blood around the mouth, please help...

[hummingberd]

Hi everyone-

I posted recently on a chicken who was having a hard time breathing and had bubbles coming out of her eye. She has been inside and was doing fine. We put her back outside so she could roam around, and she was only outside for a day and 1/2 and was back in the house again with the same symptoms. This morning I noticed blood on her water bowl when I was filling it. I took her out and upon inspection she has what appears to be blood coming out of her mouth. i did find a ball of bloody feathers on her back where she may have been pecking, but it seems the blood is actually coming from inside. I'm beside myself. i don't know what to do. We don't have birds around here who work on chickens, so I'm pretty much on my own. How can I treat something I don't understand? I feel awful that she may be suffering in pain. i don't want to prolong suffering, but I don't want to euthanize a bird who can be treated. Please help with any comments...

Thank You

 

[pips&peeps]

Sounds like she may have ILT. The blood would be coming from her throat.

If this is ILT it is very contagious and strains where there is blood coming from the trachea often lead to death.

Keep an eye on her an see if she is making funny noises and sounds like she is trying to hack up something. You can check the online version on the Merck Veterinay Manual.

If you think it is ILT, I would euthanize her as she will be a carrier if she survives. You should also take precautions, because you could carry this disease on your shoes or clothing when you leave your home and infect someone elses birds.

 

[hinkjc]

You could try contacting the department of agriculture where you live to find out who your state vet is or who can help you with a necropsy (some states use college/universities). I would select the sickest bird (sounds like this poor hen) and have them test her to figure out what is going on. I will tell you that she will be euthanized, but this could potentially save the rest of your flock. Or it could at least help you figure out what is going on and how to treat it, if treatment is available for what is identified.

The blood from the mouth is a common symptom of ILT (Infectious laryngotracheitis). You can read more about it here. http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/206700.htm&word=ilt

I'm so sorry to hear you are going through this. :aww
Jody

 

[hummingberd]

Oh my...This is overwhelming, but I appreciate the help. The weird thing is that the chicken otherwise seems healthy. She's chatty, eats and drinks. She is breathing normally. She did have bubbles coming out of her eye, but now that she's in the warm house, she's fine. Could it be anything else? I'm hopeful...

 

[hummingberd]

new update. We gave pretty girl a dose of teramycin and there is no more blood coming out of her mouth. She is alert, hungry and drinking plenty of water. Where as I read that ILT is caused by a virus, perhaps what she has was bacterial since the anti-biotics seem to be helping. Any thoughts on this? She definitely displays some of the signs of ILT but how could she be getting better with anti-biotics? Thanks for your input.

 

[silkiechicken]

It may be possible she had secondary infections caused by bacteria which the antibiotics are treating. However, I do not know much about the disease so can't help with that. Good luck.

 

[dlhunicorn]

http://drexotic.com/avian_emergencies.htm

"Anticoagulant rodenticides

First generation (warfarin) and second generation (brodifacoum and bromadoline) rodenticide intoxication or suspected intoxication caused by both primary and secondary exposure (carnivorous birds) are not uncommon presentations. These agents are vitamin K antagonists that deplete and block the synthesis of prothrombin, accessory factors VII, IX, X. As noted earlier, extrinsic clotting factors are not important in avian patients, and low levels of factor VII may decrease the effects of these products. Clinical signs include depression, anorexia, feather follicle and subcutaneous hemorrhage, petechial hemorrhages of oral and cloacal mucosa and bleeding from nares. Many of these patients will present with no history of exposure and no specific symptoms. Once hemorrhage is noted the prognosis is grave.

Treatment involves Vitamin K supplementation and, in critical cases, fresh whole blood transfusions. Vitamin K1 is administered by injection until stable then given SQ, IM or PO daily33 or fed in the diet at a rate of 800 g/kg of food. IM administration has been reported to result in hematoma formation in dogs with clinical signs of coagulopathy. This problem has not been reported and may or may not result in birds. Supplementation of menadione (K3) is not effective in counteracting anticoagulants. Due to increased potency and slower metabolism (at least in mammals) of the second generation agents, it may be necessary to administer vitamin K for several weeks to control bleeding. "

 

[hummingberd]

RIP...

I am very sad to report the pretty girl has passed away. We are so sad... She was a wonderful friend. She had the most personality of any animal I've ever met. When she was young, she had the most beautiful big brown eyes. She "talked" when she wanted something, and always laid wonderful little banty eggs for us. She was our very first egg layer. I remember the weeks of anticipation waiting for an egg, and steady and true as she was, she gave us our first. She was six years old. Her last days were inside a giant dog crate in the kitchen of our home. She was warm by the fire with fresh bedding and her own food and water bowl! She kept us company, and always greeted us at the door when we came home, with cheerful clucking and chirps. I am sure we will never have another chicken like her, though I know we will have many more wonderful birds to care for. Thanks everyone for your support...

Kirstan

 

[Lunachick]

Sorry you lost pretty girl, you tried and at least she was home with you.

 

[Ericasl]

Sorry for the loss of your very special hen.:aww