Cold?

[ChickenCrazy8]

Hi, I have a hen that is almost two years old (april 20th). She is really mean to all my other chickens and doesn't like me picking her up. But I picked up the other day and noticed that she is making a whistling noise when she breaths, like she congested. She is also going through a pretty hard molt right now and is not laying. And she seems kind of depressed, she has been standing around more than she used to. Is it because of the weather? Because she is molting? Is she sick? Or is it just because she is getting oldish compared to my other chickens (Around 10months old)?
Thanks,
Zoë
p.s she is a Plymouth Rock

 

[loveourbirds]

separate her from the flock, raise her protein (to help with molt) add 1 tablespoon acv to 1 quart of water for the next 3 days. the acv will help with most respiratory problems. if she doesn't seem better in a couple of days consider antibiotics.

brian

 

[dawg53]

I agree that you should seperate her. ACV wont treat nor cure a respiratory problem. Inspect her for lice/mites. Give her tylan injectable 1/2ml injected into the breast muscle just under the skin once a day for 3 days. Alternate breast and injection sites each day. Then give her scrambled egg with buttermilk mixed in feed for the next 5-7 days.

 

[loveourbirds]

I agree that you should seperate her. ACV wont treat nor cure a respiratory problem. Inspect her for lice/mites. Give her tylan injectable 1/2ml injected into the breast muscle just under the skin once a day for 3 days. Alternate breast and injection sites each day. Then give her scrambled egg with buttermilk mixed in feed for the next 5-7 days.

I agree with you for the most part. but I have had huge success with acv as a preventative treatment, and when used at the first sign of "bubbly eye". it could just be the differences in our areas. as I said before though, if you don't see a sign of improvement in a couple of days, start antibiotics. where we might differ is the acv is way better if its raw. I haven't had a lot of luck with pasturized, but I will give it in a pinch if im out of raw and its midnight.

here is a link that I found that might shed some light on the subject. http://www.grit.com/fresh-eggs-daily/the-holistic-trinity-apple-cider-vinegar-garlic-de.aspx

when I am unsure of a problem, if the chicken is eating/drinking and the weight is good; I always start with the mildest treatment I can. then work my way up. now if the chicken has lost weight, gasping for air, or appears in very bad shape, I will start the tylan immediately.
I use tylan 200 with 1/4 cc injected into the breast on standard fowl. on my bantams I use tylan 50 at .5 cc administered the same way. cc's and ml's are the same thing so if your syringe is marked with ml's its the same direction. as far as needle I prefer 1/2 inch 22 or 24 gauge. when you give the shot; push the needle in then pull it back just a little and look for blood, if you see blood, move locations and try again.

I do believe dawg knows what he is talking about, I have seen several posts of his and realize he knows his stuff. but he is in a lot warmer climate than we are. here in ohio or temperatures this week will range from about 32 f to 85 f. molts this time of year can cause colds in our birds. the cold's symptoms will be (typically) slight rattle in breathing, bubbly eye. with no swelling around the eyes wattles or comb. if you see swelling then its time to reach for the tylan.

the buttermilk and scrambled egg is a great treatment after any problems were medicine has been given. I use yogurt, but buttermilk is probably easier to find. the scrambled egg adds a great source of digestable protein without causing a huge weight gain and fatty deposits by the vent. most "sour" dairy products contain a great probiotic for chickens and promotes digestive health.

best of luck,
brian

 

[dawg53]

Brian. Keep in mind that chickens dont get colds, they get a specific disease. Otherwise it's an environmental problem. Once a bird contracts a respiratory disease, ACV does nothing.

 

[loveourbirds]

dawg, I do agree that acv is not going to cure coryza, or other respiratory infections, but it will still help with absorbtion of antibiotics and vitamins. as far as chicken colds, I hear both things and im not a vet. I do know that we have issues when the temperature changes like it is right now. so I call this colds. we are vet inspected, along with npip tests, with no history of any severe infections I just know what works here, and am hoping the same thing works in Canada. you and I are both doing the same thing, trying to save a chicken for a friend met online.

a guy from Arizona and I had a similar conversation. in north America there are so many different temperature fluctuations, plants, insects, dusty to damp conditions and just difference in husbandry it is so hard to tell what the sicknesses may be. at one point I had what I thought was a respiratory infection in one of my birds, she was gasping for air, some swelling around the eyes, comb turning blue. it was on a Saturday so I came on here and read, giving her tylan Saturday and sunday then taking her to the vet on Monday. the blue comb and some of what I thought was swelling was from lack of oxygen and dehydration. the cause of the condition? a Canadian pea in her lower esophagus.

I would have sworn this was a serious respiratory infection. he removed the pea, and by the time we got home there was an 80% difference in her appearance and condition.

everyone is so quick to blame diseases on the loss of a bird, when a lot of times its something simple. how many times have you seen someone with chicks thinking they have mereks or cocci and the problem is just chilling?

chicken crazy, I really don't think you have a serious issue, I could be wrong. the main thing is to separate any sick birds treat them to the best of your ability, and if its contagious and harmful to your flock, sometimes it is best to cull the bird.

 

[casportpony]

This is why a *thorough* exam should be done before giving meds. Thanks to your post, this will be something that I add to my exam process.

 

[loveourbirds]

when I first started in chickens, one of my first contacts was the local head of the APA. he told me 2 things on my first visit "chickens will turn us into vets" and "more chickens are killed with kindness than by attack." I have found he is very right.
our first year hatching and raising chicks we had a case of cocci (or maybe the birds) became immune to the antibiotic in our chick starter. we would put 50 in a brooder and lose 40 of them. i added duramyacin to their water and saved a few more but still losing more than i could save. i would clean the brooders, bleach, new bedding, sanitize even the lightbulbs. i ended up moving all the chicks, took away the brooder that seemed to be the worst, removed all bedding, vacuumed any dust i could get ahold of. then used antibacterial soap and bleach solution to clean the brooders. i then rinsed them with a strong bleach solution and let them dry till the fumes were gone. in the process of this i switched to turkey starter because i heard it had a different antibiotic.
im not sure if it was the very thorough cleaning or if it was the turkey starter; but everything is going good now.
going through this taught me a few things, "cleanliness is next to Godliness" is probably the most important. i also learned that poultry, just like us are affected by 2 types of viruses. any illness that's not related to injury, or something getting stuck is pretty much a virus. the cold we mentioned above is actually 1 of maybe one million forms of virus. i cant remember what one is what, but there are 2 basic types of virus RNA and DNA. one is usually easily cured by low level antibiotics, the other attacks us at or basic levels and replicates mutated cells, this one (AIDS is one in humans) is much harder to kill, and typically requires killing some form of bodily tissue to kill. then you have the issue of viruses mutating, and becoming immune to our antibiotics.

as flock owners all we can do is just do our best, and try to steer others in the right direction. even with the best of intent we can be wrong, heck i was even wrong once LOL.

good luck with the birds,
brian

 

[dawg53]

Bleach wont kill cocci, ammonia will.

 

[ChickenCrazy8]

Thank you everyone for all this great information!!! I am going to add acv to my chickens water and I am planning on doing my spring clean up once all the snow melts.
If neither of those help I will start using tylan.
Thanks again,
Zoë