The two Sebrights have actually been in the yard for almost 5 years now, so definitely not a recent addition to the flock! The last birds I did add were 3 d'Anvers over 6 months ago, and they were and continue to be very healthy.
The sick Sebright (her name is Lux) is definitely the most flighty and nervous of my birds, and recently went through a pretty heavy molt. There has also been a sharp-shinned hawk keeping an eye on the backyard (my husband caught the hawk just sitting on top of my fully enclosed run last weekend), which always adds a bit of stress for the little hens. So, I think that it's possible that she just has a mild respiratory infection brought on by the physical and emotional stress that she's been under having weakened her immune system a bit. Definitely worried about Mycoplasma, though.
This morning she actually looked better than she did yesterday; her eyes and nose were still minimally watery, but no foaming around the eyes at all. Due to the strong winds, I kept her in the house in her crate for the morning, and made all the hens scrambled eggs with spinach and pumpkin.
Still no signs of any disease in the rest of the flock this morning, so they got to go out in the run. I looked at each of their eyes, noses, and sinuses very carefully. Haven't dosed with antibiotics yet; I guess if my sick hen is eating and drinking and improving without medicine over the next few days, I might hold off. Now that I have her separated, I can tell how much she is consuming, where it was a little difficult before, especially due to the fact that she is the top of the pecking order and tends to drive the other hens away from food, even when she isn't going to eat it. If I check on her later in the day and it doesn't look like she's been eating well, I might just start her on the antibiotics today, but hold off on the others until I see any symptoms. And that's the morning update! Thanks for the help!
Last edited:
