can chickens get better on their own?

[gertsgal]

I have 4 beloved hens and I wanted to get them some more buddies. I brought home 4 more little sweeties and as the guy was picking them up i checked to make sure they looked healthy. I was busy putting one in the carrier and the man handed an EE to my husband so I did not check her out well. When we got home I picked up the pullet and she had bubbly eyes and a thick bubbly cough. My husband said I was being dramatic and that everything was fine. Although I new in my heart there was something wrong with this chicken I turned a blind eye and hoped for the best. It will be 3 weeks tomorrow that I brought them home and last week I started them all on Duramyacyn-1 in their drinking water. My EE runs around (free range on 2 acres) and appears happy ,still has bubbly eyes ,the cough has lessened but is still there. My question.... Do chickens ever get better on their own with a good diet and exercise? My husband says I'm over reacting and all will be fine. i cannot stand the thought of any of my precious chickens getting sick because I am too dumb to take proper care of them.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

And I wish you the best of success with all your chickens, your first ones, the new ones, and any more to come.

I bet you're going to get a lot of different opinions on this matter. There is the ideal way to care for your chickens, and then you'll find other folks who never follow those practices and their flocks still thrive. For me, it's been a progressive education in keeping chickens. I started by reading as much as I could, asking lots of questions, observing what works for my birds & for me, and now continuing to do all the above.

Most folks will say it is ideal to carefully check over any new birds you plan to add to your flock, and never accept a bird with such obvious symptoms of illness. Shame on that seller for not noticing! But it is your responsibility too to have noticed.

Then most folks will say it is ideal to quarantine your new birds for a period of time before adding them to your existing flock. Times vary, from 1-4 weeks, depending on who you ask. House them far away from your other birds, and tend to the new ones after caring for your others, so you don't carry germs from the new birds to your others. Some birds can be starting to get ill but not show symptoms, sometimes the stress of moving can weaken their immunity.

Now as to your original question. Some folks will argue that chickens have been kept for thousands of years before there were medicines & antibiotics available for them, and that they are tough enough to fight off ailments on their own. Others will say that it's better to treat your sick birds, otherwise while they may recover on their own they still won't come back to full strength & production, and always be weaker than they should.

There's also a wide spectrum of methods of care. Some will just immediately cull any sick bird rather than risk the spread of the ailment to the rest of the flock. Some will separate the sick bird and treat it with home remedies and/or medicines obtained at the feed store, vet supply store, or online sources. This forum is a great source of information on treating your birds on your own. Some folks have the resources to take their sick chickens to a professional veterinarian.

Now you have 8 chickens all kept together. Do any of the others show symptoms, or just the EE? Since you started them on the antibiotic last week I would continue so they have had a full course of 7-10 days. Then I would give them some yogurt or something to help rebuild the probiotics in their systems. If the EE continues to show symptoms I might separate her for a while and make sure she was getting good food, maybe more antibiotics or something, and try to get her symptoms to abate. I don't think it would make much of a difference now to quarantine the new birds, or even the EE, they've all been together for so long that any germs anyone had are well shared by now. But I might separate the EE for her sake, to help her shake this ailment.

 

[gertsgal]

Thank you for that. About the only reason I keep them is because they are wonderful. If i never get an egg they are still worth their weight in gold!