Hi, wondering if anyone can help as i am just baffled with whats wrong with my chicken and it seems like every new symptom is a new disease!
About a week ago i noticed that my silkie was breathing with her mouth open, she wanted to spend most of her time in the coop but both chickens i have had just come out of being broody. She was then still eating, drinking and pooing normal.
I took her to a vet, it was difficult to find a chicken vet as we are in lockdown in the UK. I managed to find a vet, he said it looks like she has a respiratory disease and to give her soluble tylan in her water and treat both chickens for 5 days. He also said she was underweight but as i had seen her eating i put the weightloss down to them being broody for the last 3 weeks.
I added it to the water but the next day i noticed that she wasnt eating or drinking on her own. I started syringing the tylan water but i was afraid of suffocaiting her so probably more was being flicked on me that went down her!
She didnt get any worse but didint get better. She would peck at a pumpkin and some spinach but wasnt really eating so i started to syringe some pellets that i had made into a watery mash. Again she wasnt keen on this and i ended up covered in it!
I took her back to the vets, this was 6 days after she went to the vets initally. There was a lady vet this time who said she suspected gapeworm. I had wormed them with ivermectin spot on but i didint realise it wont kill gapeworm.
Ive been using flubenvet,flubendiazole i think its called for 2 days now. As my sick chicken isnt eating or drinking on her own the only way i can get it into her is by putting the powder she needs for the day into a grape, and then im having to force the grapes into her
As she is breathing with an open beak, im able to put small bits of food into the front of her beak and she will then lick and swallow them down herself, same with the pellet mash.She will also pick a few bits of food like tuna and kiwi off my hand. Her crop was full last night so i know shes getting food and water but thats only because im feeding her small stuff every 3/4 hours.
ive read somewhere about double dosing for gapeworm, should i be giving double the dose? does anyone have any experience of gape worm?do you think her symptoms sound like gapeworm?
symptoms she has are:
-big deep laboured breaths, her whole body moves when she breaths in, her neck extends upwards as shes breathing in, like we would if we were doing deep breathing- if that makes sense.
-Her eyes and nostril are clear, no muscus- if it was respiratory like the original vet said, wouldnt these be bad. Also my other chicken is fine, wouldnt she have caught it as well?
-every now and then she will what sounds like sneeze, not constant though, but today ive noticed she has also made like a crow noise is the only best way i can describe it. Ive only seen it twice.
-She is pooing but its a dark green runny poo, im not sure if the colour is because she hadnt been eating or because of the spinach.
-I checked her vent this morning as i googled laboured breathing and it brought up eggbound. I havent had an egg from her for a month now, but thats not unusal as they were broody for ages and its winter here and the other chicken hasnt started back laying either.
Her vent was clear but it was moving the same time as she was breathing so im not sure if its because shes breathing so hard?
-if she was egg bound, wouldnt she have died by now? shes been like this for about 9 days now.
-shes walking fine, no penguin walking.
- Ive had a feel under her tummy and she just feels so skinny there are no lumps or fluid or swellings that i can feel.
i think im going to give her an epsom bath today anyway as it cant hurt but i just feel so bad seeing her breath, it looks like hard work for her, i wish i knew what was causing it so i could help her.
I will also do the full 7 days treatment for the gapeworm, but will i need to be doubling it to make sure it kills gapeworm?
im grateful for any advice or suggestions. thank you.
About a week ago i noticed that my silkie was breathing with her mouth open, she wanted to spend most of her time in the coop but both chickens i have had just come out of being broody. She was then still eating, drinking and pooing normal.
I took her to a vet, it was difficult to find a chicken vet as we are in lockdown in the UK. I managed to find a vet, he said it looks like she has a respiratory disease and to give her soluble tylan in her water and treat both chickens for 5 days. He also said she was underweight but as i had seen her eating i put the weightloss down to them being broody for the last 3 weeks.
I added it to the water but the next day i noticed that she wasnt eating or drinking on her own. I started syringing the tylan water but i was afraid of suffocaiting her so probably more was being flicked on me that went down her!
She didnt get any worse but didint get better. She would peck at a pumpkin and some spinach but wasnt really eating so i started to syringe some pellets that i had made into a watery mash. Again she wasnt keen on this and i ended up covered in it!
I took her back to the vets, this was 6 days after she went to the vets initally. There was a lady vet this time who said she suspected gapeworm. I had wormed them with ivermectin spot on but i didint realise it wont kill gapeworm.
Ive been using flubenvet,flubendiazole i think its called for 2 days now. As my sick chicken isnt eating or drinking on her own the only way i can get it into her is by putting the powder she needs for the day into a grape, and then im having to force the grapes into her
As she is breathing with an open beak, im able to put small bits of food into the front of her beak and she will then lick and swallow them down herself, same with the pellet mash.She will also pick a few bits of food like tuna and kiwi off my hand. Her crop was full last night so i know shes getting food and water but thats only because im feeding her small stuff every 3/4 hours.
ive read somewhere about double dosing for gapeworm, should i be giving double the dose? does anyone have any experience of gape worm?do you think her symptoms sound like gapeworm?
symptoms she has are:
-big deep laboured breaths, her whole body moves when she breaths in, her neck extends upwards as shes breathing in, like we would if we were doing deep breathing- if that makes sense.
-Her eyes and nostril are clear, no muscus- if it was respiratory like the original vet said, wouldnt these be bad. Also my other chicken is fine, wouldnt she have caught it as well?
-every now and then she will what sounds like sneeze, not constant though, but today ive noticed she has also made like a crow noise is the only best way i can describe it. Ive only seen it twice.
-She is pooing but its a dark green runny poo, im not sure if the colour is because she hadnt been eating or because of the spinach.
-I checked her vent this morning as i googled laboured breathing and it brought up eggbound. I havent had an egg from her for a month now, but thats not unusal as they were broody for ages and its winter here and the other chicken hasnt started back laying either.
Her vent was clear but it was moving the same time as she was breathing so im not sure if its because shes breathing so hard?
-if she was egg bound, wouldnt she have died by now? shes been like this for about 9 days now.
-shes walking fine, no penguin walking.
- Ive had a feel under her tummy and she just feels so skinny
there are no lumps or fluid or swellings that i can feel. i think im going to give her an epsom bath today anyway as it cant hurt but i just feel so bad seeing her breath, it looks like hard work for her, i wish i knew what was causing it so i could help her.
I will also do the full 7 days treatment for the gapeworm, but will i need to be doubling it to make sure it kills gapeworm?
im grateful for any advice or suggestions. thank you.
