Entire flock sick. Two dead. UPDATE: Herbal remedy seems to be working

[EggDropSoup]

Hi all--

I posted here about a week ago and got one response (not pointing fingers, just disheartened).

On Tuesday, June 25th, I picked up five chickens someone had dumped on public property downtown in my city. Because I have not owned chickens for long (a little less than a year), I didn't give a second thought to just throwing them all in with my chickens. I noticed one of them--a banty rooster--was sneezing, but I didn't think much of it, because I only heard him do it once or twice.

On Thursday, June 27th, I gave all but one of the chickens away--two to one friend and two to another. I kept an Australorp pullet for myself.

On Saturday, June 29th, I noticed my chickens all seemed a little lethargic, but I blamed it on the heat.

On Sunday, June 30th, I woke up to discover every single one of my chickens (9 total) standing/lying around the yard. All of them had gurgly breath, coughing, sneezing, wheezing, and some of them had crusty eyes.

For the past week, I have done everything in my power to help my chickens recover. I started out using Tylan 50, injected intramuscularly. 1/2 cc once a day. Three days ago, I switched to Tylan 200. I am also hand-feeding the ones who are extremely ill (yogurt, egg yolk, and electrolytes mixed together), giving Grapefruit Seed Extract and ACV, giving subcutaneous fluids to the very ill ones, and fogging them several times a day with Oxine AH in a cool mist humidifier. The sickest chickens are inside in my (large) bathroom so that I can keep an eye on them and keep them out of the heat.

In the past week, I have lost two of my chickens. The first, a Dominique, died on July 4th. She actually seemed like she was doing well, and I had put her back outside. I found her in the morning, sitting on the back porch gasping for air and making a horrific sound. I brought her inside and she choked and died shortly thereafter.

The second chicken I lost this morning, and I've not been able to stop crying. She was my favorite--a gorgeous, huge Ancona named Maude. Everyone loved Maude, and she was so strong and beautiful, people thought she was a rooster. She laid huge white eggs almost every day. Just typing that she is dead is breaking my heart. She died in my arms. Last night, I noticed that she was breathing shallowly with her mouth open (a lot of the sick chickens are doing open-mouthed breathing), but unlike the other hens, she was very nonresponsive and just seemed like an animal on the way out. This morning, I found her lying on her side. I wrapped her up and tried giving her some more fluids and vitamins, but she died in my arms in a really horrible fit of choking and gasping. It was awful.

I'm at my wit's end. I've done absolutely everything I can think to do, both natural and conventional. I'm so sad and depressed I haven't slept or eaten in days.

I put both the dead Dominique and Maude in the freezer and have contacted the state veterinarian. Tomorrow, I will be shipping them to the University of Kentucky for a necropsy.

At first, I thought they had Infectious Bronchitis, but this seems much, MUCH worse than that. Then I thought Coryza, of which they have many symptoms, but the mucus doesn't smell foul, like it's supposed to. Now I'm thinking it's possibly MG, but since they got sick so suddenly and violently, I'm left wondering.

I KNOW this is a long post. I'm trying to give as much info as possible. I know I'll know something once I get the results of the necropsy, but in the meantime, is there ANYTHING else I can do?? Some of the chickens have gotten quite a bit better, but some are getting worse. Some seem to get better, only to relapse and get much worse a day later. Is there anything I can do to help with the mucus?? I think the two who have died simply '"drowned" in the mucus that accumulated in their lungs. I've been swabbing out the throat of my sickest chicken, and great blogs of mucus are always clinging to the swab.

I know death is a reality for anyone who owns farm-type animals, but these chickens are my pets. I'm devastated. I want to know that there's hope.

ETA: The two people who took in the other chickens also have sick flocks, as well, but they don't seem as hard hit. Their birds are starting to recover, with less intervention than mine have received. But their flocks, too, were sick within two days of the outside birds entering the flocks.

 

[countrycakelady]

I am so sorry for all your losses...they are family to me, not just animals...I hope and pray with all my heart that you can get some answers...unfortunately, I am a new first time chicken mama this year...so I am very much still learning as I go. Again, my heart breaks to read your post....so very sorry.

 

[DeckDuck]

EggDrop, I am so so sorry. This sounds so intensely, profoundly awful. I'm afraid I can't offer any advice. All I can do is wish you strength and tell you that my heart goes out to you and your chickens. I hope that you'll be able to find out the nature of this disease soon and start them on some sort of medication to help them through it.

 

[ten chicks]

Hi all--

I posted here about a week ago and got one response (not pointing fingers, just disheartened).

On Tuesday, June 25th, I picked up five chickens someone had dumped on public property downtown in my city. Because I have not owned chickens for long (a little less than a year), I didn't give a second thought to just throwing them all in with my chickens. I noticed one of them--a banty rooster--was sneezing, but I didn't think much of it, because I only heard him do it once or twice.

On Thursday, June 27th, I gave all but one of the chickens away--two to one friend and two to another. I kept an Australorp pullet for myself.

On Saturday, June 29th, I noticed my chickens all seemed a little lethargic, but I blamed it on the heat.

On Sunday, June 30th, I woke up to discover every single one of my chickens (9 total) standing/lying around the yard. All of them had gurgly breath, coughing, sneezing, wheezing, and some of them had crusty eyes.

For the past week, I have done everything in my power to help my chickens recover. I started out using Tylan 50, injected intramuscularly. 1/2 cc once a day. Three days ago, I switched to Tylan 200. I am also hand-feeding the ones who are extremely ill (yogurt, egg yolk, and electrolytes mixed together), giving Grapefruit Seed Extract and ACV, giving subcutaneous fluids to the very ill ones, and fogging them several times a day with Oxine AH in a cool mist humidifier. The sickest chickens are inside in my (large) bathroom so that I can keep an eye on them and keep them out of the heat.

In the past week, I have lost two of my chickens. The first, a Dominique, died on July 4th. She actually seemed like she was doing well, and I had put her back outside. I found her in the morning, sitting on the back porch gasping for air and making a horrific sound. I brought her inside and she choked and died shortly thereafter.

The second chicken I lost this morning, and I've not been able to stop crying. She was my favorite--a gorgeous, huge Ancona named Maude. Everyone loved Maude, and she was so strong and beautiful, people thought she was a rooster. She laid huge white eggs almost every day. Just typing that she is dead is breaking my heart. She died in my arms. Last night, I noticed that she was breathing shallowly with her mouth open (a lot of the sick chickens are doing open-mouthed breathing), but unlike the other hens, she was very nonresponsive and just seemed like an animal on the way out. This morning, I found her lying on her side. I wrapped her up and tried giving her some more fluids and vitamins, but she died in my arms in a really horrible fit of choking and gasping. It was awful.

I'm at my wit's end. I've done absolutely everything I can think to do, both natural and conventional. I'm so sad and depressed I haven't slept or eaten in days.

I put both the dead Dominique and Maude in the freezer and have contacted the state veterinarian. Tomorrow, I will be shipping them to the University of Kentucky for a necropsy.

At first, I thought they had Infectious Bronchitis, but this seems much, MUCH worse than that. Then I thought Coryza, of which they have many symptoms, but the mucus doesn't smell foul, like it's supposed to. Now I'm thinking it's possibly MG, but since they got sick so suddenly and violently, I'm left wondering.

I KNOW this is a long post. I'm trying to give as much info as possible. I know I'll know something once I get the results of the necropsy, but in the meantime, is there ANYTHING else I can do?? Some of the chickens have gotten quite a bit better, but some are getting worse. Some seem to get better, only to relapse and get much worse a day later. Is there anything I can do to help with the mucus?? I think the two who have died simply '"drowned" in the mucus that accumulated in their lungs. I've been swabbing out the throat of my sickest chicken, and great blogs of mucus are always clinging to the swab.

I know death is a reality for anyone who owns farm-type animals, but these chickens are my pets. I'm devastated. I want to know that there's hope.

ETA: The two people who took in the other chickens also have sick flocks, as well, but they don't seem as hard hit. Their birds are starting to recover, with less intervention than mine have received. But their flocks, too, were sick within two days of the outside birds entering the flocks.

My condolences,the loss of a beloved pet is always devastating. I love all my chickens and cannot imagine what you are going through. There is always hope,never stop believing.

Have look at information for Infectious Laryngotracheitis(ILT) symptoms sneezing,coughing,choking,high mortality rate. Hits fast,symptoms seen approx 5 - 12 days after exposure.

Here is a link,look at symptoms see if they match.
www.merckmanuals.com/vet/poultry/infectious_laryngotracheitis/overview_of_infectious_laryngotracheitis_in_poultry.html

 

[EggDropSoup]

Thank you both for your comforting words. I'm just not sure if it's infectious laryngotracheitis because they were all so suddenly and violently infected, but I suppose it could be anything. I noticed the article said to give expectorants, but I have no clue where to find expectorants for birds.

 

[Desert Lizard]

I am terribly sorry to hear about your babies. I surely hope that you don't lose anymore and you find out the cause. Hang in there.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry that you have been going through such an awful experience with your chickens. Respiratory disease in chickens is very contagious and hard to treat mainly because it is difficult to get a diagnosis. Many times I have seen in the literature that they can have one underlying illness such as MG, then get IB or E coli, or ILT and it just wipes them out. Don't be surprised if it is a combination of illnesses. One thing you have learned the hard way is that people will dump sick chickens into the street without treating them or culling them because they don't want to spend the time and money to help them. Some kind person takes them in only to infect their whole flock. Biosecurity with chickens is very important. No chicken should be mixed with a healthy flock without quarentine for at least 30 days, and some then take 1 bird as a guinea pig of sorts to put in with them for another month just to make sure. I hope this gets better. Good luck.

 

[mg15]

EggDropSoup,
How terribly awful..and you are doing everything possible for them.
I too have been looking and this site does give clinical signs for avian Laryngotracheitis http://partnersah.vet.cornell.edu/avian-atlas/search/disease/499
I have no on hands experience with this, just other types of issues the birds get.
Those birds could have been infected before you found them. Maybe that is why they were dumped. And then you got hit with the onslaught of the full disease process.
If any new come in I do quarantine. I have been burned.
Another site to look at is http://www.worldpoultry.net/Home/Ge...ngotracheitis-ILT-targets-broilers-WP007050W/
Please keep updates coming.

 

[EggDropSoup]

Hi all-- Thanks for your support and kind words. This has been a hellish week and a half. I've barely slept or eaten a decent meal due to the depression, stress, and nightmares.

I do have some good news, though.

First of all, no one else has died. In fact, almost all of the chickens have improved markedly, with the exception of two who seemed to contract the disease late. Even so, they're doing alright. I want to share with everyone a remedy that I'm trying that I think has been nothing short of miraculous.

First of all, I feel sheepish for leaping immediately to antibiotics to treat my hens. I absolutely panicked and just hit them with the hard stuff immediately. This makes no sense in hindsight, because I am, first and foremost, a proponent of natural remedies. I have a huge medicinal herb garden and I make my own salves, tinctures, teas, etc. for various ailments that plague people and animals.

After Maude died, I was looking at my herb garden and suddenly remembered a tincture I'd made a year ago from a plant called Elecampane. Elecampane isn't an herb that's familiar to many people--at least not in the way echinacea or lavender is familiar, but it is a VERY useful plant for deep-seated, unyielding bronchial infections. I looked the herb up in my herb book and also discovered that in addition to acting as an expectorant and lung healer, Elecampane also stimulates the appetite and circulation--two things my pale, anemic, sad looking hens desperately needed.

I figured I had nothing to lose. I dug the tincture out of my medicine cabinet and tasted it. I could tell immediately that it was very potent. I administered it to the five chickens I have in the "infirmary." I gave everyone 3-4 drops. Three hours later, I repeated the treatment. I did this all day on Monday and by Tuesday morning, 4 of the 5 hens were eating, drinking, and their lungs sounded considerably clearer. My marans, Corinne, who has been unbudgingly sick from day one, was where the change was most noticeable. Her lungs were no longer gurgling. Every few minutes, she would let off a tremendous sneeze and mucus would fly everywhere. Gross as that is, I was thrilled. That meant all that stuff from her lungs was finally coming out. Another hen--a Salmon Favorelle named Floris--had seemed to get over the respiratory part of the disease very quickly, but was extremely week, thin, and unable to stay awake for more than a few minutes at a time. After a day of treatment with the Elecampane, she is now eating, drinking, preening, and I even put her out in the yard today where she scratched for bugs and nipped at weeds. She is MUCH less weak now and I think she'll be able to rejoin the three healthy hens outside tomorrow. I also have a white leghorn who, two days ago, I was fairly certain would be dead within a day. She is now eating, drinking, preening, and her comb is going red again after being almost white. Her breathing is much, much better as well, and she, too, is sneezing copiously.

I'm not one to scream "MIRACLE CURE" without lots of thought and testing. The fact of the matter is, I tried ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING with these hens, but didn't try the one thing that was right under my nose (literally)--the one thing I almost always try FIRST...an herbal remedy.

I sincerely believe the Elecampane is working wonders. I will continue to give it, and I have discontinued the Tylan for all but the sickest two birds.

I HIGHLY recommend trying this tincture if you find yourself faced with respiratory problems in your birds. You have nothing to lose. It won't hurt them...it can only help. I made my own, but you can order it online from a number of reputable herbalists. I definitely know I'll be digging more roots this fall and making more of this stuff. I truly believe it has saved the remaining birds in my flock, and while I'm still terribly sad that I lost Maude, I'm grateful that I might have actually found something that works on whatever this awful disease is.

 

[ten chicks]

Hi all-- Thanks for your support and kind words. This has been a hellish week and a half. I've barely slept or eaten a decent meal due to the depression, stress, and nightmares.

I do have some good news, though.

First of all, no one else has died. In fact, almost all of the chickens have improved markedly, with the exception of two who seemed to contract the disease late. Even so, they're doing alright. I want to share with everyone a remedy that I'm trying that I think has been nothing short of miraculous.

First of all, I feel sheepish for leaping immediately to antibiotics to treat my hens. I absolutely panicked and just hit them with the hard stuff immediately. This makes no sense in hindsight, because I am, first and foremost, a proponent of natural remedies. I have a huge medicinal herb garden and I make my own salves, tinctures, teas, etc. for various ailments that plague people and animals.

After Maude died, I was looking at my herb garden and suddenly remembered a tincture I'd made a year ago from a plant called Elecampane. Elecampane isn't an herb that's familiar to many people--at least not in the way echinacea or lavender is familiar, but it is a VERY useful plant for deep-seated, unyielding bronchial infections. I looked the herb up in my herb book and also discovered that in addition to acting as an expectorant and lung healer, Elecampane also stimulates the appetite and circulation--two things my pale, anemic, sad looking hens desperately needed.

I figured I had nothing to lose. I dug the tincture out of my medicine cabinet and tasted it. I could tell immediately that it was very potent. I administered it to the five chickens I have in the "infirmary." I gave everyone 3-4 drops. Three hours later, I repeated the treatment. I did this all day on Monday and by Tuesday morning, 4 of the 5 hens were eating, drinking, and their lungs sounded considerably clearer. My marans, Corinne, who has been unbudgingly sick from day one, was where the change was most noticeable. Her lungs were no longer gurgling. Every few minutes, she would let off a tremendous sneeze and mucus would fly everywhere. Gross as that is, I was thrilled. That meant all that stuff from her lungs was finally coming out. Another hen--a Salmon Favorelle named Floris--had seemed to get over the respiratory part of the disease very quickly, but was extremely week, thin, and unable to stay awake for more than a few minutes at a time. After a day of treatment with the Elecampane, she is now eating, drinking, preening, and I even put her out in the yard today where she scratched for bugs and nipped at weeds. She is MUCH less weak now and I think she'll be able to rejoin the three healthy hens outside tomorrow. I also have a white leghorn who, two days ago, I was fairly certain would be dead within a day. She is now eating, drinking, preening, and her comb is going red again after being almost white. Her breathing is much, much better as well, and she, too, is sneezing copiously.

I'm not one to scream "MIRACLE CURE" without lots of thought and testing. The fact of the matter is, I tried ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING with these hens, but didn't try the one thing that was right under my nose (literally)--the one thing I almost always try FIRST...an herbal remedy.

I sincerely believe the Elecampane is working wonders. I will continue to give it, and I have discontinued the Tylan for all but the sickest two birds.

I HIGHLY recommend trying this tincture if you find yourself faced with respiratory problems in your birds. You have nothing to lose. It won't hurt them...it can only help. I made my own, but you can order it online from a number of reputable herbalists. I definitely know I'll be digging more roots this fall and making more of this stuff. I truly believe it has saved the remaining birds in my flock, and while I'm still terribly sad that I lost Maude, I'm grateful that I might have actually found something that works on whatever this awful disease is.

Interesting,i would like more information on this herb,i have not heard of Elecampane,but now you have me interested,i will have to add this to me herb garden. Thank you for this information,i am very happy to hear your girls are feeling better.