Chickens and the sick (MG, coryza, or who knows???)

[Frugalhomestead]

A week ago my mother brought new chickens from a random place to add to my flock. I took what I thought was a good quarantine precautions. But I guess I didn’t do it well enough ? They looked very Neglected and malnourished from the beginning. But about 3 days later one of them got a swelling around the eye. And the same day a few hours earlier the rooster got a swelling eye. About 8 hours later he was gone. He had a eye completely shut, poop was normal, was wobbly, and wheezing, hunched over at the end. Not in good shape, not eating, The other new hen was fine 1 day later never acted any different, the 2nd new hen has not shown symptoms so far.. They both still have not laid. But I assume it’s from nutritional issues and probably anemic still, poop normal. 3 days later my other two hens I raised got it. One got a swollen eye but acted fine the next day the swelling was gone but she’s hunched over and not eatting, not much discharge from nose. Tail slump. My other hen is looking the worse the day before eye was foamy and starting to swell. yesterday her whole face and neck is swollen, nasal discharge, (all hen and rooster waddles not affected). She has one eye open. She’s nibbling and drinking. Yesterday she still kinda had an appetite. Today nibbles. Their Eggs are paper thin and chalky today almost porous, (still laying) I don’t exactly know what to do for them. Don’t have a vet that messes with chickens. I do have a small feed store (rural town) i do however had baby ducks inside my home currently that have not came any contact and I don’t want them to contract this mess of a sick. Advice?

 

[lilmillefleur]

I have something like this in my flock; one hen once had a whole side of her face swollen and eye bubbles. We took her to the vet but they had to put her down.
IIRC, treatment for MG which could possibly be what this is, is Tylan 50, either injected or taken orally. I'm not sure about Coryza though, I'll have to look that up. If that doesn't work it would probably be best to put her down. Wait for other responses though, I've got nowhere near the amount of expertise some of these other members have.

 

[lilmillefleur]

Another thing to add, does your sick bird smell really bad? Smell is a sign of Coryza instead of MG

 

[Frugalhomestead]

I have something like this in my flock; one hen once had a whole side of her face swollen and eye bubbles. We took her to the vet but they had to put her down.
IIRC, treatment for MG which could possibly be what this is, is Tylan 50, either injected or taken orally. I'm not sure about Coryza though, I'll have to look that up. If that doesn't work it would probably be best to put her down. Wait for other responses though, I've got nowhere near the amount of expertise some of these other members have.

I'm fighting myself to put them down but the issue is each hen has similar but different symptoms.... it's weird...

 

[lilmillefleur]

I'm fighting myself to put them down but the issue is each hen has similar but different symptoms.... it's weird...

That is strange. But the swollen eyes is really the only clear indicator as to a specific issue, so that's what I think needs to be addressed and might be causing everything else.
Another thing to add, see if you can give your hen some saline eyedrops in the meantime. I wouldn't give up just yet, but know if your hens all do live, you will have this illness lurking in your flock until the end of their lives. Any new chickens you get or new stressors may cause the illness to resurface. If you want to start fresh and ensure this doesn't happen again, I would cull the whole flock (if you aren't too attached to them), deep clean and start over.

 

[Frugalhomestead]

Another thing to add, does your sick bird smell really bad? Smell is a sign of Coryza instead of MG

no smell that i can pick up.

 

[Frugalhomestead]

That is strange. But the swollen eyes is really the only clear indicator as to a specific issue, so that's what I think needs to be addressed and might be causing everything else.
Another thing to add, see if you can give your hen some saline eyedrops in the meantime. I wouldn't give up just yet, but know if your hens all do live, you will have this illness lurking in your flock until the end of their lives. Any new chickens you get or new stressors may cause the illness to resurface. If you want to start fresh and ensure this doesn't happen again, I would cull the whole flock (if you aren't too attached to them), deep clean and start over.

i have baby ducks i'm more caring for (they have not been in contact or infected they are inside with us) but I'm attached to only one hen in my flock out of 4. It's a hard reality, but it might have to be done.

 

[theoldchick]

https://www.maine.gov/dacf/ahw/animal_health/documents/backyardpoultry/Mycoplasma Factsheet.pdf

https://tvmdl.tamu.edu/2019/05/20/mycoplasmosis-in-backyard-chicken-flocks/

 

[Eggcessive]

Someone asked if the sick ones had a bad odor from the face? That can be common with coryza. You have learned the hard way now about adding new birds to your flock that have been elsewhere. If possible, I would get a culled or dead chicken necropsied by the state vet to find out what disease(s) you are now dealing with. Coryza shows up rather quickly after a chicken is exposed, usually within 2-3 days. MG can show up a bit later. If birds are housed next to each other at a poultry sale or swap meet, they can be healthy and then be exposed to a disease carrier in the cage next to them. People handling birds can also spread diseases. If I had coryza in my flock, I would cull them. MG is more common in backyard flocks. I might treat or cull sick birds. Either way, consider all birds in the flock exposed and carriers for life. Sorry that you are dealing with this.

 

[Frugalhomestead]

Someone asked if the sick ones had a bad odor from the face? That can be common with coryza. You have learned the hard way now about adding new birds to your flock that have been elsewhere. If possible, I would get a culled or dead chicken necropsied by the state vet to find out what disease(s) you are now dealing with. Coryza shows up rather quickly after a chicken is exposed, usually within 2-3 days. MG can show up a bit later. If birds are housed next to each other at a poultry sale or swap meet, they can be healthy and then be exposed to a disease carrier in the cage next to them. People handling birds can also spread diseases. If I had coryza in my flock, I would cull them. MG is more common in backyard flocks. I might treat or cull sick birds. Either way, consider all birds in the flock exposed and carriers for life. Sorry that you are dealing with this

I have two 1 and 2 week old ducks in the home with us, they have not been exposed, We are taking precautions by stripping shoes and clothing off before we go inside. washing hands and such. But would you consider them exposed? because culling adults? okay but babies? nope. I couldn't