4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[poopylam]

Good morning. We are experienced chicken owners but have fortunately never really had to deal with illness. I took in six rescue barn / free range hens this week. Within a day the weakest chicken started sneezing and very snuffly. Went to the vets where he said respiratory disease and gave Septrin. Soon as I got home all other 7 hens started sneezing too, prescribed Tylan for their water which they started on Tuesday. Last night let them all out to see if they are any better and noticed my two old chickens making strange head movements like trying to clear the throat. Then saw they had a swelling which I guessed to be sour crop? 5 of the chickens appear to have this. Please can someone help what on earth is going on. What have these chickens been infected with and is it treatable? Apologies for the long post but I really don't know what is going on and am panicking that not only have I created an environment to cause 8 chickens illness but am also concerned about catching something myself. Help thank you

[gavclojak]

Their crops should have been swollen last night, that is perfectly normal to have chooks crops enlarged before bed, if it is still enlarged this morning then that is not so normal. If they had sour crop you would usually smell get a sour/bitter smell from their beaks, maybe pick on up and have a sniff. To have 5 girls with sour crop at the same time, quite unlikely

 

It does sound like a respiratory illness illness and hopefully the antibiotics, once the course is complete will clear that.

 

Have you put the new girls in with the old straight away?

 

Also are your old girls ex commercial girls too, the new girls would have been vaccinated and if the old ones are not then that means they would not have been vaccinated and that could leave them susceptible to whatever the new ones have been vaccinated against.

 

And last thought about the old girls trying to clear their throat, when was the last time they were wormed, could gapeworm be a possibility, I would go with respiratory as that would be quite a coincidence but maybe consider it if they have not been wormed.

[Egluntyne]

Sounds as if the stress if the move has allowed an underlying condition, such as mycoplasma come to the sruface. I agree with gavclojak about the crop situation.