Respiratory infection in flock, need advice

[Sueby]

Hi all. I have 4 red sex links that have been sneezing for a couple weeks. I gave them some Sav-A-Chick (along with plain water) & they seemed to be doing ok but last night they seemed to get much worse. They are all sneezing constantly & I can now hear them getting a little raspy. There is no real nasal discharge, maybe a little here & there. They eat, drink & chicken all day long like normal. They are still laying with no issues. No facial swelling, no runny eyes, no bubbles. The 4 are in a 4x8 coop with a 4x12 secure run & a 250sf pen every evening & on weekends. The coop is well ventilated, I cleaned it all out over the weekend & put in new pine bedding thinking it might just be too dusty. They eat layer pellets, that's all they like - no other treats except a couple mealworms when I need them to come to me.

I have a call into the vet, I'm not sure that they will treat chickens though.

I have read so much on treatment for this & am just more confused. Should I treat with antibiotics on my own if the vet won't see them? I hate to use antibiotics if it's not necessary but I don't want my chickens to suffer if I can help. I looked yesterday at Tractor Supply out of curiosity before I knew they were worse, but I wasn't sure what I was looking at or for.

I know you can't diagnose them over the internet, but if they were yours what would you do?

Thank you for looking, appreciate any help...

 

[Sueby]

Yay, the vet sees chickens! We have an appt today. DH is going to kill me. But I can't see blindly treating with antibiotics if it's not needed. Or just letting them suffer since they have gotten worse, not better.

 

[Sueby]

Taking to myself here but if anyone's interested they were diagnosed with an upper respiratory infection & put on tylan for a week.

He said lungs sounded good, no mucus in their throat, it was all congestion in their head.

 

[Kathy Golla]

So sorry you didn’t get a reply.
Respiratory infections can be a bit tricky.
Vet care is always best. I’m glad things are turning in the right direction for you and your birds.
If the symptoms don’t clear in the timeframe the vet stated to you, don’t be afraid to follow up with the vet.
Thank you for sharing your birds’ story, and your vets diagnosis and treatment here. It helps us all learn.
I’m glad you found a vet, it’s always comforting for a person to have that in their back pocket as an option.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sounds like infectious bronchitis symptoms, a virus that lasts about a month. Sneezing and mild congestion are the main signs, plus it spreads throughout the whole flock over weeks. Chickens will remain carriers for up to a year, although aome sources say at least 5 months after the last bird recovers. Wait at least a year after symptoms disappear to hatch or add new birds.

There is no treatment, but Tylan 50 injectable or tylosin powder for the water can be given, just in case of MG (mycoplasma gallisepticum.) MG usually causes bubbles in an eye or a little swelling around the eye. Your vet may be able to do testing to identify the disease.

Infectious bronchitis can affect the kidneys or the ovary in a few cases. If you see wrinkled egg shells or thin egg shells or watery egg whites, those can be symptoms. Most times with IB, the chickens recover, but it is harder on young chickens. IB can be complicated with secondary infections—usually other respiratory diseases or air sacculitis.

 

[Sueby]

I wasn't sure I'd get much of a response as I know it's impossible to diagnose over the internet & people don't like to push antibiotics unnecessarily. I was very happy to find an avian vet 5 minutes away. He was extremely thorough but was hesitant to narrow it down to an exact illness or to tell me if they'd be carriers forever or contagious (though I know they are as it started with 1!)

I thought it sounded like IB too. I didn't want to treat on my own because I'm very new to chickens & wanted some reassurance because they seemed to get worse very quickly. Hopefully the antibiotics will stop any secondary illness & they feel better soon.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I wasn't sure I'd get much of a response as I know it's impossible to diagnose over the internet & people don't like to push antibiotics unnecessarily. I was very happy to find an avian vet 5 minutes away. He was extremely thorough but was hesitant to narrow it down to an exact illness or to tell me if they'd be carriers forever or contagious (though I know they are as it started with 1!)

I thought it sounded like IB too. I didn't want to treat on my own because I'm very new to chickens & wanted some reassurance because they seemed to get worse very quickly. Hopefully the antibiotics will stop any secondary illness & they feel better soon.

You could always send in swabs for testing through an independent lab to find out what she has, that way you know what you are dealing with an if they will be carriers for life or for a limited period of time.
Independent lab testing:
http://www.zoologix.com/
http://www.vetdna.com/test-type/avian-bird

 

[Sueby]

Do you think it's too late for testing? They will have been on the antibiotics for a little over 24 hours by the time I could swab them.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Do you think it's too late for testing? They will have been on the antibiotics for a little over 24 hours by the time I could swab them.

I honestly don't know. You could call the lab and ask if antibiotics skew test results.

 

[Sueby]

Sooo...I'm back about this again.

I brought 1 chicken into the vet (they were all sneezing, but picked the worst one) & she was diagnosed with an upper respiratory infection. They were all treated with Tylan in the water for 5 days & all were much better in a day or 2. Fast forward to now & I have just 1 chicken doing the same thing. She is just sneezing constantly. No other signs, still laying fine, poops normal, acts normal, no bubbles, swelling, etc - not even any real snot or mucus. She's been consistently getting worse for over a month (sneezing more & more), I thought this was something she would carry with her now & she would have recurrences here & there but would get better on her own. She is not.

I emailed Zoologix to see if I can get some testing done to find out what it really is but in the meantime I'm wondering if I should be treating her again since the Tylan did help immediately last time. I have Tylan so it's not an issue, but I don't have a good way to treat just her. Maybe a crate inside the coop but that stinks for her for 5 days. Or I could treat all 4 of them, easiest, but a bad idea? I didn't think it necessary to separate her as they all had it not too long ago & have been with her this whole time again & show no signs.

Thoughts? Thanks!