Cinnaminute
Songster
Hi everyone, I could use a little help identifying what's wrong with my young pullet. Hopefully I summed everything up well enough:
The sick bird: is an 8.5 wk old RIR pullet named Marcy.
The other birds who are exposed but showing no symptoms:
Past Health Issues: Marcy got sour crop (I believe) when she was just barely 3wks old. No idea why she got it. She was normal in the morning and by afternoon became lethargic. Her crop was full, very squishy like a water balloon, and felt gassy almost. She just laid in my hand and let me carry her around as I massaged her periodically. She didn't eat or drink most the day. I ended up getting Miconazole but I couldn't get her to take it. All the massaging seemed to help her pass some stool. Then she took the medicine on some egg. After that, she perked up. For the first two days occasionally her crop would seemingly fill with gas. It'd get squishy and full. I'd massage it and it'd go down. After that she was fine. She got scrambled egg and plain greek yogurt as treats. I kept up medication for 6 days I believe? I think she missed the final day of treatment unfortunately.
Duration of symptoms: Probably 6 days. I've been tending to her for 3 days.
Symptoms: I first noticed something was wrong when Marcy was constantly flicking her head over and over again. We've been having a problem with gnats so I thought that might've been the cause. I've been bringing them in early for the past couple weeks but I checked her nose just in case and it was free of debris/bugs.
The next day it started raining in the afternoon so I rushed everyone inside just in time before the downpour. Marcy got a tad wet but nothing the others didn't get. Everyone just kinda laid around bored for the rest of the day, as they do.
Day 3 it rained all day long so they all had to stay inside. I didn't notice anything up with Marcy since she, like the others, just laid around bored.
Day 4 Marcy was shaking her head constantly. She was also lethargic, just standing around not really doing much. That clued me in to something being wrong. Sometimes she fluffs her feathers up and just stands there like that. She didn't want to roost for the night either and instead just laid under the roosting bar so she'd be near her flockmates. I noticed she wasn't eating much so I checked her crop thinking she was having another bout of sour crop. It felt very full and had that squishy/airy feel to it. I began to treat her for sour crop.
Day 5 her crop got a bit airy and gassy again. I spent some time massaging, which she pooped during. When Marcy was outside, at one point she was standing there beak open and breathing kinda heavy. It wasn't hot out (probably about 68 degrees at the warmest). I picked her up and she sounded a bit gurgly. I opened her beak and she just let me - I knew she wasnt' feeling good for sure. Looking inside her beak it looked like she had clear mucus stretched from top to bottom on either side of her throat? I'll try to get a picture if I can get some help holding her later.
Day 6 Marcy is still under the weather. This is her 3rd day of being treated for sour crop. There's no more sour crop symptoms but the respiratory stuff is still going on. I investigated further. Her breathing is wheezy when I put my ear to her and listen. She sounds like me with my seasonal allergies, the poor girl. She's never been a very vocal pullet, but I've been noticing for days now that her chirps aren't crisp and clear. I thought that was just her voice, because I know how their voices kinda change as they get older and go from baby chirp to big girl bawk. But now I'm thinking it's congestion I'm hearing. Sometimes her chirps have gotten clear and crisp. In fact, her respiratory symptoms come and go. She seems to have bouts of it getting bad and then clearing up a bit. When she's cleared up, she starts to get a bit perky and will groom, dust bathe, and forage a bit. Maybe the treatment I'm giving her is helping? I can only hope. However, she hasn't eaten any of her feed today. Only thing I can get her to eat is cooked egg. She also feels a lot warmer than normal but maybe because she's spending most of her time laying down now by her water dish.
No runny nose. No bubbly eyes. No sneezing. No coughing. Just oddly congested and mucus in her throat.
Diet: Purina Flock Raiser crumbles. Some foraging (there's not much in the run, mostly sand, but there's little bits of grass here and there). Treats are hard boiled egg or scrambled egg. On rare occasion my family has fed plain cooked noodles but I told them no more in case the starches could be bothering her crop. Grit is provided. Also, the outside run is pretty sandy so they can ingest some sand for extra grit besides what I offer.
Stool: It was normal and more on the dry side when I first started massaging her crop - she'd poop during a massage and it'd just hit and roll. Not a lot of moisture to it. However, today it's been a lot wetter and I see her focusing more on drinking than eating. She's starting to sometimes pass a green stool too so I imagine that's bile from not eating a lot? Not sure. Could just be some grass she ate outside too.
Treatment thus far: This is her 3rd day of Miconazole. Crop is empty in the morning and it's not getting large and squishy anymore like it has the past two days. She had VetRX in the water a couple days ago. Today I put it straight on her by her nose, on her head and neck feathers, on her back, and under her wings. I'll be giving it in her water later and intend on continuing it. I've also decided to quarantine her just in case there's something more going on. I'll probably offer some garlic water too in case that could help.
Suspected issue: This is my first time dealing with a respiratory issue like this. My Crevecoeur Alice aspirated some moist feed when she was young - poor girl took weeks to get over that; just constant coughing and sneezing. I treated her with VetRX and garlic water. I'll be doing that with Marcy but I wanted to know what you all think could be going on. I've been reading into CRD and Coryza but honestly she doesn't have half the symptoms.
Pictures:
Marcy's living conditions inside:
Marcy's living conditions outside:
Marcy in quarantine starting today:
Marcy with the Leghorns yesterday:. She just kinda stood there spacing out.
Her stool in the morning and sometimes during the day:
Video of Marcy from today. She's a little perkier in the video than normal. I sadly couldn't get my phone to pick up on her wheezing or gurgly sounds.
The sick bird: is an 8.5 wk old RIR pullet named Marcy.
The other birds who are exposed but showing no symptoms:
- Flockmates: six 8.5 old Crevecoeurs who live in the exact same conditions and follow the same schedule.
- Semi-flockmates: two 6.5 wk old Leghorns that share the outdoor enclosure for a few hours a day and have a separate enclosure in my living room;.
- Other possibly exposed birds: 6 Easter Eggers (10mo) that walk around the outside enclosure that the babies spend some of the day in and
- & 1 Polish bantam (a little over 1yr) who I sometimes let in with the babies under supervision.
Past Health Issues: Marcy got sour crop (I believe) when she was just barely 3wks old. No idea why she got it. She was normal in the morning and by afternoon became lethargic. Her crop was full, very squishy like a water balloon, and felt gassy almost. She just laid in my hand and let me carry her around as I massaged her periodically. She didn't eat or drink most the day. I ended up getting Miconazole but I couldn't get her to take it. All the massaging seemed to help her pass some stool. Then she took the medicine on some egg. After that, she perked up. For the first two days occasionally her crop would seemingly fill with gas. It'd get squishy and full. I'd massage it and it'd go down. After that she was fine. She got scrambled egg and plain greek yogurt as treats. I kept up medication for 6 days I believe? I think she missed the final day of treatment unfortunately.
Duration of symptoms: Probably 6 days. I've been tending to her for 3 days.
Symptoms: I first noticed something was wrong when Marcy was constantly flicking her head over and over again. We've been having a problem with gnats so I thought that might've been the cause. I've been bringing them in early for the past couple weeks but I checked her nose just in case and it was free of debris/bugs.
The next day it started raining in the afternoon so I rushed everyone inside just in time before the downpour. Marcy got a tad wet but nothing the others didn't get. Everyone just kinda laid around bored for the rest of the day, as they do.
Day 3 it rained all day long so they all had to stay inside. I didn't notice anything up with Marcy since she, like the others, just laid around bored.
Day 4 Marcy was shaking her head constantly. She was also lethargic, just standing around not really doing much. That clued me in to something being wrong. Sometimes she fluffs her feathers up and just stands there like that. She didn't want to roost for the night either and instead just laid under the roosting bar so she'd be near her flockmates. I noticed she wasn't eating much so I checked her crop thinking she was having another bout of sour crop. It felt very full and had that squishy/airy feel to it. I began to treat her for sour crop.
Day 5 her crop got a bit airy and gassy again. I spent some time massaging, which she pooped during. When Marcy was outside, at one point she was standing there beak open and breathing kinda heavy. It wasn't hot out (probably about 68 degrees at the warmest). I picked her up and she sounded a bit gurgly. I opened her beak and she just let me - I knew she wasnt' feeling good for sure. Looking inside her beak it looked like she had clear mucus stretched from top to bottom on either side of her throat? I'll try to get a picture if I can get some help holding her later.
Day 6 Marcy is still under the weather. This is her 3rd day of being treated for sour crop. There's no more sour crop symptoms but the respiratory stuff is still going on. I investigated further. Her breathing is wheezy when I put my ear to her and listen. She sounds like me with my seasonal allergies, the poor girl. She's never been a very vocal pullet, but I've been noticing for days now that her chirps aren't crisp and clear. I thought that was just her voice, because I know how their voices kinda change as they get older and go from baby chirp to big girl bawk. But now I'm thinking it's congestion I'm hearing. Sometimes her chirps have gotten clear and crisp. In fact, her respiratory symptoms come and go. She seems to have bouts of it getting bad and then clearing up a bit. When she's cleared up, she starts to get a bit perky and will groom, dust bathe, and forage a bit. Maybe the treatment I'm giving her is helping? I can only hope. However, she hasn't eaten any of her feed today. Only thing I can get her to eat is cooked egg. She also feels a lot warmer than normal but maybe because she's spending most of her time laying down now by her water dish.
No runny nose. No bubbly eyes. No sneezing. No coughing. Just oddly congested and mucus in her throat.
Diet: Purina Flock Raiser crumbles. Some foraging (there's not much in the run, mostly sand, but there's little bits of grass here and there). Treats are hard boiled egg or scrambled egg. On rare occasion my family has fed plain cooked noodles but I told them no more in case the starches could be bothering her crop. Grit is provided. Also, the outside run is pretty sandy so they can ingest some sand for extra grit besides what I offer.
Stool: It was normal and more on the dry side when I first started massaging her crop - she'd poop during a massage and it'd just hit and roll. Not a lot of moisture to it. However, today it's been a lot wetter and I see her focusing more on drinking than eating. She's starting to sometimes pass a green stool too so I imagine that's bile from not eating a lot? Not sure. Could just be some grass she ate outside too.
Treatment thus far: This is her 3rd day of Miconazole. Crop is empty in the morning and it's not getting large and squishy anymore like it has the past two days. She had VetRX in the water a couple days ago. Today I put it straight on her by her nose, on her head and neck feathers, on her back, and under her wings. I'll be giving it in her water later and intend on continuing it. I've also decided to quarantine her just in case there's something more going on. I'll probably offer some garlic water too in case that could help.
Suspected issue: This is my first time dealing with a respiratory issue like this. My Crevecoeur Alice aspirated some moist feed when she was young - poor girl took weeks to get over that; just constant coughing and sneezing. I treated her with VetRX and garlic water. I'll be doing that with Marcy but I wanted to know what you all think could be going on. I've been reading into CRD and Coryza but honestly she doesn't have half the symptoms.
Pictures:
Marcy's living conditions inside:
Marcy's living conditions outside:
Marcy in quarantine starting today:
Marcy with the Leghorns yesterday:. She just kinda stood there spacing out.
Her stool in the morning and sometimes during the day:
Video of Marcy from today. She's a little perkier in the video than normal. I sadly couldn't get my phone to pick up on her wheezing or gurgly sounds.
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