HELP! Chicken with cold

[Haunted55]

I can relate. Here's a link for you:
http://www.durvet.com/dl/Durvet-Poultry-Brochure.pdf

Oh, awesome!!! Thank-you so much Dawg53!!! That's a great thing to have!

 

[Haunted55]

The area was vacant for over 15 years of pigs. Its located in the horse pasture up against our shop. We decided to use this little shed at a base for our chicken coop because its already there, in good shape and in a good location (my mare wont let any dogs into the pasture unless its my dog) The shed and area around it was raked up of any trash or poo that had accumulated. The chickens were moved in after the coop was built and cleaned out. I did have momma hen in the shed with my very first batch (5 months old now) before we did any cleaning or building because she decided to have her nest in there. We didnt lock any of them in there until we found another hidden nest in the neighbors hay barn but the shed was cleaned out by then. Sorry if this makes no sense, my head is pounding and Im babbling

So sorry about your head! You're not babbling either, I understood quite well, lol. Most probably there's nothing to worry about with the pig shed. Here is a link to the disease I was trying to remember. http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/202300.htm I don't think the symptoms are the same.

 

[WhiskiRanch]

I only heard one chick sneeze once all day today. I spent about 15 extra minutes out in the coop observing everyone while they had a breakfast of All Poultry Crumbles, Scratch and yummy celery. Only the one chick sneezed but nothing else seemed wrong with anyone else. I do have one chick that is really quiet and "chill" but she has always been that way. she was an only chick out of one of my hens.she eats and drinks but likes to chill out by herself.she stays out of the croud of chicks or will have her two favorite chicks near her. Because she is so shy of the other chickens, she likes to spend time in the coop and has learned i will give her a handful of food in their ;-) Other than my sneezing chick and my shy chick, every thing else is normal in the Whiski coop

 

[Haunted55]

I only heard one chick sneeze once all day today. I spent about 15 extra minutes out in the coop observing everyone while they had a breakfast of All Poultry Crumbles, Scratch and yummy celery. Only the one chick sneezed but nothing else seemed wrong with anyone else. I do have one chick that is really quiet and "chill" but she has always been that way. she was an only chick out of one of my hens.she eats and drinks but likes to chill out by herself.she stays out of the croud of chicks or will have her two favorite chicks near her. Because she is so shy of the other chickens, she likes to spend time in the coop and has learned i will give her a handful of food in their ;-) Other than my sneezing chick and my shy chick, every thing else is normal in the Whiski coop

Then I would call it good and just watch. It could have been the crumble that made it sneeze. You never know with them, lol. I can tell you are observant so you'll know if something comes up.

 

[Haunted55]

I'll go get some to use now and to have on hand. Appreciate your advice.

How did you make out? Did you give any to the girls?

 

[lbchickens9]

I started the 6 week old chick on Duramycin and Vetrx yesterday and she is not any better but not any worse either. Will try to take pics tomorrow as we had unexpected company.

 

[Haunted55]

Also, it's coming up to 10 days already and she's not well yet and he is still not back to himself. I suppose he's probably depressed though from being inside, but it is too cold to let him back out now anyway after being so sick, and he still has the sore on his face too. He always stayed alone anyway because the other rooster took over the girls, so he has no one and he stays away from the other rooster "Jr." and his women. He sleeps on the porch instead of going in the coop because of "Jr." That's why I first thought that he had caught a cold because it had been raining a lot lately and cold, and I thought he must have gotten wet and cold and caught a cold from that. So I don't know when I'll let him back out. The other sick pullet is in the same room with him though, but I keep them in seperate cages and keep the side facing his cage, sheilded with a blanket to keep her from coughing in his direction spraying germs. Come to think of it, if I use the vaporizer, it may promote the spread of the germs with the moisture and the steam. I don't know? I should have taken a vet course, I guess this is pretty close to that. Experience is the best teacher, but bad for mistakes.

Take the blanket down, would be my advice. He may not be getting better because he is giving up and if he's in the same room he's already exposed. My sister had an issue like this and the roo was pretty much driven out of the flock. He was dying because of it, he was just giving up. I found someone interested in him and he now has his own harem and is doing extremely well. Letting him see and not just hear the pullet may go a long way to perking him up and her as well. Now I am assuming the sores are from fighting with the younger roo? Blu-Kote is your best friend for this. Spray it on the end of a q-tip and then dab it on the sores. If you have been giving antibiotics and it hasn't helped it might be time to think about switching to a different one as well. What ever they have may be resistant to what you've been using.

I hear you about the mistakes and the learning. I've lost so many because of #1 stupidity on my part, #2 not giving all the info needed when asking for help on BYC because of fear for the bird, again stupid mistake, I've learned, take notes, #3 not having pictures to show what I needed help with.

 

[Haunted55]

I started the 6 week old chick on Duramycin and Vetrx yesterday and she is not any better but not any worse either. Will try to take pics tomorrow as we had unexpected company.

It takes a while for the meds to work. If she's not any worse, that's a good thing!

 

[Harry Rooster]

Take the blanket down, would be my advice. He may not be getting better because he is giving up and if he's in the same room he's already exposed. My sister had an issue like this and the roo was pretty much driven out of the flock. He was dying because of it, he was just giving up. I found someone interested in him and he now has his own harem and is doing extremely well. Letting him see and not just hear the pullet may go a long way to perking him up and her as well. Now I am assuming the sores are from fighting with the younger roo? Blu-Kote is your best friend for this. Spray it on the end of a q-tip and then dab it on the sores. If you have been giving antibiotics and it hasn't helped it might be time to think about switching to a different one as well. What ever they have may be resistant to what you've been using.

I hear you about the mistakes and the learning. I've lost so many because of #1 stupidity on my part, #2 not giving all the info needed when asking for help on BYC because of fear for the bird, again stupid mistake, I've learned, take notes, #3 not having pictures to show what I needed help with.

Actually he (Little Baby) the cockerl is better. He is now eating and drinking and is anxious for me to pick him up to give him his meds. He gets lively and wants to eat while I'm in there with them. It's the pullet (Bubbles) that is having trouble getting over the rattly cough. That's why I had the blanket over the end of the cage, to protect him. I think maybe I wasn't giving them enough medicine. I mixed the 2 tsp per gallon & 4 TBS ACV (I don't know if it is filtered or unfiltered though, it's just Heinz ACV bought at the grocery store, gallon of it. That's the first I've heard about filtered vs unfiltered.) and electrolytes about 1 tsp. Then I pour some in a cough surup measure and sprinkle a very little bit more of Tetracycline in it and draw it up in the syringe (w/o needle) I give them a whole syringe full, and a whole syringe full of yougart (blueberry flv.) I quit doing her though after the 2nd time I tried it with her because she was freeking out being held, so I figured that since she was drinking and eating well that she would get it on her own. Maybe that's the mistake I made with her. Just didn't want to stress her anymore than she already was, being new here, and sick and inside in a cage away from her bro's and sis's, and being handled. But last night I gave her some Cephelexin 500 1ml, as someone suggested. I just had to put her down a couple of times when she started freeking, and waited for her to calm down before starting agiain. I finally got it to her though. She still seems the same today, but I know it will probably take a day or two to see results, if it works, like you said. I also went and got some VetRx today just in case. Looks like it is just a preventative, is that right? And do you know if I gave her the right dosage of the Cephelexin? She weighs 2 lb aprox 11 oz. if that matters, and she is young but not a chick anymore. I'm pretty sure she was malnourished when we got her, she looked ragged and smelled bad too. She always eats like she is starving, and afraid she's not going to get anymore food. Do you really think I should take the blanket down while she is still coughing? And my Little Baby boy was always happy in the yard even though he didn't have any girlfriends, cause he followed me and mom around everywhere, and slept on the porch on the swing. Jr. never beat him up because he knows better than to chase him, and Little Baby knows not to mess with Jr's women, so they stay away from eachother. We also were going to give him some of these new girls for his harem when they got big enough, but now this!

 

[Suzierd]

Harry Rooster when you say she smelled bad it makes me worry you might be dealing with Coryza.

Infectious Coryza
Synonyms: roup, cold, coryza

Species affected: chickens, pheasants, and guinea fowl. Common in game chicken flocks.

Clinical signs: Swelling around the face, foul smelling, thick, sticky discharge from the nostrils and eyes, labored breathing, and rales (rattles -- an abnormal breathing sound) are common clinical signs. The eyelids are irritated and may stick together. The birds may have diarrhea and growing birds may become stunted (see Table 1).

Mortality from coryza is usually low, but infections can decrease egg production and increase the incidence and/or severity of other diseases. Mortality can be as high as 50 percent, but is usually no more than 20 percent. The clinical disease can last from a few days to 2-3 months, depending on the virulence of the pathogen and the existence of other infections such as mycoplasmosis.

Transmission: Coryza is primarily transmitted by direct bird-to-bird contact. This can be from infected birds brought into the flock as well as from birds which recover from the disease which remain carriers of the organism and may shed intermittently throughout their lives.. Birds risk exposure at poultry shows, bird swaps, and live-bird sales. Inapparent infected adult birds added into a flock are a common source for outbreaks. Within a flock, inhalation of airborne respiratory droplets, and contamination of feed and/or water are common modes of spread.

Treatment: Water soluble antibiotics or antibacterials can be used. Sulfadimethoxine (Albon

, Di-Methox

) is the preferred treatment. If it is not available, or not effective, sulfamethazine (Sulfa-Max

, SulfaSure

), erythromycin (gallimycin

), or tetracycline (Aureomycin

) can be used as alternative treatments. Sulfa drugs are not FDA approved for pullets older than 14 weeks of age or for commercial layer hens. While antibiotics can be effective in reducing clinical disease, they do not eliminate carrier birds.

Prevention: Good management and sanitation are the best ways to avoid infectious coryza. Most outbreaks occur as a result of mixing flocks. All replacement birds on "coryza-endemic" farms should be vaccinated. The vaccine (Coryza-Vac) is administered subcutaneously (under the skin) on the back of the neck. Each chicken should be vaccinated four times, starting at 5 weeks of age with at least 4 weeks between injections. Vaccinate again at 10 months of age and twice yearly thereafter.