Self picking, head shaking, wheezing, and eyes stuck shut

[motorboy]

I have two hens one is healthy and one is sick.

The sick one pulls out her own feather from her back and under her wings. They are all over the coop

She is congested and wheezes, both eyes are sealed shut.

I have also noticed that she shakes her head a lot.

She has energy but look awful. She seams to eat and drink o.k. and I have been giving her vitamins. I have used poultry dust and 7 dust on her and the coop with no benefit and I have never seen any mites or eggs on her. She hasn’t started laying yet.

Could one problem cause all this or does she have multiple ailments?

If I can’t find a cure I think I will cull her.

 

[ChickLuver]

I'm sorry to hear your baby is sick. For her eyes you might want to try Terramyicin ointment. You can get it at your local feed store usually. It works really well for any eye problems. Also look into some poultry Vet rx. It's wonderful stuff. Everyone who keeps chickens should have this stuff. Read the directions to figure out how you want to administer. Take a soft wash cloth with warm water and gently clean her eyes. Keep her out of direct light for a few days. Does she have lots of feathers around her eyes?? I just went through the same thing with my polish lady Pollyanna. You might want to get some injectable antibiotic as well. Another handy thing to have when raising chickens. If you need advice on type and amount let me know. I can figure out dosages. I'm a vet student....lol. Hope this helps you.....

 

[motorboy]

Here is a pick of her eye from last week. it is worse now because it is sealed shut, more puffy and los of feathers where I circled it with purple.

I appreciate all your help!

 

[ChickLuver]

Well first off that is her ear you circled. And it looks fine to me. She probably has a respitorary infection. Get your self some terramiycin for the water as well and give to her......has your other hen present any symptoms yet? You might as well give the meds to her as well. Respitorary stuff in birds spreads like wild fire and can get pretty nasty. Is there any discharge from her nose? Does she have a cough? Like a smokers cough type? That poultry vet rx is amazing stuff. It will take a little long to get her better seeing that its cold out. It allows the organism to thrive.(the cold weather that is) See, when a chicken gets a infection in the lungs or any type of respitorary infection the "bug" becomes a cell that has no walls. This being the case......there is nothing for the antibiotic to attach its self onto. The "bug" ends up living from within itself. It feeds off the good bactiria and turns it bad......and I'm sooo totally rambling.....sorry.

 

[motorboy]

I suppose that is her ear, there are no feathers on it now.

There is no discharge from the nose, no cough, no sneezing, but when she breaths from her nose it sounds raspy, but continues to breathe from her nose rather than her mouth.

The other bird is doing great with no signs of illness despite this bird being sick for almost a month.

Update:
I gave her a flea/ tick bath last night, and I am keeping her in the house for now.
I gave her some Terramycin for the water 1 tsp/ quart.
I put some Neosporin around her eyes; I almost bought some Terramycin ointment, but not for $13.

This morning her diarrhea (her diarrhea want too bad to begin with) was gone and one eye was open.
She plucked 2 feathers out over night. If she keeps pulling them out she will soon be naked and cold, also it will be obvious she is doing it because of stress rather than bugs. She lost her best gal pal to a fox (I think) last month.

 

[ChickLuver]

Well she is probably depressed as well!! Poor girl! Terramycin ointment can be a little costly but it last for a long time. What type flea bath did you give her?? Make sure she is REALLY dry!!! There feathers can get moldy. You can blow dry her if she feels damp. Just be carefull not to burn her. Glad you got the terramycin for the water! Let me know how she does. And her feathers will grow back!!

 

[motorboy]

I don’t recall the brand of shampoo, but it was green and contained Pyrethrin.

Her top dried quickly and I left the space heater 3’ from her, but not pointed at her over night. If she is damp when I get home I’ll blow-dry her.

I found some feather buds coming in, but if she continues to pull her feathers out how can I stop her? She is not the type to listen to reason.

 

[ChickLuver]

Most of them don't listen very well.....LOL.There are sevral things you can do to stop her from picking. One is this stuff called Blu-Kote. Its a antibacterial spary. It tastes bad to them. But on the down side it will turn her blue. Hence the name. Next is pine tar. Kinda icky and messy. Blu kote is only about 5 bucks. How old is this little lady. Is she a Rhode Island Red?

 

[motorboy]

I think I have seen the spray before, with her dark color and a light cote it may not be visible. Even so, she would look better blue than naked. I was told she was born this past may, she hasn’t started laying yet. I can’t remember the name, but she is a feather footed breed that I had never heard of.

Hear is another shot of her when she first got sick, before she picked-out most of her feathers from her back:

 

[ChickLuver]

Well shes very pretty. I hope she gets better!!!!