Entire flock Sick - I FEEL HOPELESS!!! Swollen Faces - Yellow patches - Lethargy

[MaggieRose2001]

I have been searching the web and this site and can’t seem to find a diagnosis. It started out with a move to a new house and barn. We cleaned and disinfected the barn and moved everyone in. At first everyone was doing great. Then one month in everyone stopped laying. Not just slowed down - but entirely. I didn’t know what was going on. Eventually I thought maybe parasites so I dewormed. No improvement and since then only gotten worse.

SYMPTOMS

MAYBE MITES
I see them shaking their heads and scratching at their heads with their feet and some also have raised scales on their legs. So I have been treating for that - coconut oil on face, Vicks on legs, garlic and essential oil spray under wings & on neck and oil gland. (Although, I have never actually seen any mites - on them or me or in the coop).

FLAKY SKIN / FUNGUS
However, when I picked them up to treat them - I noticed about 1/2 of them had flaking yellowish skin on their face. Like they got sunburned and were peeling. 1 hen has yellow patches on her skin and my rooster has it in his wattles and comb as well as face. I’m thinking fungus? Is the peeling flaking skin related to the yellow? Is this related to the mites?

ON DEATHS DOOR
Also, I have 1 hen that is REALLY SICK and I have no idea what’s wrong with her. Her face was swollen (it has gone down) she doesn’t move and when she tries her MUSCLES QUAKE (like after you’ve done 100 squats). Now 2 more hens have SWOLLEN EYES. 3 other hens are slightly ill - hunched and not moving around much. 1 has BUMBLEFOOT and another couple are limping. Is this all related or am I dealing with multiple issues? I can’t find anything on the web with these symptoms.

There is NO respiratory anything, NO Oozing or puss or discharge from noses or eyes or mouths, NO thrush, NO grey pupils, NO purple combs

I’m at a total loss. I’m feeling hopeless and I really hope someone can help.

Thanks for your feedback. Pictures are of the rooster. His face is what the hens face looks like.

The other picture is flaking skin on chickens face.

Tomorrow I will get picture of swollen faces.

 

[Eggcessive]

It could possibly be scaly face mites, but I am not a vet. What are you using to control and treat the mites? Vaseline to the yellow areas could treat the face mices, if that is what it is. Also ivermectin is a possible treatment.

 

[Eggcessive]

Faavus is a fingus that can affect the face, comb, and wattles. It is usually white and chaulky, and can spread to feathered areas. Treatment for favis is an anti fungal cream such as miconazole (Monistat) or clotrimazole (Lotrimin.) The generics are usually less expensive.

 

[MaggieRose2001]

Faavus is a fingus that can affect the face, comb, and wattles. It is usually white and chaulky, and can spread to feathered areas. Treatment for favis is an anti fungal cream such as miconazole (Monistat) or clotrimazole (Lotrimin.) The generics are usually less expensive.

Hi. Thanks for a reply. I have been putting coconut oil (because it’s antibacterial) and a Vassaline like salve in their face - Vicks on their legs. I thought of favas but isn’t it ringworm? Does it cause feather loss at the neck? Mine don’t have that. Also, this isn’t chalky - it’s more moist and yellow.

Also - any thoughts on the chickens with swollen eyes or the chicken that can’t stand or walk? Thanks again for the help.

 

[ChickenQueenBee]

Hey there I’m brand new bc I have the same symptoms! They have the chaulky skin and dingy looking just not doing well they are so sickly looking! I hope you get answers so I may be able to find out mine as well. Mine has shrunken combs it’s gross I think it’s a fungus and the parasites and mites can cause anemia and could be what is causing lethargy

 

[Sydney65]

Hi. Thanks for a reply. I have been putting coconut oil (because it’s antibacterial) and a Vassaline like salve in their face - Vicks on their legs. I thought of favas but isn’t it ringworm? Does it cause feather loss at the neck? Mine don’t have that. Also, this isn’t chalky - it’s more moist and yellow.

Also - any thoughts on the chickens with swollen eyes or the chicken that can’t stand or walk? Thanks again for the help.

No respiratory symptoms? Sneezing, coughing, drainage,trouble breathing?

 

[WIchickMama]

I was going to suggest Avian flu with the swelling of face

 

[FunClucks]

Can you take one of them to an avian veterinarian? Whatever the most affected chicken has, the rest probably have it.

Are you sure there are no environmental factors contributing to this? Could they have eaten something they shouldn't or been exposed to a neurotoxin? What was the chemical exposures in the barn and surrounding ground/earth prior to your occupancy? Could any of this be a result of contaminated forage, i.e. something that got into the ground and then into the plants or insects the chickens are eating? Since it was sudden onset to the whole flock a month after moving in, something in the environment should be considered, IMO.

It could totally be a disease or disease vector, parasites, etc, like other posters have suggested/asked about, but since no one has brought up environmental exposures and you don't know the history of the barn or surrounding area, I thought I'd better.

 

[Kiki]

You have another post mentioning a limping bird. If the one who is on death's door passes please think about refrigeratoring the body and getting it to your state lab (you can overnight the body in the mail) for a necropsy.



https://extension.umaine.edu/veterinarylab/tests-pricing/

 

[Liz Birdlover]

So sorry! That's terrible & even worse when you can't figure out a reason or cause. I'd say get to an avian vet with poultry experience, not just a parrot vet, but I know that's easier said than done. I have no vets that can help me with poultry, so I have to scour this site and the web looking for info whenever I need help.

I've had 1 Rooster with similar symptoms, swollen head, something going on with his comb, lethargic, etc. but...know that many illnesses mimic eachother & share symptoms. In my case, not one of my other chickens or roosters have had it.

I didn't know whether it was bacterial, exposure to some chemical the previous owner used or fungal. I still don't know exactly what it was!

I treated my boy for mites, bacterial & fungal, both oral meds & topical creams. I figured these remedies cant hurt him, so might as well try. I also separated him from the others, set him up in a large cage. I added vitamins to his diet, grinding up the vitamins & rolling live mealworms in it. It took 6 months of TLC but he did recover.

At one point I thought it was over for him, he lost weight & could barely stand up, & when I took him outside he walked like he was drunk. I increased his vitamin D & moved his enclosure to allow for more sunshine, as well as shade. That winter he was in a climate controlled area, no colder than 50 degrees.

Antibiotics that address bacterial may or may not help. I was limited to what I could get...penicillin, doxycycline, metronidazole or enrofloxin. So I tried each, not all at the same time. Then probiotics after each treatment.

His comb looked really bad for a few months, I tried every remedy I could find. The best seemed to be topically applied, & I rotated these, cleaning 1st, then applying.

I don't know if this will help you, but I hope you find out what is going on. If there's a place you could take stool sample or have them get a blood sample, it may give info to lead you in the right direction. Best of luck!