Wheezing, Coughing? Nothing seems to work

[coryjp75]

Thank you for all of this great information. It helps me greatly and I hope it helps others with a similar situation. I used Oxine and sprayed the coop and common areas. Probably an entirely different topic/thread but do you have any thoughts on Oxine usage in assisting with the prevention of these types of illnesses?

 

[threehorses]

I like Oxine, a lot, but there's one thing about using a product that is the most important in using it effectively.

It absolutely MUST list the organism you're trying to prevent on its effectiveness list - being used the way you're going to use it (which with Oxine means NON-activated).

I've found that in reality Oxine disinfects a very limited spectrum of bacteria.

Its benefits are that it is said to have an anti-fungal activity (something I had previously taken for granted, along with many other Oxine statements) and you can use it as a sort of home-nebulization mist for upper respiratory issues. It is ineffective for lower respiratory issues because few of us have the ability to create the size of particle necessary to reach 'lower respiratory' problems. Unfortunately, many of your fungal and bacterial issues ARE lower respiratory when you get to the point of needing to mist.

However, for the bacteria/viruses for which it is effective, it's a good safe product if used without activation.

One word of caution: despite others promoting it, Oxine should not be used as an anti-bacterial in the water because it will also kill GOOD bacteria which are the foremost warriors against bad bacteria in the digestive tract, as well as against pathogenic yeast/fungi.

A more broad spectrum disinfectant is Virkon-S (it must be the -S one) which includes activity against Marek's, and many other illnesses even including one form of Leukosis (though sadly a less common or problematic form).

One thing about using disinfectants - it's a bit of an eye-glazer, but MSUCares has two very good articles on disinfecting and how to pick one that will do the job you need it to. I'll link them below.

But I do believe that giving a thorough cleaning is important. You might be surprised how effective hot water, mild soap (I like ivory), and elbow grease are when combined! Also keeping the area very dry, non-dusty, also helps fight bacteria. It also helps prevent the type of conditions that encourage aspergillosis and other fungal/respiratory problems. It's always a worthy thing to try to disinfect.

http://msucares.com/poultry/diseases/disinfectants.html
http://msucares.com/poultry/diseases/sanitation.html