Eye swollen shut, feathers falling out and possible fever

[Michael A]

QUESTION

She was doing better on Tylosin which I gave her in the food I force feeding her

yesterday she seemed to be doing great and was eating on her own. Her crop felt about half full. So I swapped over to dosing her water with Tylosin. I do wish I would have kept giving force feeding her the antibiotics but hind sight is 20/20. She only drank like two ounces of the water that had the Tylosin. So she basically missed a day.

this morning she was barely moving and had snot dripping from her beak, lots of it.

so I force fed her and included a dose of Tylosin but a few hours later she died. Had gobs of snot coming out of her nose

now to the question regarding the rest of my flock.

As soon as I noticed the symptoms in the sick hen I separated her from the flock.

it’s been about a week and The rest of my flock seems fine. Showing no symptoms At all

exvept one of the girls laid an exceptionally small egg which is rare. Their eggs are usually large.

is that possibly a warning sign that one of them is not well?

I don’t want to use antibiotics unless absolutely necessary

what do you guys think should I dose them all with Tylosin In their water?

I also moved their daytime food supply and their free ranging to a new area. That may have caused one or more of them not to eat as much as normal

Or do you guy think the egg was a fluke?

 

[Eggcessive]

Very sorry to hear of your hen’s loss. Usually when we lose a chicken, it is good to send in the cooled body to the state vet to get a necropsy. That is the best way to get a diagnosis of what disease(s) that you are seeing. Tylosin is an antibiotic that can treat mycoplasma (MG) and enteritis. She may have developed air sacculitis, a complication of respiratory diseases, but hard ro know. Any respiratory disease can cause lung scarring and damage we cannot see. Looking back at her pictures, did one of her eyes look more pale in color that the other? I don’t recommend treated the other birds unless they become sick with symptoms. Here is a list of state vets including FL:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm

 

[Michael A]

Very sorry to hear of your hen’s loss. Usually when we lose a chicken, it is good to send in the cooled body to the state vet to get a necropsy. That is the best way to get a diagnosis of what disease(s) that you are seeing. Tylosin is an antibiotic that can treat mycoplasma (MG) and enteritis. She may have developed air sacculitis, a complication of respiratory diseases, but hard ro know. Any respiratory disease can cause lung scarring and damage we cannot see. Looking back at her pictures, did one of her eyes look more pale in color that the other? I don’t recommend treated the other birds unless they become sick with symptoms. Here is a list of state vets including FL:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm

I’ll call the state vet tomorrow see if they are interested in me sending the hen.

her eyes were affected, not one over the other though. They had a bit of cloudy film over them some days her eyes would look clear the next day one might look cloudy.

*********
I don’t think I dealt with this crisis very well, first I didn’t have meds, baby bird food or feeding tubes on hand.

I have all that now. Also, I could not devote the time I should have because I was caring for a dying family member who passed on Friday. Things have been pretty chaotic.

next time I hope to do better

thanks to everyone who commented here. I appreciate your help

 

[Michael A]

Does the nasal secretions smell bad? It is possible that she might have coryza if there is a bad odor. You could tube feed her, but the tubing would need to reach down to her crop. Can you contact a local vet for meds? Many feed stores sell refrigerated injectable oxytetracycline (LA 200 or other brands.) You could give that orally 0.25 ml twice a day. They also may sell Terramycin Scours tablets 250 mg. Dosage would be 50 mg twice a day. Here is a good link about tube feeding:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...ding-updated-12-29-2019.805728/#post-12548717

Here is a good link about giving medications orally:
https://unitedpeafowlassociation.org/articles/oral-medication-dosing-of-peafowl/

Hi Eggsessive and others who helped out, I now have on hand correctly sized,feeding tubes, Terramycin Ophthalmic Ointment and a full range of bird antibiotics (Enroflaxen (baytril), Amoxcillin, 20% powder Tylosin, Cyproflaxen 20% including LA 200... I want to be ready for anything since antibiotics can take a week to get here.

I believe if I had these supply's on hand, I would not have lost the my hen. Yes, I spent some money but all of this cost less than one vet visit and they stay good for years in the refrigerator. I'm not going to open them unless I need to.

Also, If i have a similar problem i plan to inject it the LA 200, seems that it would be less stressful as only required every 3 days... Here is a link

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/miracle-la-200-dosage-and-vetrx-for-crd-treatment.631458/
and this is where I ordered it with further instructions

https://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail...MIvNmU_uOm5wIVFpSzCh2ieQO2EAYYASABEgIYXfD_BwE

 

[Eggcessive]

Be aware when you read info about giving meds normally used on cattle, that any directions and dosages is only that person’s opinion, unless it comes from a professional source or veterinary handbook, such as Plumbs. I would give oxytetracycline twice a day, orally, instead of injecting every 3 days. Oral dosage would be 50 mg twice a day. Injections of oxytetracycline can be painful and cause muscle damage in poultry. Most antibiotics are given in divided doses to keep a steady blood level. Here is a link for Plumbs vet Handbook for drug dosages:
http://www.armchairpatriot.com/Home...] 6th ed. - D. Plumb (Blackwell, 2008) WW.pdf
It is important to know what the problem is before treating with an antibiotic. That is fairly easy to find out with a necropsy by the state vet when one dies. Viruses and fungal infections do not respond to antibiotics. Bacterial disease may respond, but each antibiotic has to be given for a specific bacteria. For instance, mycoplasma will not respond to amoxicillin, but to certain ones specific for that bacteria. A bone infection is not going to respond well to most antibiotics, special ones such as clindamycin or cephalosporins.

Glad that you are more prepared now. Keep in mind to close your flock to new birds when dealing with a chronic respiratory disease, such as MG, since your flock, until they are all gone, will remain carriers for life.

 

[Michael A]

I think you are giving me good advice... I continued my reading of the BYC thread above and a different treatment plan was suggested.

Thank you very much for the link. I did not want to spend a lot of money.

I also need to learn to diagnose and treat better and am looking for a book to help. Any suggestions?

 

[dawg53]

I think you are giving me good advice... I continued my reading of the BYC thread above and a different treatment plan was suggested.

Thank you very much for the link. I did not want to spend a lot of money.

I also need to learn to diagnose and treat better and am looking for a book to help. Any suggestions?

Here's a link for you regarding common diseases and respiratory diseases in poultry including symptoms and treatments.
https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

 

[Michael A]

Hello again, My 14 month old hen, Sonara had a bad mite infection, I got that cleared up about a week ago. but then she stopped eating and drinking.

I see no signs of worms.
Mites are gone.
Breathing seems OK.

Initially, I suspected she was anemic.

I started her on tylosin, tube feeding (2-3's x a day Exact), added some poultry vitamins and giving her pedialyte.

Her poos currently look good and she is regular but still very weak and her comb has turned pale today.

it is her 5th day on this regiment and she is not improving.

Since my last problem I have purchased every bird and fish antibiotic under the sun and need to do something different to save her.

But what?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hello again, My 14 month old hen, Sonara had a bad mite infection, I got that cleared up about a week ago. but then she stopped eating and drinking.

I see no signs of worms.
Mites are gone.
Breathing seems OK.

Initially, I suspected she was anemic.

I started her on tylosin, tube feeding (2-3's x a day Exact), added some poultry vitamins and giving her pedialyte.

Her poos currently look good and she is regular but still very weak and her comb has turned pale today.

it is her 5th day on this regiment and she is not improving.

Since my last problem I have purchased every bird and fish antibiotic under the sun and need to do something different to save her.

But what?

Do you know when she last laid an egg?
I would feel her abdomen between the legs below the vent for swelling/bloat or fluid.
And check that her crop is empty in the morning before she's had anything to eat/drink.

 

[Michael A]

Good Morning Wyorp Rock,

Thank you so much for replying.

It has been three weeks since she laid an egg but her crop is empty this morning

Her eggs initially got smaller then she stopped all together. That is what alerted me that something was wrong and we found the mite infection and took care of it.

For two days after the mite infection was taken care of she seemed ok but reduced appetite. But for the last 3-4 days she has been wobbly and not walking much.

Yesterday I also noticed she was pumping her tail feathers. That should have alerted me but I am not as smart as I wish I was.

After seeing your question on egg laying I checked her hind end and it is swollen and caused her pain when I felt the area. I did not feel any eggs. The are is very firm the size of half an apple.

I quickly looked up treatments for egg binding. What I have seen is:

1.feeding her a crushing up a tums
2.lubing her chute with vegetable oil
3. an epsom salt bath now with very gently massage
4. dry and put in a dark place. I'm thinking her nesting box.

She has been on Tylosin for 5 days. I think it may be best to stop.

Any suggestions are appreciated