now a prescription from a vet is required. We don’t have any vets in the area that treat chickens so I’m at a loss about what to do next. Neither place had vet rx either, so I’ve ordered some online. Tried to find Tylan soluble powder or another water soluble antibiotic online, but even there they want a vet name and phone number or for you to mail in a script. Have any of you tried using birdbiotic? Seems like that is available online without a prescription. I have 11 remaining chickens, none of which are displaying any symptoms but I thought it would probably be best to treat them just in case. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[Welshies]

How big is your coop? What bedding do you use and how often do you clean? How much ventilation is there?

 

[Callaleigh]

The coop is 8x10. I use pine shavings for the bedding. There’s a poop shelf under their roosts that I clean daily and I replace the pine shavings on the floor every week. I sprinkle DE on the floor and poop shelf before putting down new shavings. Once a month I scrub the roosts, nesting boxes, and floor with a mix of white vinegar, water, and essential oils (lemon, lavendar, eucalyptus, and peppermint). It’s a storage shed that we made into a coop, so we put in 8 of the vents that are used for heating along the side walls and also cut some circles into the into the triangle parts (gables?) near the roof that we covered with hardware cloth.