Hen with lingering cough / honk and losing voice

[PortlandChick]

Our little flock just went through a bout of what the vet thinks was sinuvitus (sp?). We lost one of our bantams to it, but everyone else has made a full recovery. It's been nearly 2 weeks since any shows signs of being sick, except our Gold Laced Wyandotte who has a lingering honk/cough and sounds like me when I am losing my voice from a sore throat or cold. Otherwise, she is active, eating and laying eggs. Any thoughts on treatment to help her get through this or if it is common would be great.

 

[CMV]

Did the vet test the flock to find the causative agent? Did the vet actually see any of the birds?

 

[PortlandChick]

The vet saw the first one of our flock to get sick, as well as the bantam that we eventually had to put down, but did not test. They had labored breathing and congestion with swollen faces that cleared up with antibiotics.

 

[CMV]

The symptoms cleared, but the birds likely are still carriers. I would have the flock tested. I suspect you will find out that you now have a chronic respiratory disease in your flock. If this is the case then you need to do a few things differently from this point forward. Your flock needs to be closed- no birds in and no birds out. Any birds that come in will be infected and/or get sick, and any birds out will infect the flocks of others. You will need to keep antibiotics/medications on hand because your birds are going to be ill any time they get stressed. And lastly, you will need to decide if you want to euthanize your flock. Your birds (if infected) are highly contagious and will infect any bird that comes into direct or indirect contact with them. They will spend the rest of their lives being ill or just getting over being ill. Your mortality rate will be high and your morbidity rate will be even higher. Your expenditures are going to increase and your return on investment is going to decline significantly. You will constantly be moving from one health crisis to the next to the next...and so on. Caring for a chronically ill flock that is never going to get better takes all the joy out of poultry keeping.

I strongly recommend you have the flock tested so you can make an informed decision about how to proceed.

I am sorry. Good luck.