- Apr 4, 2010
- 5
- 2
- 7
There seems to be something moving through my flock. We had a 6 month old easter egger develop a strange sounding cough- like a honking cry. her head would also twitch and she'd give a loud squeak that we think was sneezing. We brought her inside, put her in our chicken infirmary, and listened to her labored breathing all night. In the morning she was quiet. I thought she was dead, but there she was eating and drinking and wanting out of the cage. We kept her inside most of the day and put her back with the others that night.
Someone suggested that she might have allergies. I wondered if it was stress, as just before this happened with her, our neighbor had started logging the land directly beside us, and the easter eggers were all freaked out, flying up into the air every time a tree crashed to the ground. They started staying in their house more and I also noted that week that it had become quite hot outside for the first time this spring. The day that I brought the chicken inside, I had to get into the coop to catch her and smelled ammonia. I let the house air out that day, and the next we moved them into the newer, larger coop we had just finished for them.
The sick one showed no more symptoms after that. About a week later, another easter egger started coughing in the same way. We left her out there with the others, thinking that perhaps they had been harmed by the ammonia in the old house the week before and that we were just now noticing this one coughing. She had a cough for about 4 days and then it disappeared. Then about 3 days later, she came out of the house one morning and just stood still near the ramp with her left eye closed. We brought her into the infirmary. She had a cloudy yellowish mucous that came out of her left eye like a bubble of snot. I wiped it off with a damp gauze pad, but more came out in the form of a yellowish foam. She stayed there over night and would not take any food or water. The next morning she laid an egg, but did not eat or drink. She kept knocking the water over but not able to drink. I think maybe she is not able to see well and disoriented. I try giving her water by holding the waterer up to her beak, dipping her beak in it, she will not drink, I also tried with a syringe to squirt it into her mouth but it just runs back out.
On the morning of the second day, we found another one standing with her one eye closed. We brought her in with the first one and they stood together. The second one we brought in was also an easter egger, all 6 months old. She had clear tears coming out her eyes and making her muffs wet, and would not keep the one eye open.
The best I could do with diagnosis in the "Chicken Health Handbook" was Chronic Respiratory Disease (CRD). This was the only thing that seemed to fit. I talked to my neighbor and she gave me some antibiotics, which I hated to use, but that is what was suggested in my book, and also by my neighbor and the package said it was good for CRD. It is called Aureomycin ( chlortetracycline), I might be a bit off with the spelling but I left it up in the barn.
On the 3rd day, the 2nd chicken seemed cleared up. We discovered 3 more with symptoms in the chicken house, and we dosed all the waterers with the antibiotic. Now, on day 5, everyone's eyes are cleared up, one of the older birds is still breathing loudly but is otherwise vigorous and the original easter egger girl is still ill. We do not think she is drinking enough of the water to get the antibiotic. Now she has this very large swelling on her throat under her beak. It is a hard lump the size of a big egg. It might be slightly offset, not centered on her neck. Does this sound like an impacted crop or could it be a swollen lymph node?
We still have her isolated on day 5, and she stands in one place most of the time in a small fenced yard. We had the sick buff in with her, but when the buff got better she started picking on the easter egger one, so we moved the buff back in with the others. The easter egger was able to drink a very small amount of water today us dipping her beak into it. She refuses feed & yogurt.
The book we have suggests surgery for the crop impaction, but we are not sure if that is what it is and don't want to try to cut her open for the wrong thing. Thanks for taking the time to read this and respond if you can!
Someone suggested that she might have allergies. I wondered if it was stress, as just before this happened with her, our neighbor had started logging the land directly beside us, and the easter eggers were all freaked out, flying up into the air every time a tree crashed to the ground. They started staying in their house more and I also noted that week that it had become quite hot outside for the first time this spring. The day that I brought the chicken inside, I had to get into the coop to catch her and smelled ammonia. I let the house air out that day, and the next we moved them into the newer, larger coop we had just finished for them.
The sick one showed no more symptoms after that. About a week later, another easter egger started coughing in the same way. We left her out there with the others, thinking that perhaps they had been harmed by the ammonia in the old house the week before and that we were just now noticing this one coughing. She had a cough for about 4 days and then it disappeared. Then about 3 days later, she came out of the house one morning and just stood still near the ramp with her left eye closed. We brought her into the infirmary. She had a cloudy yellowish mucous that came out of her left eye like a bubble of snot. I wiped it off with a damp gauze pad, but more came out in the form of a yellowish foam. She stayed there over night and would not take any food or water. The next morning she laid an egg, but did not eat or drink. She kept knocking the water over but not able to drink. I think maybe she is not able to see well and disoriented. I try giving her water by holding the waterer up to her beak, dipping her beak in it, she will not drink, I also tried with a syringe to squirt it into her mouth but it just runs back out.
On the morning of the second day, we found another one standing with her one eye closed. We brought her in with the first one and they stood together. The second one we brought in was also an easter egger, all 6 months old. She had clear tears coming out her eyes and making her muffs wet, and would not keep the one eye open.
The best I could do with diagnosis in the "Chicken Health Handbook" was Chronic Respiratory Disease (CRD). This was the only thing that seemed to fit. I talked to my neighbor and she gave me some antibiotics, which I hated to use, but that is what was suggested in my book, and also by my neighbor and the package said it was good for CRD. It is called Aureomycin ( chlortetracycline), I might be a bit off with the spelling but I left it up in the barn.
On the 3rd day, the 2nd chicken seemed cleared up. We discovered 3 more with symptoms in the chicken house, and we dosed all the waterers with the antibiotic. Now, on day 5, everyone's eyes are cleared up, one of the older birds is still breathing loudly but is otherwise vigorous and the original easter egger girl is still ill. We do not think she is drinking enough of the water to get the antibiotic. Now she has this very large swelling on her throat under her beak. It is a hard lump the size of a big egg. It might be slightly offset, not centered on her neck. Does this sound like an impacted crop or could it be a swollen lymph node?
We still have her isolated on day 5, and she stands in one place most of the time in a small fenced yard. We had the sick buff in with her, but when the buff got better she started picking on the easter egger one, so we moved the buff back in with the others. The easter egger was able to drink a very small amount of water today us dipping her beak into it. She refuses feed & yogurt.
The book we have suggests surgery for the crop impaction, but we are not sure if that is what it is and don't want to try to cut her open for the wrong thing. Thanks for taking the time to read this and respond if you can!
