Fowl Cholera Help

[nataliegrinks]

Hey everybody!
It seems that there isn’t much talk about fowl cholera. I’m having trouble finding info. I had a hen die where she was sitting the other day and a hen today with very swollen wattles. I understand that even if treated they will always be carriers and it will come back. They are all really pets so I probably won’t cull the flock.
My question is, treat everyone, treat no one, or treat the ones with symptoms and with which antibiotic. I have Tylan 50 injectable on hand. If anyone has experience with this please let me know your thoughts. Thank you so much!

 

[dawg53]

Fowl cholera is a serious deadly disease that spreads very easily and rapidly. I highly recommend contacting your local extension office or state department of agriculture on how to go about sending off a bird (the one with swollen wattles) for necropsy to find out exactly what you're dealing with.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would agree to get a necropsy, where testing can be done to confirm if fowl cholera is the cause of death. What are all of the symptoms that you have seen? Do you have a picture? Do you see any nasal or eye discharge? Any swelling of the eyelids or ears? What is your location? Some other possible reasons for swollen wattles are tick bites or insect stings, frostbite, infectious coryza, and others. I would cull any birds with symptoms of fowl cholera. Here is a list of state vets to contact for a necropsy:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm

 

[nataliegrinks]

I can upload a picture of her. I don’t KNOW if it is just by researching and guessing. She doesn’t have the smell of coryza. There is no discharge of any kind. She is still eating and doing things fairly normally. The only swelling is her wattles and they are sort of pale purple-ish grey. We are located in MD. We have a lot of ticks, but I wouldn’t think it would be both sides from a bite. I’ve never seen this before.

 

[nataliegrinks]

This is her today. She stands a little upright as well.

 

[Eggcessive]

The wattles surely are gray and swollen. Have you looked for a tick bite or signs? The pictures of tick bites where wattles are swollen ar bluish, usually from an anticoagulant secretely by the tick causing bruising.

Standing upright in a hen is sometimes due to reproductive disorders, such as salpingitis, internal laying, egg yolk peritonitis, and ascites. Do you have other farm animals or rodents? I would consider getting a necropsy if you lose her or decide to cull. Sulfadimethoxine or albon are sometimes helpful to treat symptoms of both fowl cholera or coryza. Please update your thread to let us know how she is getting along. Here is a good article to read:
http://extension.msstate.edu/publications/fowl-cholera-and-infectious-coryza-backyard-flocks

 

[dawg53]

If it were fowl cholera, she would be dead by now. Other birds would be infected as well.

 

[nataliegrinks]

That’s true. She’s five so she doesn’t lay anymore. Could it still be reproductive? I will check for a tick bite. I am giving her tylan 50 .5 and a couple drops of metacam. That’s all I have on hand at the moment. She’s also had bumble foot for a while. We’ve done the surgery a few times, but haven’t been able to get it all. I’m not sure if that would do that to her?

 

[nataliegrinks]

She is five so I don’t think it could be reproductive. I have seen that in a girl we lost. She was very upright. I will check for a tick bite. The swelling is both sides. We do have other farm animals. Sheep, goats and pigeons. There are definitely mice. The cats get a lot of them, but there is still a lot. She has no other symptoms. No discharge of any kind. She smells fine. Everyone else seems to be ok.

 

[nataliegrinks]

Also, over the winter I was chasing starlings out what seemed like every five minutes. A flock.