Cooing, Snot Bubbles, Sneezing!! Help Please!

[texasgurl]

Permelia is my favorite pullet and is just not feeling well. This began yesterday evening (4-7-2012) and I'm new to raising chickens. Please Help! I've included a video of her cooing but she is also very lethargic, sneezing, and this morning had a snot bubble on her nostril. I have read it might be a respiratory infection and to get some Tetracycline? And/Or some Apple Cider Vinegar? Her crop feels fine and she is eating and drinking. When she is sleeping her little beak opens a bit when she breaths. Her poop was fine and free of worms. I read somewhere to smell her breath and if it smells sweet then she may have gapeworms. Her breath smells sweet but I smelled the breath of the healthy babies and their breath smells sweet too. She still eats Purina Medicated Chick food and has access to chick grit. I give them alive and dried mealworms, grapes, lettuce, scratch, and sometimes cooked rice in the evenings. I felt all over her body for anything odd and didn't find any puncture wounds, swelling, or anything besides her apparent head cold. I've read a chicken can die very quickly and am most concerned and want to begin treatment ASAP! Please help. Thank you in advance for any response!

 

[speckledhen]

She probably does NOT have gapeworm. She'd be gagging and shaking her head to dislodge worms in her throat. No idea who told you that about the sweet breath. At least if she doesn't smell putrid, it's probably not Coryza.

She probably has Chronic Respiratory Disease (CRD)/Mycoplasmosis, but that's just one possibility. That is a disease that leaves the bird a carrier, able to infect others, even when her symptoms are gone.

Hopefully, you have separated her from others. I never give advice to treat this stuff since my only avenue if it showed in my flock would be to euthanize, since once it's in the flock, it never leaves. Others would say treat with Tylan injectible antibiotic, but if it's a virus, that will not help you, of course.

Chickens do not get head colds. Most infections they contract are more like herpes viruses and stay in the body indefinitely.

 

[lilchick]

That sound you hear is rales or raspy breathing. Sounds like a respiratory illness is setting in. She acts and looks like she is sick also. Kind of like us when we have a cold or flu. Giving her 1/2 a baby aspirin would make her more comfortable.... Think of caring for a human infant here.

I would go with Tylan 50 for her medication. Inexpensive and easy to find at farm stores. In my experience it works better than any other type. Injection is simple enough or you can give it to her by mouth. 18 or 20 gauge needles that are 1/2 or 3/4 inches long and 3 ccs. syringes. I keep a chicken medicine kit and these are always in it...
To give by mouth you draw the Tylan into syringe and remove needle and squirt it towards back of throat. I would give 1cc. everyday for 5 days.

Good luck with Permelia!

 

[Uniontown Poultry]

Well if she smells sweet, you can rule out Coryza. Coryza is a head cold type infection that they get, that causes snotty nostrils and sneezing/snicking, It makes your chicken's face stinky... like, well coryza (nothing else really smells that way, it just smells "unhealthy"). Without the telltale stink, it's probably just a run of the mill head cold. You are right to be concerned, though, because a head cold with labored breathing can become a bacterial infection like pneumonia, and it can result in death. You will want to isolate her from the flock (both for them and for her), and put her in a "sick cage" or "hospital cage" that is somewhere warm (doesn't have to be a cage - a rubbermaid works too usually). Make sure there is food and water in there (it's a very good sign that she is still eating and drinking), and give her warmth. If she's not in a place that is warm, you may want a heating pad or a heat lamp. The point of the warmth is to encourage her body to use her calories in the immune response, not in keeping her body warm. Supplement feed with treats that are watery & sweet, to stimulate the appetite and keep her hydrated (melons, grapes, etc). If you want, you can put a few drops of VetRx in her drinking water, it has camphor in it and acts as a decongestant, I think. Most of the time, they will respond & recover in a few days with the non-medicine treatment of heat, isolation, and fruit. I hesitate to recommend antibiotics like Tylan if I don't know what the illness is. If you think it might be coryza after all, Sulmet is used for that, and you can pick it up at the feed or farm store. Hope this helps.

 

[texasgurl]

Thank you for your response! I do appreciate it... I will begin her on the Tylan when I get home from work. I hate to hear that she will have it forever (if she does have CRD). So, say she does have CRD and she gets better... it could come back next month and just periodically the rest of her life? Do they die from it?

 

[speckledhen]

They can die from it, but not usually. Yes, she will probably relapse in times of stress, but you may not see it again for a long time. You will, however, probably find your other birds coming down with it. That is the kicker when you keep an infected bird.

You need to also know that if it is CRD and you get chicks from her, they can have it at hatch. It is transmissible through the egg, though you didn't say if you have a rooster or even ever plan to hatch chicks from your flock. And you will have to be careful not to pass it on to the flock of someone else on your clothing or shoes in the future, too. This is why long time chicken keepers do not treat CRD/Mycoplasmosis, Coryza or other carrier type illnesses.

 

[texasgurl]

THANK YOU so much guys!! Your concern and information is very helpful! I am so worried about her and had to leave her this morning for work. My husband is home with her today but he doesn't LOVE her the way I do. I will surely pick up everything you guys suggested and make my own chicken hospital with a medkit. Thank you!

 

[texasgurl]

Thank you Speckled Hen. No, we are not allowed to have roosters in our town limits. We just have our babies as pets and as an added bonus eggs, although they are not old enough for that just yet. I do bring Permelia inside quite a bit to pet her while I'm watching TV or reading. She wears her chicken diaper when I force her to. I don't expect her to ever have any hatchlings. How would I know for sure it is CRD? Testing from the vet? I do have friends that have chickens and I surely don't want to infect their babies. We are aware of biosecurity and the need to adhere to it.

 

[rbaker0345]

I used to work for a vet who would say to always go with the simplest option first. Instead of hitting her with Tylan, try terramyacin first, you can get it at petsmart in the parrot section (tetracycline). It is much gentler on the kidneys. If you don't see improvement after 5 days, then get some Tylan or ciprofloxacin. Or, better yet, call your vet and see what he or she recommends.

 

[texasgurl]

Thank you rbaker0345! My husband called eight vets in our area and no one treats chickens. The ones that do treat livestock (but not chickens) said the same thing you did... Tetracycline.