2018 Newbie Chat!

[PNW_Peepers]

Guys, Roo is very sick and I'm so worried. After putting the birds to bed earlier, we took my grandson out for an evening walk, about half hour or so after we got home we heard her sneezing and when I went to check on her I found her huddled in a corner her nose streaming and eyes half closed. Pedro was in with her and Lilah, even though when they went to bed Pedro was in the nesting compartment with Jellybean as usual, Pedro and Jellybean always sleep in there and tonight is the first time Pedro has gone into the part where Roo and Lilah sleep. Pedro was standing when I looked in but I have no way of knowing how long she'd been in there or if she went in there from being curious about the Roo sneezing, however, Pedro wasn't near Roo at all and there are no feathers in there so isn't any sign I can see of Pedro attacking or doing anything to Roo, but I'm thinking even just being in the same compartment as Roo might have stress her out too. trouble is my girls do move around in the dark, they don't seem to realise they are supposed to be blind in the dark. I made up a bed for her in here with us and when I brought her indoors I could feel her feet were very hot. We gave her a dose of Nutri-Drops (British version of Nutri-drench) and after a few minutes she started to perk up and her nose stopped running and is ow completely dry, her eyes are open as should be and she looks as almost normal. She isn't happy about being in here but I don't want to put her back out with the others in case its a virus which I don't want to risk spreading to the others. I am wondering if it is stress induced because she's had a really hard time of it lately with all the fireworks, plus the last couple of days or so the others have been at her so much and a few days ago, Jellybean attacked her, she had hold of her with her beak and as Roo tried to run, Jellybean wouldn't let go and some of Roo's feathers ripped out. Later the same day I accidentally stood on her wing - one of the ducks had dug up some glass and was trying to eat it, in my urgency to get to him before he ate it, I hadn't realised she was sitting near my foot, and again some of her feathers ripped out. She seemed ok after and was eating and foraging ok, but then the next day the ducks ganged up on her and although I got to her promptly she was very upset but unhurt. Pedro was at her yesterday and today the two of them kept chasing her and I noticed she was very quiet and sat under a bush for quite sometime. She seemed ok when I put her to bed but was very flighty. I have to pick her up to put her to bed as she rarely goes in by herself, she doesn't like that I pick her up but usually roosts on my arm for me to take her in but this evening she fluttered loads and I stupidly but accidentally grabbed onto her tail which upset her loads, so with all of this happening to her and how quickly she stopped sneezing and her nose/eyes drying up and back to normal after the Nutri-drops, I'm think it might be stress induced. I will see how she is in the morning to decide if I let her outside to free range for a bit and will decide if to keep her inside or to put her back to sleep with Lilah as she really doesn't like that she indoors. I can hear her moving around and pecking at her food and she has had a fare bit to drink and when I checked on her a short while ago she was upright and alert, however she isn't roosting, she's just been sitting on the floor but I had noticed she stopped roosting a while ago b'cos she likes to snuggle up with Lilah at night and Lilah no longer roosts b'cos she prefers to sleep on the floor of the hutch, so I'm thinking it might be why Roo isn't roosting now. I'd appreciate any advice or suggestions if anyone has any to give. I just really need her to be ok, I am too attached to be able to handle losing any of them. If needs be we will take her to the vets but my worry is, its quite a drive away and if this is due to stress, taking her in a car might be too much for her. As I say, if anyone has any advice, I'll be very grateful for the help.

Runny nose and sneezing is a sign of a respiratory infection. Wally was sneezing days before he lost his crow. If we hadn’t treated him when we did I firmly believe we would have lost him. Read up on it, watch her symptoms. Definitely don’t put her around the other birds. Respiratory infection is highly contagious. Keep on eye on the rest of your flock for any similar symptoms (sneezing, wheezing, or discharge from the nostrils or eyes)

 

[emrya]

First egg today! 23 weeks, 1 day.

 

[llombardo]

Guys, Roo is very sick and I'm so worried. After putting the birds to bed earlier, we took my grandson out for an evening walk, about half hour or so after we got home we heard her sneezing and when I went to check on her I found her huddled in a corner her nose streaming and eyes half closed. Pedro was in with her and Lilah, even though when they went to bed Pedro was in the nesting compartment with Jellybean as usual, Pedro and Jellybean always sleep in there and tonight is the first time Pedro has gone into the part where Roo and Lilah sleep. Pedro was standing when I looked in but I have no way of knowing how long she'd been in there or if she went in there from being curious about the Roo sneezing, however, Pedro wasn't near Roo at all and there are no feathers in there so isn't any sign I can see of Pedro attacking or doing anything to Roo, but I'm thinking even just being in the same compartment as Roo might have stress her out too. trouble is my girls do move around in the dark, they don't seem to realise they are supposed to be blind in the dark. I made up a bed for her in here with us and when I brought her indoors I could feel her feet were very hot. We gave her a dose of Nutri-Drops (British version of Nutri-drench) and after a few minutes she started to perk up and her nose stopped running and is ow completely dry, her eyes are open as should be and she looks as almost normal. She isn't happy about being in here but I don't want to put her back out with the others in case its a virus which I don't want to risk spreading to the others. I am wondering if it is stress induced because she's had a really hard time of it lately with all the fireworks, plus the last couple of days or so the others have been at her so much and a few days ago, Jellybean attacked her, she had hold of her with her beak and as Roo tried to run, Jellybean wouldn't let go and some of Roo's feathers ripped out. Later the same day I accidentally stood on her wing - one of the ducks had dug up some glass and was trying to eat it, in my urgency to get to him before he ate it, I hadn't realised she was sitting near my foot, and again some of her feathers ripped out. She seemed ok after and was eating and foraging ok, but then the next day the ducks ganged up on her and although I got to her promptly she was very upset but unhurt. Pedro was at her yesterday and today the two of them kept chasing her and I noticed she was very quiet and sat under a bush for quite sometime. She seemed ok when I put her to bed but was very flighty. I have to pick her up to put her to bed as she rarely goes in by herself, she doesn't like that I pick her up but usually roosts on my arm for me to take her in but this evening she fluttered loads and I stupidly but accidentally grabbed onto her tail which upset her loads, so with all of this happening to her and how quickly she stopped sneezing and her nose/eyes drying up and back to normal after the Nutri-drops, I'm think it might be stress induced. I will see how she is in the morning to decide if I let her outside to free range for a bit and will decide if to keep her inside or to put her back to sleep with Lilah as she really doesn't like that she indoors. I can hear her moving around and pecking at her food and she has had a fare bit to drink and when I checked on her a short while ago she was upright and alert, however she isn't roosting, she's just been sitting on the floor but I had noticed she stopped roosting a while ago b'cos she likes to snuggle up with Lilah at night and Lilah no longer roosts b'cos she prefers to sleep on the floor of the hutch, so I'm thinking it might be why Roo isn't roosting now. I'd appreciate any advice or suggestions if anyone has any to give. I just really need her to be ok, I am too attached to be able to handle losing any of them. If needs be we will take her to the vets but my worry is, its quite a drive away and if this is due to stress, taking her in a car might be too much for her. As I say, if anyone has any advice, I'll be very grateful for the help.

Awe poor thing. Keep her inside and warm. Give her some scramble egg and if you can some electrolytes and probiotics in her water.

I know you are not fond of it but colloidial silver really does work for respitory issues.

Good luck and I hope for the best!

 

[CannedMonster]

Guys, Roo is very sick and I'm so worried. After putting the birds to bed earlier, we took my grandson out for an evening walk, about half hour or so after we got home we heard her sneezing and when I went to check on her I found her huddled in a corner her nose streaming and eyes half closed. Pedro was in with her and Lilah, even though when they went to bed Pedro was in the nesting compartment with Jellybean as usual, Pedro and Jellybean always sleep in there and tonight is the first time Pedro has gone into the part where Roo and Lilah sleep. Pedro was standing when I looked in but I have no way of knowing how long she'd been in there or if she went in there from being curious about the Roo sneezing, however, Pedro wasn't near Roo at all and there are no feathers in there so isn't any sign I can see of Pedro attacking or doing anything to Roo, but I'm thinking even just being in the same compartment as Roo might have stress her out too. trouble is my girls do move around in the dark, they don't seem to realise they are supposed to be blind in the dark. I made up a bed for her in here with us and when I brought her indoors I could feel her feet were very hot. We gave her a dose of Nutri-Drops (British version of Nutri-drench) and after a few minutes she started to perk up and her nose stopped running and is ow completely dry, her eyes are open as should be and she looks as almost normal. She isn't happy about being in here but I don't want to put her back out with the others in case its a virus which I don't want to risk spreading to the others. I am wondering if it is stress induced because she's had a really hard time of it lately with all the fireworks, plus the last couple of days or so the others have been at her so much and a few days ago, Jellybean attacked her, she had hold of her with her beak and as Roo tried to run, Jellybean wouldn't let go and some of Roo's feathers ripped out. Later the same day I accidentally stood on her wing - one of the ducks had dug up some glass and was trying to eat it, in my urgency to get to him before he ate it, I hadn't realised she was sitting near my foot, and again some of her feathers ripped out. She seemed ok after and was eating and foraging ok, but then the next day the ducks ganged up on her and although I got to her promptly she was very upset but unhurt. Pedro was at her yesterday and today the two of them kept chasing her and I noticed she was very quiet and sat under a bush for quite sometime. She seemed ok when I put her to bed but was very flighty. I have to pick her up to put her to bed as she rarely goes in by herself, she doesn't like that I pick her up but usually roosts on my arm for me to take her in but this evening she fluttered loads and I stupidly but accidentally grabbed onto her tail which upset her loads, so with all of this happening to her and how quickly she stopped sneezing and her nose/eyes drying up and back to normal after the Nutri-drops, I'm think it might be stress induced. I will see how she is in the morning to decide if I let her outside to free range for a bit and will decide if to keep her inside or to put her back to sleep with Lilah as she really doesn't like that she indoors. I can hear her moving around and pecking at her food and she has had a fare bit to drink and when I checked on her a short while ago she was upright and alert, however she isn't roosting, she's just been sitting on the floor but I had noticed she stopped roosting a while ago b'cos she likes to snuggle up with Lilah at night and Lilah no longer roosts b'cos she prefers to sleep on the floor of the hutch, so I'm thinking it might be why Roo isn't roosting now. I'd appreciate any advice or suggestions if anyone has any to give. I just really need her to be ok, I am too attached to be able to handle losing any of them. If needs be we will take her to the vets but my worry is, its quite a drive away and if this is due to stress, taking her in a car might be too much for her. As I say, if anyone has any advice, I'll be very grateful for the help.

My whole flock got a respiratory illness when I got Pippin from my friend.
They sneezed sometimes and had a little liquid coming from their nares when they’d shake their heads.
They ate and drank normally.
They all recovered fairly quickly.
Of course, it wasn’t winter though.
As long as she eats and drinks she’ll get through it.
Nutridrench is always a good idea.
As many on this website have said, chickens die.
It’s going to happen.
If I know I did everything I could within my means and they don’t suffer I can deal with that.

A word about STRESS:
I do know that stress isn’t as big of a factor that some are led to believe.
Stress is a part of being alive.

It’s really about coping skills.

Animals (and people) are quite capable of adapting.
I find that making everything so comfortable for them can backfire so that they’re unable to cope with anything different at all.
The same is true for humans. We must learn to cope with life.

An example:
My husband does a lot of work around the yard using different tools and machines that can be very noisy and scary to the chickens.
They were terrified of the lawn tractor.
But we have to mow.
So do we lock them up so they’re not scared?
Nope!
At first they ran to the furthest part of the yard they could.
Now, after mowing all spring and summer, they just move out of the mowers way.
No panicking, no flapping or squawking.
They know it won’t hurt them.
They adapted!
And were they stressed at first?
Of course!
But had I protected them from something I knew wouldn’t hurt them they would never have learned that.

 

[Anna Ranieri]

Runny nose and sneezing is a sign of a respiratory infection. Wally was sneezing days before he lost his crow. If we hadn’t treated him when we did I firmly believe we would have lost him. Read up on it, watch her symptoms. Definitely don’t put her around the other birds. Respiratory infection is highly contagious. Keep on eye on the rest of your flock for any similar symptoms (sneezing, wheezing, or discharge from the nostrils or eyes)

Thank you. My daughter said she could hear a tiny bit of a wheezing sound as she held Roo, but soon after we gave Roo the Nutri-drops it stopped so we're not sure if it was coming from her chest or her nose when it was running (it no longer is since giving her the Nutri-drops). Unfortunately for us, in our country we are unable to get any antibiotics with out a prescription which only a vet can give and its highly unlikely they'd prescribe without seeing her, so we may have to take her. If she remains lively and her nose dry do you think we'd be safe to let her ride it through or should we take her to the vets anyway?

 

[Anna Ranieri]

Awe poor thing. Keep her inside and warm. Give her some scramble egg and if you can some electrolytes and probiotics in her water.

I know you are not fond of it but colloidial silver really does work for respitory issues.

Good luck and I hope for the best!

Thank you. Colloidal silver isn't something we can get very easily over here and would have to be bought online, the electrolytes and probiotics I'm not sure about other than for humans but we plan to ring the vets when they open so I'll ask where we might get some from. Thanks again for your advice.

 

[Anna Ranieri]

My whole flock got a respiratory illness when I got Pippin from my friend.
They sneezed sometimes and had a little liquid coming from their nares when they’d shake their heads.
They ate and drank normally.
They all recovered fairly quickly.
Of course, it wasn’t winter though.
As long as she eats and drinks she’ll get through it.
Nutridrench is always a good idea.
As many on this website have said, chickens die.
It’s going to happen.
If I know I did everything I could within my means and they don’t suffer I can deal with that.

A word about STRESS:
I do know that stress isn’t as big of a factor that some are led to believe.
Stress is a part of being alive.

It’s really about coping skills.

Animals (and people) are quite capable of adapting.
I find that making everything so comfortable for them can backfire so that they’re unable to cope with anything different at all.
The same is true for humans. We must learn to cope with life.

An example:
My husband does a lot of work around the yard using different tools and machines that can be very noisy and scary to the chickens.
They were terrified of the lawn tractor.
But we have to mow.
So do we lock them up so they’re not scared?
Nope!
At first they ran to the furthest part of the yard they could.
Now, after mowing all spring and summer, they just move out of the mowers way.
No panicking, no flapping or squawking.
They know it won’t hurt them.
They adapted!
And were they stressed at first?
Of course!
But had I protected them from something I knew wouldn’t hurt them they would never have learned that.

Thank you, I appreciate your advice, my daughter searched the net for advice as vets were closed at the time we found her ill (still are closed, they open at 9 am) everywhere we read it said causes most likely for the symptoms we typed in are respiratory infection or high stress levels, its that her nose stopped running and all symptoms seem to disappear minutes after we had given her the Nutri-drops and we thought if is infection surely she'd still have showing symptoms like sneezing, wheezing etc but she as I said they disappeared minutes after the dose we gave her plus she became so lively, ate loads, she's quiet at the moment, its very dark where we have her with out the light on but when I checked on her moments ago my movement woke her up, she just looked wide eyed at me and moaned a little but as far as I can see seems fine and nose is still dry and there's no sneezing at all. I agree with you about accustoming them to everyday noises, however my reluctance at putting her back with the others is that if it is a virus I don't want it to spread. I don't have anywhere else but in here to segregate her from the others. I'm going to ring the vets for advice when they open, as I really don't want anyone else to catch whatever it is she has if it isn't stress related.

 

[PNW_Peepers]

Thank you. My daughter said she could hear a tiny bit of a wheezing sound as she held Roo, but soon after we gave Roo the Nutri-drops it stopped so we're not sure if it was coming from her chest or her nose when it was running (it no longer is since giving her the Nutri-drops). Unfortunately for us, in our country we are unable to get any antibiotics with out a prescription which only a vet can give and its highly unlikely they'd prescribe without seeing her, so we may have to take her. If she remains lively and her nose dry do you think we'd be safe to let her ride it through or should we take her to the vets anyway?

If I was you, I would take her to the vet. I know how much you love your birds. If you wait it out you could very likely loose your whole flock to it. We had to inject Wally with something called Tylan 200. He was injected twice a day for ten days directly into the breast tissue. I had an avian vet walk me through each step with him. Better safe than sorry IMHO

 

[Anna Ranieri]

@PNW_Peepers @ChooksNQuilts @llombardo Roo is doing really well, I spoke on the phone to a vet who specializes in poultry and water fowl, she has been most helpful. She said she couldn't diagnose nor prescribe anything without seeing Roo, however by what I told her she said she felt there was no need for me to take her there at this time. I told her I had given Roo the Nutri-drops and how Roo was back to normal within minutes, the vet said she'd never heard of Nutri-drops and is unable to comment on a product she knows nothing about but sounded reluctant to believe it can do what it does but accepted I believe in its effectiveness. After giving the vet all the information, and reporting the Roo's symptoms only lasted for approx 15 to 20 minutes, the vet said it is highly unlikely it is a respiratory infection because firstly the symptoms I described don't match up to that of a RI, and secondly if it was a RI her symptoms wouldn't have gone so quick and would have lasted much longer and even if the Nutri-drops did have the effect on Roo that I said it did, Roo would still have symptoms remaining i.e coughing, sneezing and wheezing, she also said because the wheezing sound was coming from Roo's nose and not from her chest, she is more inclined to believe Roo may have had a blockage or something lodged in her nose or throat and the action of my giving Roo the drops could have dislodged what ever it was and cleared her nasal passage which would explain the instant ceasing of her nose running, she has advised I keep a close eye on this in case whatever was there is still lodged somewhere and might cause problems again. She also said that Roo's comb and face turning bright red would have been caused by blood flow and her being stressed and in distress could have quickened her heart rate causing Roo to become flushed, as we were talking my grandson put his hand in Roo's cage in an attempt to stroke her, Roo's comb and face went bright red again, I told him to leave her alone and moved him away from her and soon after her comb/face returned to normal colour again, I told this to the vet and she said it was probably that Roo was stressed by him trying to stroke her and that I could use that happening as a cue to get her to a place of calm again, she said it wasn't something she'd worry about but if her comb turned purple that would be a sure sign something drastic is going on and I am to get her to the vets immediately if that happens, thankfully it hasn't. In the end the vet surmised that Roo has a virus which she has been able to fight herself but with the amount of stress she has been under her bodies defenses lowered and brought her immunity system down to the point of letting the virus get "the better of her" and having brought her to calm when we brought her indoors, her immunity heightened to the point of being able to fight the virus again. She said the fact that Roo got ill while she was with the others, they have already been exposed to it and those who would catch it will have already contracted the virus and just to keep a close eye on them too (one of my ducks started coughing today but so far is handling it well) she said she see's no reason to separate Roo from the flocks other than to give her some respite, she said to give her a day just to recoup and as long as she continues to be doing so well she can rejoin them. I decided to wait until about an hour and a half before their bedtime, then let her out with the others, she was so happy to see Lilah and ran straight to her and we could clearly see how happy she was to be back with Lilah. Pedro chased Roo almost immediately and one of the drakes joined in so I stood with my stick to keep them away from her although a couple of times they were too quick for me but I still managed to intervene and prevented them from being able to peck her. At bedtime I decided to bring Roo back indoors to give her another peaceful night of sleep and have Lilah in here too with Roo b'cos she gets distressed when separated from Lilah for too long, both are settled and cuddled up together. I've heard Roo squeak a couple of times this evening, which sounds like a faint sneeze and have checked on her and her nose is still dry, her eyes are bright and she isn't wheezing, and as far as I can tell everything is ok so tomorrow, as long as she continues to be making such good progress I'll let her out with the others for the day and will decided whether or not I will sleep her outside or in here again, depending on how she is after the whole day back out.

 

[Anna Ranieri]

@PNW_Peepers @ChooksNQuilts @llombardo - I want to thank you all for your great support and advice, you all helped me tremendously. Roo is much better, and had a really good day today, although she tires much quicker than usual. I had decided to sleep her outside again this evening but a little before bed time she sneezed a few times, although not as bad as it had been the first night, however, her having sneezed again made me uncertain as to whether I should have her sleep out or not, so I prayed about it and shortly after my daughter opened the back door to speak to me and Lilah went inside which is something she doesn't usually do. I wondered if this was a sign but couldn't be sure so I told my daughter to usher her out (along with the ducks who by this time had also entered the bungalow) but told her to leave the door open and if she and Roo went back in I'd take it to be God showing me Roo needs another night in, I'd barely finished what I was saying when both turned around and went straight back in, so sticking to my decision I have taken this to be God's answer to my prayer and have both of them in for one more night. I can hear them purring which is lovely to hear and also reassuring that they are settling well.