6 weeks and my hen is still not well....what else can I do

[froggiesheins]

Something also to consider:  with chronic respiratory infections, some birds get abscesses in their sinuses.  A chicken abscess is a firm tight wad of yellow cheesy material (pus).  You can't squeeze it out like a cat abscess.  The hard pus creates a hiding place for the infection, and it also irritates the walls of the sinuses.  So if the swellings on the sides of her face seem to change over time, she may have abscesses which are flaring off and on.  Or she may just have a wicked sinusitis.

I would really strongly recommend getting in touch with your State Vet.  There are blood tests that can be done to identify several of the respiratory diseases.  Also, if she were to get worse and you had to consider euthanasia, I would let the State Vet do it and then do a post-mortem.  That would let them identify exactly what is going on, and also tell you why she got so sick and whether you need to worry about your other birds.

I'm glad you trimmed her beak.  That was a good call.

Great post! Yes her beak was sorely in need of a trim. Glad that helped alittle.
Averya, I am SO surprized to read that the vet you had used did not give injections of antibiotics AND that he/she did not notice the beak problem????? That was the first thing I saw when I looked at your girl......sending get well prayers to you...

 

[averya]

Thank you everyone.....your support and advice has been wonderful. I will read the article on fungal infections and also explore abscesses in the sinus. That certainly sounds like the reason her cheeks still remain hard to the touch and inflamed.

After this 2nd bad experience with avian vets, I am very discouraged. I, too, am surprised she did not do more for Maggie in the form of proactive and aggressive care. Quite honestly, I learned a whole lot more from this forum, which to date has helped her more than the $200 plus vet visits . She is feeling so much better and eating well, and is very animated today, so there's still hope she will make it. However, in the event she doesn't, I will contact the state vet as suggested and have him let me know the cause of her problems.

 

[froggiesheins]

Prayers your way for an UNeventful recovery....

 

[Barrdwing]

Sadly, bird medicine is still in its early stages, and there's a much stronger focus on high-dollar birds like parrots than there is on poultry. Parrots are not poultry; they're a completely different animal. Sometimes a vet might freeze up because they know how to treat a parrot, but nobody ever taught them much about chickens. Or they might have treatment plans to offer, but those treatments are really expensive, and they don't mention them because they don't want to be accused of money-grubbing. One of the most frustrating things about trying to get meds for a chicken is the fact that several drugs are not permitted to be given to a bird that produces eggs or meat! Not permitted as in, extremely illegal. I remember being told we couldn't give Baytril to our birds any more--I was furious. It's a good antibiotic, but somebody did some research and decided that it hung around in the tissues too long. So there went that drug.

There are good poultry vets out there, but they can't make a living on just treating poultry, so they end up working for the State or in a veterinary school. At least in those environments, they learn a lot and have access to all the latest research, which is something ordinary bird vets may or may not have. So the State Vet knows more about chicken diseases than anybody else, and can answer a lot of questions.

Fortunately, chickens are tough little rascals and survive diseases and injuries that would make a parrot give up on the spot. Give a chicken supportive care and a healthy environment, and it often will fight its way past some unbelievable medical issues and carry on being a chicken. So long as it's eating and appears happy, you've got something to work with.

 

[casportpony]

Barrdwing, getting Baytril or metronidazole (Flagyl ) without a prescription for birds is very easy.

 

[Barrdwing]

Barrdwing, getting Baytril or metronidazole (Flagyl ) without a prescription for birds is very easy.

Really? Had no idea.

 

[casportpony]

Really? Had no idea.

This place sells a bunch of antibiotics, but not Baytril. I can personally vouch for the efficacy of Fish-Zole (metronidazole) as I have used successfully it to treat my turkeys and peafowl for histomoniasis (blackhead). http://www.californiapetpharmacy.com/thomas-labs.html . The Baytril is just as easy to buy, but I don't like posting the link in fear of it going away. Just PM me if you want more info.

 

[Barrdwing]

Thank you for the info!