tinaduffyjames Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 Hi, On monday I noticed Edna coughing occasionaly but eating and drinking as normal. Then yesterday she didnt move out of the nesting box and her breathing was raspy sounding and she was coughing and sneezing. The other two didnt show any symptoms. I checked this site and sort of expected it to be Mycoplasm so made an appointment at the vets today. He said he suspected it may be Mycoplasm but in the early stages of as her chest didnt sound too bad. He prescribed 1ml of Baytril to be given twice a day orally for 10 days and he advised seperating her from the other two for the 10 days. Now here is my dilemma, Edna hates being handled and gets so stressed and is near on impossible to catch so having to administer the Baytril orally is going to stress her out so much ( as well as me) and I would have preffered to be able to give it in the water. Also ten days away from the others- is that not extreme? I have nowhere to keep her other than in a box so 10 days seclusion seems cruel and is going to prove very difficult. Also will this not stress her more? She has been with the other two anyway since Monday so I figure if they are going to get it they will have stood a good chance of catching it by now. I am tempted to just keep them all together and see or is this madness. I am thinking of Ednas sanity as well as mine. Could I not administer the Baytril in their drinking water so they all get it? From similar posts I gather the normal course length is 5 days so I have anough for 10 days so figure there is anough for all? My vet spent a good 5 minutes reading about Mycoplasm in his Farm Animal book so I gather he hadnt come across many chickens! Any advice much appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 It is highly infectious, hence the advice to move the hen away from the others, although TBH, if they were going to get it, they would have by now. I would dose the water for them all just to be safe. It is important to catch this early as it can damage the oviduct if left. Top them all up with some good quality poultry tonic in the water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jools Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 You live and learn, I thought it was Infectious Bronchitis that damaged the oviduct, but you're absolutely right Claret. I'd agree that whatever respiratory infection your hen has, the others have been exposed to it already. If they were mine, I wouldn't bother separating them and medicate them all. I wouldn't contradict the vet's dosing advice though as I don't have access to his pharmacy manuals! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 A hen I had many years ago had myco - she contracted it while i was on hols, by the time I got back it had taken hold. She survived after a course of Baytril (which didn't work) followed by Tylan, which I injected into her breast to speed up the treatment. She never laid proper eggs again, and just the odd one at that, but she lived to be just over 3 years old and died peacefully with her friends in the sunshine one day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
