Need Help With A friends Hen

[mjolrdanlmj]

She just started showing signs of slow mobility and her comb has drooped over and starting to turn a dark color. She is around 8 years old. no other hens appear to have any problems. Could this be just an age problem???

 

[mjolrdanlmj]

Does any one have a clue,,,,,sure could use some advice

 

[dawg53]

Age could be a factor, it might be her time. Check her for lice/mites, especially around the vent area where it's warm and moist. If she hasnt been wormed, that would be the next step. Once wormed, she can be fed buttermilk mixed with scrambled eggs for a few days. The buttermilk is a better probiotic than yogurt and will build up her immune system, is easily absorbed and coats the intestinal lining whereas yogurt has a tendency to pass through them. Scrambled egg will build up her strength.
Valbazen or safeguard is your better choice of wormers that you can use to worm her.

 

[Wol1]

I searched through some forum posts and online and found the lists below. I hope it helps.


Some diseases that have blackening of the comb as a major symptom are Erysipela, blackhead disease, and cholera (pasteurella). Darkening of the comb, as mentioned before, can also be caused by cyanosis (lack of oxygen) which could be caused by a number of things.

Honestly if I lost a bird to this, I'd have another bird tested immediately by your local vet.

Erysipelas can be treated with penicilins and also responds to tetracyclines.
Pasteurella (cholera) also responds to tetracyclines as well as sulphonamides (sulmet), and erythromycin and penicillin.
Blackhead is caused by a protazoa, probably the last of my choices of those diseases, and the medication for it is only available via vet.

There may be other illnesses, and again it could be secondary to cyanosis caused by something else like poisoning, respiratory disfunction due to a respiratory illness, etc. I'm not a vet, and non of us can truly diagnose these birds without a bacterial culture. Period. But we'll do our best.

Based on what I'm reading, were they my birds, I'd treat them immediately with terramycin. I'd give them full supportive nutrition. BUT BUT BUT you can't use any dairy products with cyclines. That means no yogurt. But since you're giving an antibiotic, and these disease already cause diarrhea, then you simply must give a probiotic. I recommend during and after treatment for your best chances. The easiest obtainable option is either a probiotic from the feedstore when you go there to get the terramycin. Probios is perfect - paste or powder will work, fastrak is good, just make sure the label says CFU somewhere on it for colony forming units and not just by-products or fermentation products.

Or you can get a thing of acidophilus tablets or capsules from the grocery/pharmacy/health food store. They're in the vitamin section. Give daily during medication at the opposite time of the day from when you put fresh medicated water out. Then give daily for a week thereafter and every other day for the following week.

On the antibiotics, the reason I choose the one I did (even though I normally don't like it) is because it specifically will treat the two major diseases that are listed for blackened combs. Sulmet only treats one. You'll need to always keep terramycin out of the light, and again - do NOT mix anything in the water other than the meds, and do NOT use any milk or dairy products like yogurt. They make the meds not work.

I'd get right on this. Feed them all boiled and mashed eggs yolks to get them eating. Give them crumbles. Talk to us later about how to give the probiotics. Test if you can, if you've lost birds. If you lose a bird and you want to test, cool the bird in running water. (Don't wash off any signs from the outside like congestive drainage etc.) Just cool the bird, pat dry with paper towels, wrap in a layer or two of paper towels, secure within a plastic bag, and refrigerate. Do NOT freeze. THat distorts tissues and organs. Bring to your vet for at least a necropsy within 24 hours.

Keep the birds completely separate from all of your other flock. handle them last, changing clothes and shoes in between. wash your clothes, save one pair of shoes for only the sick bird room. Wear gloves.

Decontaminate all the feeders and waterers. healthy birds' first, then sick.

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Ok here's everything I've found on either darkening of the combs or blue coloration of the combs.

If it's a bacterial disease (and there's really no way of telling for sure at this point without testing, which I would highly consider in case of loss of any more birds - any more illnesses), the diseases all seem to be sensitive to terramycin, aureomycin, and penicillin. My choice above the others would be Aureomycin. Then Terramycin. Perhaps Penicillin injectable if you are capable of giving shots. (It's really quite easy and Penicillin G procaine is readily available). I'd do this immediately just based on symptoms.

If it's viral, there's no treatment.

We haven't ruled out excessive intake of salts. Given the current weather conditions, and the fact that this is not yet ruled out, if you're giving electrolytes I'd stop immediately. Instead I'd give a non-salt version like ACV until you medicate, at which time you cannot. Darkening of the comb is a symptom of salt poisoning. Also eliminate any water softening products or well issues that might cause this.

If you feed your birds anywhere in the vicinity of a salt lick, or if there are salt licks near a source of water, I'd fix that. Otherwise sometimes dehydration can cause it. But generally if non-viral and non-bacterial, salt poisoning is to be ruled out.

Based on this, I'd still say to do this:

Treat immediately - all birds sick or not (and mark the day because I rarely EVER say this) with Aureomycin or terramycin. Remove all electrolytes from water immediately. While medicating, start treatment with probiotics which should NOT include yogurt. With hold all sources of dairy until at least a day after treatment. Use acidophilus tablets/caps from the store, or a prepared livestock probiotic.

Feed all birds their standard food, decreasing grains in case of crop stasis d.t. antibiotics. Monitor food intake and water intake very carefully.

After the full antibiotic course, treat for two weeks every other day with the probiotics. If any other birds are lost, take to the vet for testing. One of the diseases not ruled out is AI. So this is something not to be messed with considering the rate of mortality already shown. That's exactly why I'm recommending antibiotics - to rule it out at home.