Had 7 silkies. 3 left.

[azzy]

They all came down with something, they have swollen eyes and a white liquid coming out of them. I dont know if its a respretory disease or something else. I gave them an antibiotic for a few days and then sulmet. Right now im treating the last 3 with fish zole. I dont know what the problem could be. :-(

 

[AHappychick]

are they away from all your other chickens/birds? when did you get them?

 

[threehorses]

Could you provide us with some additional information to help us help you?

There's a stick - the second sticky post in the forum - with a list of questions. If you could please answer those into here, that would really help.

Also I'd like to ask - which antibiotic exactly were you using (Example: terramycin Duramycin brand, 2 T in 1 gallon of water for 2 days)? How long did you use the sulmet? I would quit the 'zole; they're for protazoa, not bacterial or viral illnesses.

Also, smell the birds - does their facial discharge smell "fetid" and nasty?

When i treat respiratory illnesses, I like to bombard the germs from every angel: medicinal, supportive treatments, nutritional, etc.

Medicinal:
With medicines, you want to get a very effective antibiotic, use it full strength (not the 'prevention' strength of some med labels - labels are confusing), use it for a full 7-10 days (or depending on the labeling), and if it doesn't work in four days consider a different antibiotic.

We'll help you figure out which antibiotic. Though depending on the age of the birds, I'm thinking Tylan or LS50. Terramycin isn't very effective any more particularly if you used it and it didn't work. Depending on how long you used the sulmet, it's likely not Pasteuella (cholera) as that would have treated your birds if you used the sulmet for 3 days or more correctly.

(To be honest, it's nearly impossible to determine exactly what bacteria is to blame here - or if this is even bacterial versus fungal or viral... to do so would require a 'culture and sensitivity' from the vet to grow out the bacteria and determine exactly which antibiotics do and don't work for it. In the mean time, we guestimate and avoid using antibiotics unless it's pretty obviously likely bacterial - as in this case.)

Supportive treatments:
VetRx:
In all cases of suspected or actual respiratory illness, I use VetRx for poultry (or rabbits, or any species) to help the birds breathe. A bird that doesn't breathe will not eat. A bird that doesn't eat will not heal. VetRx works like Vicks does for humans - bringing comfort and air to their respiratory tract. It's very inexpensive for a 2 ounce bottle which, because you dilute it, lasts ages. If you can't find VetRx of any kind in your feed store, call your local big chain pet stores for Marshal Pet Peter rabbit Rx - it's the same thing.

You will use q-tips to swab the bird. Mix a little very hot water and quite a few drops of VetRx together in a cup. Mixing cools the water to warm and emulsifies the oil into the water. Use a new q-tip end for each spot (one nostril one end, next nostril next end...) and a completely new q-tip for each new bird being treated. Use the warm emulsified VetRx to clean and swab the nares - it can get in there a little - helps their sinuses. I clean under each eye very close to the tear duct. I use a vetrx wetted q-tip to swab the cleft in the roof of the mouth. That fumes their sinuses (opens up to the eye sinuses) to facilitate oxygen flow. I personally believe it also reduces inflammation slightly with the cooling effect.
VetRx is NOT a medicine; it's a supportive topical.

Probiotics (also categorized as nutritional):
The bird's digestive tract is lined with beneficial bacteria. They colonize the gut and help the bird digest food by breaking down into absorbable nutrients what the gizzard mechanically broke into smaller pieces. They also excrete enzymes that are said to ward off bad bacteria to some degree. Further more, by the act of literal competition, they fight off some bad bacteria, fungi, and to some degree protazoa.

Any time you have an ill bird, I treat with Probiotics which aren't a medicine but a supporting device. But the live bacteria, if provided, will help replace bacteria that are killed off by medicating, sinus drainage, stress, etc. (Note - the sinuses drain into the digestive tract through that previously mentioned cleft in the roof of the beak - the drainage upsets the pH of the gut, and thus upsets the bacteria there - so we bolster the number of good bacteria through probiotics.)

Your choices: If medicating with anything ending in -cycline or -mycin as an active ingredient (tetracycline, LS50, duromycin, etc) then you cannot use milk products or yogurt. Your options are them Probios powder (from the feedstore or TSC), or acidophilis capsules (Walmart vitamin section, grocery store or drug store or health food store vitamin section). Use the powder from the above to mix into the daily damp mash (only a small bit that they eat first), or another quickly eaten treat like mashed yolk of a boiled egg.

If you're NOT treating with a -mycin or -cycline, you can use plain unflavored yogurt. Use straight, or mix with water to make a quickly eaten damp mash (see below in 'nutritional')

All probiotics - give daily during medication, then every other day for 2 weeks after medications to make sure the bacteria are all replenished. This does NOT make them dependent on your probiotics - it does help them.

Nutritional:
A bird must continue to provide fuel for the fight in order to WIN the fight. A bird who is ill often will not eat enough, or possibly not eat at all. It's doubly important that what they DO eat is rich in nutrients, nutritionally balanced, and appropriate for healing.

In all cases, birds should receive their normal complete feed pellets (age-appropriate) free-choice. I find sick birds respond more positively to crumbles than pellets; I'll put pellets in the blender for them. I find they react even more positively to damp (not wet) crumbles. So for an ill bird, I will feed them at least one feeding a day of crumbles dampened with water, water with yogurt, or something similar. You can sneak their probiotics to them this way. You can also use vitamin/electrolyte treated water to dampen the crumbles.

I also am a strong believer in additional vitamins for birds with respiratory illness. Vitamin A is a particularly good vitamin, very important for mucus membranes, respiratory problems, and ocular health. I really like to use Enfamil's PolyViSol liquid vitamins directly in the beak of a bird to facilitate healing. For babies, 1 drop, for medium birds 2 drops, for adults 2-3 drops daily in the beak. OR you can drop the drops onto a tiny piece of egg yolk (boiled). The liquid form of vitamin allows you to give vitamins while meds are in the water. Because it's eaten quickly, it doesn't degrade in the light or water. Give daily during medication and possibly a week thereafter.

Another option, if you give shots of antibiotics, is to use a better-quality vitamin/mineral product like Aviacharge in their water - as labeled for at least 4 days as their sole source of water unless they won't drink it.

Other nutritional: You can offer things to tempt the birds to eat if they won't: boiled egg yolk, a tiny bit of applesauce, cooked oatmeal, etc. Use those things to 'hide' the vitamins and probiotics - use a tiny bit. Make all treats purposeful and healthy.

MISC:
It's very important for all birds to have good clean air. Ventilation and air quality is particularly important to ill birds who are having a hard time breathing anyway. Make sure to pay careful attention to this, to their bedding, etc. Make sure the bedding stays dry and non-dusty. If you use shavings, try putting the shavings in a box and shaking them first - then scoop the bedding off the top (The dust settles to the bottom).

Also be sure to always do your 'sick-bird-chores' last after all other birds. Droplets fall on the ground, get on your shoes, spread to the other birds. ASo either use different shoes or wipe your shoes with anti-bacterial after doing the sick birds. Using a large man's shirt over your clothes, one you'll only put on in the sick bird room and take off before leaving it - is another excellent option.

I find that if you really bombard a respiratory illness from all sides the birds heal more quickly and thoroughly. I hope this information has helped you. Please email me if you have any questions, or contact me here through this board. In the mean time, the best of luck to you!!

 

[dlhunicorn]

and a white liquid coming out of them.

have they come from a pullorum free flock (NPIP) ? if not I would have them tested... anytime you lose more than one bird like this you should have a necropsy... it is the only way you will know for sure what the cause is. You can enquire about both at your state extension​

 

[destiny_56085]

Sounds like your birds definitely have a respiratory illness. Tylan is usually my drug of choice for at least 7-10 days. It also helps just to keep their eyes and nares clear of mucous the best you can with a warm wet rag. I don't know your situation or how long you have had these birds. Respiratory illness can hit a bird very quickly and will take them down fast. They can be perfectly healthy and if you transport them home in a dirty carrier or expose them to other sick birds (ex. at a swap/auction), it can be picked up that way. They can also already be carrying the bacteria to make them sick. The stress of moving into a new home will set it off sometimes too. Look at your own environment.... are they out of the wind/rain, do they have clean dry bedding, are the waterers clean, feed not moldy, did you previously have any poultry in the coop and not disinfect it properly, etc.

edited to add...the Tylan I get is in a powder form from the vet. You mix the whole bottle in a gallon of water. This is your concentrate and you take 2-3 teaspoons of that to every gallon of drinking water. I usually give this to all birds in the flock if any in the pen are sick to knock it out before any more get seriously sick.

 

[azzy]

I was using terramycin Duramycin for 3 days adn then switched to the sulmet for 2 and now on the zole. Ill go buy some tylan and vetrx today. Threehorses thanks for everything. I also wanted to apologize for what happened at Wabash that day and wanted to know if you were happy with the chicks you got. Im happy with my 2 babies and they are healthy and growing.

 

[azzy]

May the problem with it also be flies? I have a few geese and ducks in the pen with my growing chicks jsut because they cant be free range yet because they are too small and cant defend themselves from the dogs. They do make a mess and now im wondering if they drank messy water on the floor and that's what got them sick? They were in the pen for about 2 weeks before they began getting sick...

 

[destiny_56085]

That's probably what did it.... We have ducks and geese too and they stay separate from the other birds. Everything is a wet muddy mess where they are concerned.

Maybe its just me, but I don't know how you kept silkies alive in with those other birds anyways. Silkies aren't the most hardy of breeds. Everytime I've tried letting them freerange with the rest they end up dead too.

 

[dlhunicorn]

Maybe its just me, but I don't know how you kept silkies alive in with those other birds anyways. Silkies aren't the most hardy of breeds. Everytime I've tried letting them freerange with the rest they end up dead too.

Now I do not have a mixed flock (becuase my number one choice of breed is my silkies and they are pets . yep I succumbed and "live to serve"

LOL) but I had to respond when I read this comment on silkies.
Silkies were around long before the other chicken breeds (except jungle fowl) and they originate from China ... now I live in Holland (wet damp and in the winter CONSTANTLY freezing wet and sub freezing temps (maybe not the super low temps but still sub freezing ) ... I think silkies are quite hardy birds and as mine have often enough refused to go in a nice dry coop (raised floor) and chose to stand in all that freezing rain (god only knows the reason for the strange and mysterious silkie) and in 7 years I have never had a bird suffer from respiratory illness then that makes em pretty hardy in my book!​

 

[destiny_56085]

The disease aspect isn't what I meant for by being hardy. If you keep everything clean and give them somewhere to get out of the wind and rain, then they do stay alive. I live in southern MN and temps were in the -30F last year for about a week and I only lost a couple birds.

Over here in the US we have bred these birds for the show ring. Most of them have huge vaulted skulls now. The skulls are very thin or don't close completely and leave a soft spot just like on a baby's head. One hard peck or blow to that will leave them with crookneck or death. The crests we have bred for over here also makes them easy targets. On my pen of birds I'm prepping for the show ring this fall I have some youngsters that have crests the size of oranges and are still growing. My breeders have all been trimmed back for now.

A silkie usually takes the losing end of any battle. Usually.... They can't run fast, don't fly, and if they have a huge crest they have problems seeing anything coming at them. They don't even need to be geting attacked. I've seen a standard breed rooster kill a silkie just by trying to mate with it. The goslings also grow very quickly and huddle together to sleep just like the silkies do. If they pile together, who do you think will get smooshed at the bottom?

If these were dogs, it would be like putting a couple dainty lil maltese in with a bunch of boisterous lab puppies. Might get along, but who would you put your bets on ending up dead?