Triple5hot
In the Brooder
- Aug 11, 2023
- 19
- 48
- 49
Oh boy, this is going to be long.
I've been very fortunate to not experience any weird chicken diseases in the 2+ years they've been a part of our family. That all changed last month.
It started with my first case of bumblefoot. I hopped on here and soaked her foot with Epsom Salt...and actually removed the plug without any crazy cutting or drastic measures! Wrapped it, added ointment...she seems to be doing much better.
Then, 2 weeks ago, we got our first dreaded case of.....I have no idea what it was. I'm in contact with a couple different breeders (of my flock) who, felt it was either Gapeworm (because of the weird craning of the neck to gasp for air)...and another who thought it might be Avian Influenza. I ran to the store to get Safe-guard and got home and gave her a pea-sized portion in her mouth. I also tried getting her to eat and drink, but she had zero interst.
My beautiful 18-week old Blue Marans was dead the next morning. Maybe because I put food and water in her mouth, which caused her to asphyxiate. I soured the internet and came to the conclusion that it was more respiratory, and that gape worm is rather rare. I sat and waited... I watched my flock like a hawk for symptoms.
Quick background - we have two smaller coops. One has all my older girls in it, the other has the younger ones (all non-laying hens/roos). Gamora was housed in that one, along with her "sister", Nebula. To date, Nebula has exhibited no symptoms.
Fast forward to last Saturday. I was putting the girls to bed and noticed my Bougie B (13 weeks)(also in the smaller coop) was acting kinda wobbly. She had trouble jumping onto the roost, so I helped her up. I made a note to come out in the morning and check on her specifically again...
The next morning, she was making the same exact gasping motions with her neck. UGH. I immediately brought her into the house and began calling all the vets in our area - from Seattle all the way down to Winlock (we live in the Olympia area). Nobody would examine her (for fear of AI), nobody would accept new patients...all the other vets were booked weeks/months out. I called the Dept of AG and the Thurston County Vet called me back! Finally....that was, um...Monday August 7th. She said she doesn't believe it's AI because the whole flock would have been dead by now. She recommended a few other vets...none of which wanted to see her - and one actually suggested euthanizing her and sending her body off for necropsy. No...I'm not done fighting for her yet!
I scoured the internet and someone suggested I send in a fecal sample. I called my regular vet and asked if they would see her/do the fecal test... The receptionist said she isn't licensed to treat birds, but she has birds of her own...so bring her in after we get the results of the fecal sample. I still felt like all her symptoms pointed to a respiratory infection. One of the other breeders suggested Duramycin to treat that...one drop for 10 days straight to wipe out any bacterial infection she may have in her lungs. I started that Tuesday morning because I didn't want to wait any longer. B wasn't eating...drinking...and looked weaker and weaker.
Fecal Test Results Wednesday - showed Coccidiosis. Which is odd because I haven't seen any weird bloody poop ANYWHERE. We use sand in our run and coops, so it's obvious if there's a bloody mess. Nobody else is exhibiting any symptoms...but whatever! Got myself 16fl oz of Corid and began treatment Wed night.
It's funny - I started noticing lots of yellow, foamy poop after that. It made me think what have I been missing - or does Cordid cause it? Not sure... Anyway!
I was also able to get an appointment with the vet Thursday. She says it's not respiratory at all...but an accumulation of Coccidiosis...and that she's too weak and too far gone, and to euthanize her. She was also googling where the disease comes from and was basically guessing...I wasn't impressed because I could have done the same amount of googling myself - at home - for free. I told her I would continue with the antibiotic just in case it is respiratory (and of course...now I'm noticing more sneezes from others in the flock. Is it new? Or was I just not noticing it before?) and I continued treating B with an undiluted Corid treatment based on her weight. She weighs 28 oz, so figured 1.75 ml would be good for her.
Her poops are green and white. How is she still alive?? We're on day 6 of this BS and she's fighting. I decided to add water to the Scratch N Peck feed to create a fermented mash. I used the syringe and scooped the liquid up...and gently dribbled it into the SIDE of her throat. I have no idea if I'm drowning her...or if it's successfully going into her crop.
OH - and get this...her crop is now weird and squishy...so I'm like - UGH...is it sour crop?? Or is it all just the parasite building up in there? I was cleaning up her poopy butt yesterday in the sink and her neck was hanging over the edge of my arm....and brown liquid oozed out. Possibly from the cordid/antibiotic treatment in the morning?
I need to post some videos, I'm not sure if this site will allow me to, I'll test it out.
Anyway...I am SO disappointed in the lack of avian veterinary care offered here. I'd appreciate any guidance/wisdom/thoughts before we move forward with the difficult decision to put the poor baby out of her misery. Thank you, everyone!
I've been very fortunate to not experience any weird chicken diseases in the 2+ years they've been a part of our family. That all changed last month.
It started with my first case of bumblefoot. I hopped on here and soaked her foot with Epsom Salt...and actually removed the plug without any crazy cutting or drastic measures! Wrapped it, added ointment...she seems to be doing much better.
Then, 2 weeks ago, we got our first dreaded case of.....I have no idea what it was. I'm in contact with a couple different breeders (of my flock) who, felt it was either Gapeworm (because of the weird craning of the neck to gasp for air)...and another who thought it might be Avian Influenza. I ran to the store to get Safe-guard and got home and gave her a pea-sized portion in her mouth. I also tried getting her to eat and drink, but she had zero interst.
My beautiful 18-week old Blue Marans was dead the next morning. Maybe because I put food and water in her mouth, which caused her to asphyxiate. I soured the internet and came to the conclusion that it was more respiratory, and that gape worm is rather rare. I sat and waited... I watched my flock like a hawk for symptoms.Quick background - we have two smaller coops. One has all my older girls in it, the other has the younger ones (all non-laying hens/roos). Gamora was housed in that one, along with her "sister", Nebula. To date, Nebula has exhibited no symptoms.
Fast forward to last Saturday. I was putting the girls to bed and noticed my Bougie B (13 weeks)(also in the smaller coop) was acting kinda wobbly. She had trouble jumping onto the roost, so I helped her up. I made a note to come out in the morning and check on her specifically again...
The next morning, she was making the same exact gasping motions with her neck. UGH. I immediately brought her into the house and began calling all the vets in our area - from Seattle all the way down to Winlock (we live in the Olympia area). Nobody would examine her (for fear of AI), nobody would accept new patients...all the other vets were booked weeks/months out.
I called the Dept of AG and the Thurston County Vet called me back! Finally....that was, um...Monday August 7th. She said she doesn't believe it's AI because the whole flock would have been dead by now. She recommended a few other vets...none of which wanted to see her - and one actually suggested euthanizing her and sending her body off for necropsy. No...I'm not done fighting for her yet!I scoured the internet and someone suggested I send in a fecal sample. I called my regular vet and asked if they would see her/do the fecal test... The receptionist said she isn't licensed to treat birds, but she has birds of her own...so bring her in after we get the results of the fecal sample. I still felt like all her symptoms pointed to a respiratory infection. One of the other breeders suggested Duramycin to treat that...one drop for 10 days straight to wipe out any bacterial infection she may have in her lungs. I started that Tuesday morning because I didn't want to wait any longer. B wasn't eating...drinking...and looked weaker and weaker.
Fecal Test Results Wednesday - showed Coccidiosis. Which is odd because I haven't seen any weird bloody poop ANYWHERE. We use sand in our run and coops, so it's obvious if there's a bloody mess. Nobody else is exhibiting any symptoms...but whatever! Got myself 16fl oz of Corid and began treatment Wed night.
It's funny - I started noticing lots of yellow, foamy poop after that. It made me think what have I been missing - or does Cordid cause it? Not sure... Anyway!
I was also able to get an appointment with the vet Thursday. She says it's not respiratory at all...but an accumulation of Coccidiosis...and that she's too weak and too far gone, and to euthanize her. She was also googling where the disease comes from and was basically guessing...I wasn't impressed because I could have done the same amount of googling myself - at home - for free. I told her I would continue with the antibiotic just in case it is respiratory (and of course...now I'm noticing more sneezes from others in the flock. Is it new? Or was I just not noticing it before?) and I continued treating B with an undiluted Corid treatment based on her weight. She weighs 28 oz, so figured 1.75 ml would be good for her.
Her poops are green and white. How is she still alive?? We're on day 6 of this BS and she's fighting. I decided to add water to the Scratch N Peck feed to create a fermented mash. I used the syringe and scooped the liquid up...and gently dribbled it into the SIDE of her throat. I have no idea if I'm drowning her...or if it's successfully going into her crop.
OH - and get this...her crop is now weird and squishy...so I'm like - UGH...is it sour crop?? Or is it all just the parasite building up in there? I was cleaning up her poopy butt yesterday in the sink and her neck was hanging over the edge of my arm....and brown liquid oozed out. Possibly from the cordid/antibiotic treatment in the morning?
I need to post some videos, I'm not sure if this site will allow me to, I'll test it out.
Anyway...I am SO disappointed in the lack of avian veterinary care offered here.
I'd appreciate any guidance/wisdom/thoughts before we move forward with the difficult decision to put the poor baby out of her misery. Thank you, everyone!
Let me tag a couple people that might be able to help.
