Chicken recovering from respiratory issues now losing feathers ...

[flymamma]

) What type of bird , age and weight. Red sex link 20wks 6 days approx 3lbs
2) What is the behavior, exactly. Very tired , keeps head down most of time will stretch her neck out when I let her out of the coop . I have noticed since moving her to her won coop that she is losing alot of feathers , they seem to be just hanging off of her . When it gets hot I have noticed she still is almost growling when she breathes , but only when it is hot out . The growling is coming from her upper resp.tract
3) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma. Closed up eye from eye infection in july , I have kept it clean and goteen all the cheesy stuff out as it occurs . She had blood coming from that same eye on 8/21 I beleive she got pecked
4) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation. we had a very wet june .. thats all I can think of .
5) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all. start /grow by purina , water she has been off of anitbiotics for 2 weeks [oxytetracycline] I do give her plain organic nancy's yogurt every other day with crumbles mixed in
6) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.Bright grass green , with white on top , she seems to be making a bunch of small piles rather than one big one if that makes sense
7) What has been the treatment you have administered so far? I have isolated her as of saturday , when we built her , her won coop so she could eat and drink etc .
8 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet? I have no intentions of taking her to the vet ... too much cash

9) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.
10) Describe the housing/bedding in use 24inches wide 36 inches tall 48 inches long [thing large dog crate with chicken wire on 3 sides ... currently no bedding but dirt . I have to get to the feed store I am all out .

Could this be botulism ? And if so is it secondary to the respiratory issues ? Is the rest of my flock at risk ?

 

[flymamma]

I looked at the botulism case in the sticky , her head is NOT down like that poor chick. She just has it tucked back like she is sleeping or just her beak to her chest with eyes closed . If I pet her or open her coop she perks right up . I also forgot to add that I had a case of lice about 3 weeks ago , I dusted them with sevin , 2 times 10 daya apart . but she has not been picking at her self like the others .. could the lice be causing the feather loss ?

 

[threehorses]

Quote:
Well first, if you're giving a cycline drug at the same time as yogurt, the antibiotic might not be working. If she's still growling, I would worry about that.

if it were botulism, she would be dead if she was losing feathers - she'd be paralyzed at that point.

Continue the meds another week - without any milk or dairy products whatsoever. Dairy products contraindicate cycline and mycin drugs.

On the feathers, examine her carefully. See if you see any mites or lice, or any pinfeathers coming in (the feathers in casings) that just indicate a mistimed molt? What protein level is the start/grow? I would definitely give her some egg daily for protein. Use acidophilis capsules or probios powder to provide the live bacteria that yogurt would. Continue treatment for one more week (without mild products) to treat the remaining congestion. Consider Vet Rx down the throat daily, and vitamins in the food or mouth (polyvisol, 3 drops in the beak daily for a week - taper off thereafter).

Hopefully it'll really catch this time.

Incidentally, which brand (and how many grams per how many ounces package) of med are you using, and at what dosage?

 

[flymamma]

I was not giving her any yogurt while on the anti biotics . Thanks to all the great advice I have read on here . I started her on the yogurt after the meds . I was giving them AmTech group Osytetracycline HCI , 1 teaspoon of powder per quart of water . The pasket says " this pasket contains 10 grams of oxytetracycline HCI " it is a 6.4 oz bag . The dosage was on advice from both the feed store an the lady I got my chickens from .Frankly I would love to hear I am doing it wrong so maybe I can help her better .
She does have pin feathers coming in on her neck , all my chickens do , I was going to ask if they could be molting at only 18-24 weeks of age ? They have all been losing feathers and quite a bunch it looks like it snowed by my coops , I just assumed it was there baby feathers .Like baby teeth . Can ya tell I am REALLY new to this . I will get her some eggs , greatfully her gal pals just started laying this week so we have some fresh ones . I did not find any live lice or mites , or eggs . I will give her another week with the meds , She is such a sweet baby . I have an Autistic son and the chickens are part of his therapy ... Paprika of course was the one who really took to my son and has followed him around the yard , she answers to her name . She is blind now in the one eye from the infection , but she will let him hold her and pet her without hesitation .
She has just been acting like a child recovering from a bad cold . Thank you threehorses for your response you have given me hope . Please let me know if I am dosing her wrong .

 

[flymamma]

is it okay to crush up flinstone complete vitamins and put it in her water or with her boiled egg ? She is on 20% purina start/grower .. she has not been eating much . But she does like her yogurt she will eat a few teaspoons full .

 

[Year of the Rooster]

My Sebright rooster (see avatar) is also in quarantine recovering from a respiratory infection. Today I noticed a couple of his tail feathers missing, so I'm wondering if it's just that time of year for him to molt? Either way, I'd still keep an eye out on your rooster.

 

[flymamma]

Quote:
I dont have any roosters ... well I have not had any crow yet . I am 75% sure they are all girls . I have a Buff Orpington that is either a runt , OR a bantam . I got her as a well start in may .. she has not grown at all since then and now she getting red around the eyes like she is getting her comb and waddle . But that is a WHOLE other issue ..

 

[threehorses]

Quote:
It's 3 teaspoons per gallon, so that sounds right. And good on the yogurt afterwards.

THe pin feathers indicate to me that she's going through a normal molt, which is good actually - that means she's healthy enough to even bother.

Good on no parasites, etc. YAY.

She sounds wonderful, and I love that your son loves them so.

I think what you're doing sounds good. On the eye - I'm curious - is the pupil misshapen or is the surface of the eye greyed?

I'm glad to try to help. /hugs to you and your son.

 

[threehorses]

Quote:
If the Flintstone is calcium fortified, I wouldn't. The protein in her feed sounds good. You can give her the tiniest tiny bit of yogurt (like literally a bite) just do that at the opposite time of the day as when she gets fresh meds.

 

[flymamma]

Quote:
It's 3 teaspoons per gallon, so that sounds right. And good on the yogurt afterwards.

THe pin feathers indicate to me that she's going through a normal molt, which is good actually - that means she's healthy enough to even bother.

Good on no parasites, etc. YAY.

She sounds wonderful, and I love that your son loves them so.

I think what you're doing sounds good. On the eye - I'm curious - is the pupil misshapen or is the surface of the eye greyed?

I'm glad to try to help. /hugs to you and your son.

Yes on the eye ...after I finally got her eyes to stop swelling and I got all of the chessy bits out it was greyed ... she seems to see shadows or maybe she is just hearing me but she will "look" at me with her bad eye ... but You can still startle her if she is not expecting you on her bad side .

Why would she be molting now ? I thought they molted at around age 1 , not before they even start laying . No wonder I am only getting 1 egg a day with 12 chickens .