Please help me with this sweet girl. She was smart enough to make her way into my house and into the bathroom tub where I typically treat the chickens when they are sick. I just found her sitting in the tub waiting for me to make her better!! I really don't think I would have even noticed she was sick if I didn't find her in the TUB!! Really bizarre and AMAZING, but she definitely has my attention.
Symptoms:
She has a purple/blueish comb, strained breathing, pink streaked legs and watery poop. The comb feels cool/cold. It is NOT cold here at all - 70s or so. She wont stop drinking and sometimes the water seems to spill back out like maybe her crop is full. She will eat, but mostly she is thirsty. Her energy is good so far and her feathers do not look dull at all. She may be a little thin but it is really hard to tell since she is a good sized bird. I do think she is pretty sick, however.
VET:
I do have access to an Avian vet, but I am a city chick and they are really more accustomed to treating city birds like parakeets and parrots. In fact, BYC has figured out problems with my birds that the Vet could not...so realistically, you guys are my best alternative. Unless you recommend specific testing, I'm really better off reaching out to you all for diagnosis.
What I've done:
She is isolated (in the "chicken" tub). I gave her vet rx in each nostril and under her wings and electrolytes in her water. I wet down her food so it is soft and easy to digest and added a little protein/vitamin supplement (brewers yeast).
History:
She is probably about a 2 year old rescued factory RIR/leghorn who was wormed with Valbazan 2 months ago. (We had/have a tapeworm problem in our flock but she is not showing any eggs in the poop. Trust me, I have become a tapeworm egg expert - ick!). She could have eaten a tomato plant about two days ago, but would that cause respiratory problems? The tomato plant has been removed from the yard. DE is in the coop and in the feed + visual inspection indicates that she doesn't have mites. She free ranges during the day on about 1/4 acre.
I will be out of town for a couple of weeks and wanted to try to get her as well as possible before she is being cared for by someone else. Should I put her on antibiotics? I don't want to obviously if it just sounds viral. Please advise!
Thank you, BYC!
Symptoms:
She has a purple/blueish comb, strained breathing, pink streaked legs and watery poop. The comb feels cool/cold. It is NOT cold here at all - 70s or so. She wont stop drinking and sometimes the water seems to spill back out like maybe her crop is full. She will eat, but mostly she is thirsty. Her energy is good so far and her feathers do not look dull at all. She may be a little thin but it is really hard to tell since she is a good sized bird. I do think she is pretty sick, however.
VET:
I do have access to an Avian vet, but I am a city chick and they are really more accustomed to treating city birds like parakeets and parrots. In fact, BYC has figured out problems with my birds that the Vet could not...so realistically, you guys are my best alternative. Unless you recommend specific testing, I'm really better off reaching out to you all for diagnosis.
What I've done:
She is isolated (in the "chicken" tub). I gave her vet rx in each nostril and under her wings and electrolytes in her water. I wet down her food so it is soft and easy to digest and added a little protein/vitamin supplement (brewers yeast).
History:
She is probably about a 2 year old rescued factory RIR/leghorn who was wormed with Valbazan 2 months ago. (We had/have a tapeworm problem in our flock but she is not showing any eggs in the poop. Trust me, I have become a tapeworm egg expert - ick!). She could have eaten a tomato plant about two days ago, but would that cause respiratory problems? The tomato plant has been removed from the yard. DE is in the coop and in the feed + visual inspection indicates that she doesn't have mites. She free ranges during the day on about 1/4 acre.
I will be out of town for a couple of weeks and wanted to try to get her as well as possible before she is being cared for by someone else. Should I put her on antibiotics? I don't want to obviously if it just sounds viral. Please advise!
Thank you, BYC!
