Chronic respiratory Disease - seen by the chicken vet
"Mycoplasma" is a bacteria and a major cause of Chronic Respiratory Disease (CRD) in poultry. The most common symptoms of CRD seen at the chicken vet visits are weeping eyes and swelling around the head and sinuses. In more advanced cases of C.R.D poultry vets see open mouth breathing, gurgling and a smelly pus build up in the oral cavity and eyes..
CRD is one of the most common causes of disease in backyard fowls seen by the chicken vet..
Mycoplasma gallisepticum is very infectious and can spreads quickly through a flock. M. Gallisepticum can reside in a flock until birds are stressed resulting in poor immunity and birds get CRD.
Signs of CRD seen at Chicken vet Melbourne
The signs of CRD are weepy eyes, head shaking, gurgling.
Similar Diseases Other diseases that have similar clinical signs are Infectious Coryza, Infectious bronchitis, Infectious laryngotracheitis and Fowl cholera.
Treatment of CRD used at Chicken Vet Melbourne
The Poultry vets will prescribe antibiotics that can help to control the disease. Most chicken antibiotics are not registered for egg laying hens - and are used off label!
Firstly Antibiotics
- Doxycycline - is a great antibiotic against Mycoplasma.
- Tylosin can also be used alone but we usually use it with doxycycline.
- Lincomycin combined with Spectinomycin, and in water antibiotic works well and has no withholding period for egg layers - a bonus.
- Chortetracycline - works okay not as good as Doxycycline but has no withholding period for egg layers - a bonus.
- Enrofloxacin - is a great antibiotic against Mycoplasma, and other secondary bacteria.
- Amoxicillin and Clavulonic acid is often used in conjuction to treat secondary bacterial infections.
- All cases get antibiotic eye drops and Antibiotic nose drops. This route is brilliant as the drugs get right to the place of infection.
Secondly - Chicken vet - Nursing Care
A very important part of the therapy is reducing stress in the flock. Often discouraging egg production, improving diet, good aeration, added warmth, reducing aggression - separating out the sick birds. Housing that is difficult to clean and accumulates manure, dust and vermin is not great.
Thirdly - in advanced cases - with pus in the Sinus and choanal slit.
These sick chickens need the sinuses repeated flushed and cleaned sometimes the "abscess" may need to be cleaned under general anaesthesia. Advanced case need relatively expensive veterinary therapy - Usually with good results after about 5 days in a chicken vet hospital. The birds go home on medications and therapy for the owners - usually for a further 2 -3 weeks.
Prevention Vaccination - treating and quarantine of new birds
Chicken vets also find that chronic respiratory infections can be divided into two groups, those caused by bacteria or viruses.
Viral diseases recognised by poultry vets causing CRD symptoms are Infectious Laryngotracheitis, Infectious Bronchitis, Newcastle Disease and Avian Influenza.
Poultry vets see bacteria causing respiratory disease: Haemophilus , Pasteurella and other secondry bacteria that invade infected sinuses.
Chicken vets suggests that Chronic Respiratory Disease or CRD is due to a combination of Chlamydia, Mycoplasma and E. coli. And this is the major crd in backjard pet chickens . So how is this disease managed? Remember (as with many bird diseases) that there is a stress component so that, for control, not all of the answer will be the use of medication. CRD can be managed with a 3-point plan:
treating CRD at the chicken vet - in this case during a routine consultation - followed by a sinus flush by the Poultry vet
Melbourne Chicken vet
