# Flock wipe out?



## 2rain (Jun 2, 2013)

I went out and almost all my hens in one coop have a snotty nose and runny bubbly eyes and some are coughing and sneezing I'm guessing I'm headed for a flock wipe out? What can I do?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Practice strong bio security going from one coop to another. It might be too late since chances are before this you had no concern. 

Next call your state vet, ask if they have a swab that might determine what you're dealing with. While you have them on the phone ask them about Tylosin. More commonly known as Denagard here in the states. Your state vet is a very good resource for information.

Once you've talked to them let me know what they say. I hesitate to tell you to get them on antibiotics until you talk to them because it could affect the swab if they can do one.


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## 2rain (Jun 2, 2013)

Okay they are seeming to get a bit better I'm just wondering if they got into something or just the high temps lately


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Nope, something is going on and needs to be addressed.

Are these new birds or did you put new birds in to an existing group?


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## 2rain (Jun 2, 2013)

Neither have had these for about a year just came out of the blue


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Other than someone creating a fog of some sort of caustic I can not imagine anything that would get a whole coop doing what you're describing. All of those symptoms you listed point to a disease vector.


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## 2rain (Jun 2, 2013)

5 of my girls are okay and 3 have the symptoms badly and my whole other flock that is not in that coop is showing no symptoms


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## Fiere (Feb 26, 2014)

Have you gone visiting any other chicken coops? Breeders or friends or whatever?


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## 2rain (Jun 2, 2013)

Nope not at all a few months ago we got ducks but they are way separated from the ones who are sick and were properly quarantined before even free ranging with eachother


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## back2simplelife (Jul 6, 2013)

Here, A&M will only test a carcass. When my neighbor had something going through her flock and we were trying to help her figure it out so it spread to ours, the "chicken Dr" as he called himself.. told us that they can be carriers for long time before it decides to show itself. Have your chickens been under any stress at all? even something as simple as replacing a board in the chicken coop can do it.. as well as weather they aren't use to he told us. Hers were completely fine for several years until we moved in.. I guess the stress of hearing ours (they can't see each other as they are too far apart) must have done them in. The weather was also wet and cold for here at that time. 

I am not sure exactly if you are/were asking how to treat it or only asking if it could wipe out your whole flock? Sounds URI to me.. Vetrx (on the beak, under the wings, as well as in their water), garlic and oregano in their fermented feed. I would flush out the bubbly eye with saline and vetrx. Cinnamon, dill, thyme and hanging yarrow in the coop.. are also good for URI. Some reach for the antibiotics. The bad thing we have learned about bird viruses/diseases is that it's very hard to diagnose without testing. The professor we talked to recommended Tylan 50 injections 2x a day for 5 days. She had loss 2/6 before doing ALL the above but after we did all of that, the deaths, sneezes and coughs stopped. They will always be carriers though as he explained.


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## 2rain (Jun 2, 2013)

I have had no deaths so far and am hopefully making a vet trip this week disappointed that none of them can be shown at fair


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

DO NOT PUT VET RX in a bird's eyes. Want to know why? Put it in your own, you'll find out real quick. We'll ignore the fact it is not far removed from being a liquid form of Vicks Vaporub.


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## back2simplelife (Jul 6, 2013)

interesting since one of it's uses is actually for eye worms. It's one cup water per tsp of vetrx I believe.. it's been awhile since I have read the insert that came in the box. That was what was recommend to me and within 24 hrs the bubbles were gone.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

This popped up on that other forum and I went digging for the truth. I had smelled Vet RX and knew it had an ingredient that could be caustic to the eye. I found that it says to put a drop under the eye, not in it. Then I dug for the ingredients. It has camphor in it. Imagine putting camphor in your eye. Further digging pretty much told me that this product really does nothing except make the human feel better. 

Its best that we investigate for ourselves when someone suggests we do something. Our aim is to do no harm or not do more harm. I realize that most do not have that intention but blindly following what another says can make our birds pay for it in the end. 

Nothing should go in the eye of animal or human that is not specifically formulated for the eye or more damage can be done. 

I would suggest that the eye bubbles probably would have cleared on their own when the disease itself went dormant once again.


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## back2simplelife (Jul 6, 2013)

Not getting in a debate. The directions on the insert will explain how to flush and swab the nose and the eyes with it. After digging it out and reading for colds and roup, I was correct on the amount to dilute it with. 1tsp per 1 cup. (it explains how to warm it) If the cold has turned to roup, you can use 4-5 times the strength it says. The under the wing worked great in the cold as they always tucked their heads under.. breathing in the vapors as well as their eyes and nose but I am not sure this time of year. It also says you can put it directly down the throat and gives directions for that as well. The insert says the same thing the professor told me. Right or wrong.. I trusted the professor at the department of poultry science to help us through this and his advice did just that. I am only sharing what he taught me. This was in April, and the 4 birds we treated show no signs of any eye damage nor the sickness that took their coop mates, although like he told us.. they will always be carriers. 
I do hope you get answers from your vet and your birds heal as nicely as these did! I am sorry about not being able to show them! Good luck!


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Then they've changed it since I investigated it.

Exactly what do you think they're going to say? They want to keep the hype going and sell the product. That does not mean its safe to do. The eye has a very delicate balance when it comes to the atmosphere its exposed to. Considering all that it does every single day it is an amazing, fairly tough organ. But that organ also has its limits. Popping stuff in to the eye that does not match the atmosphere of the eye creates even more irritation. Our bodies are composed of .09% saline. When you get plain water in your eye it feels dryer. Use a saline rinse and you hardly notice the difference. It is the same for our birds, our dogs, cats, horses. Blindly believing advertising hype gets people in trouble every day. And that's all Vet RX is, hype. 

Add in the fact that they are telling people to put something not matching the atmosphere of the eye and it immediately should raise a red flag. They weren't even smart enough to say use saline to mix it in.

A couple of years ago they finally fessed up that Vicks does nothing. Vet RX is a liquid form of Vicks. Even the natural ingredients they say are in it are not enough to do anything. 

CRD is a low mortality disease. If a bird has a bad outbreak it can die but most will recover and go back to being their old selves with no sign of the disease's existence. Most that die have developed a secondary bacterial infection from being knocked off their feet and having their immune systems weakened.


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