Hen with Pneumonia Please Help!

[Abronsyth]

So one of our 3 year old Golden Comet hens, Apples, is pretty sick. At first we thought she was just depressed with the winter, because we had a nice warm and sunny day and she seemed to perk up. However, now she's not doing well and we can hear fluid when she breathes, and she seems to be having a hard time breathing, and not eating much (but she is still eating a bit). We brought her inside, medicated her water with aviacharge, and have her on non-medicated chick feed (since it's higher in protein and smaller size). We're trying to keep her warm and dry, and I just wanted to know what more we can do for her.

EDIT: Also, every now and then she'll cough up a clear fluid. She's been sick for a while now, but we didn't realize until she fell when jumping off of a perch, then my mom knew she was ill.

We're also worried because we have her in a room with our rabbits and baby chicks, but she can't come into physical contact with any of them.

So, any suggestions? I heard we can give her Tylan powder and raw liver..?

We really love this hen, she's a sweet little thing that always talks to us, and she's so pretty, super dark red and orange and green eyes, and bright white tail feathers...so, to say the least, we're pretty worried.

Thanks in advance,
Abron and Family

 

[realsis]

please use Tylan50 at large birds 1/2 cc once daily for 5 days small birds 1/4 cc once daily for 5 days. Tylan50 is the best course of action. time is of essence so hurry. don't worry that the bottle says for cattle and swine.many poultry owners including myself have GREAT success with it. the reason you should choose an injectable is because with water soulable antibiotic the dose cant be as controlled and when ill they aren't drinking as much. Tylan 50 is the BEST for respiratory illness. if you have never given a injection go to YouTube and please look up injecting Tylan in chickens they have a wonderful tutorial there. Time is of essence so please treat soon.in a few days you will notice a significant improvement! you can get tylan50 at the feed store with a syringe or you can use a diabetic syringe. hope this helps. best wishes

 

[realsis]

please keep us posted on her condition.if she were mine id use Tylan50 injectable. you can control the dose and with the injectable your getting it into the blood stream much faster and at a higher concentration then powder. as i mentioned above. Good luck! im confident this is the Best course of action.

 

[Abronsyth]

Thank you for the quick response! I let my mom know and she's trying to find some available. I think the main problem is worrying if it'll get here in time

If we can get it here in time we'll start her on it right away. Hopefully we can save her, she's such a sweet thing, and probably will be the best to help incorporate our new chickens into the flock, as she's the friendliest of the bunch and usually pretty high ranking.

Okay, good luck, they sell Tylan50 at Tractor Supply, now we just need to see if our local store has it in stock.

Okay, so we've never done injections for birds before, and, unfortunately, our computers can not actually handle youtube well...do you have any recommendations?

Thanks,
Abron

EDIT:: Okay, Tractor Supply has it in, my mom's running out now to pick some up. Also, I've heard it can be given orally? But I'm not sure which is better for the hen..? And, if we give it as an injection, what needle size, do you think?

 

[jflanny]

Hi - my RIR Yuna was recently very ill with a serious respiratory infection and I tried Duramycin in her water - no help. I got some Doxycycline oral from my vet and gave 3ml by mouth and she started getting better almost immediately. I had her separated from the flock for 3 weeks and she slowly started eating more and more until she was ravenous! She laid her first egg last week after three weeks and has been laying daily since.

I hope your little hen gets better - it's awful when one is ill. I fed Yuna anything she would eat - yogurt, bread, scrambled egg, veggies - anything to keep her strength up. good luck and keep us posted

 

[realsis]

hi i use diabetic needles only because i have them on hand as I'm a diabetic my self. at this point I'd say smaller the better but really what ever you can get a hold of.my size is only 31 gage but like i said use what you can get. yes I've had heard of giving orally you can also do that however I'd opt for injection to get into the blood faster. OK there are two places to give the injection .one is carefully lift the skin at nape of neck and at a 45 degree angle Away from the head give the injection. the other is in the Breast by but not on the breast bone carefully .neck seems like its easier. its up to you to choose the site. don't worry you CAN do this OK.its MUCH easier than you think. I've injected chickens horses dogs cats and even my Koi fish when needed.first time is always roughest. its fast and it will be over before you know it.don't worry just clear your head. you if cant get the tutoring video on injecting chickens look up injecting chickens it might help calm your nerves. just think how much better she will be in a few days! that should give you inspiration. remember you Can do this! please keep me posted on her condition as I'm also worried for her! just think in a few days you will see improvements! you can extend the injections to 7 days if need be. my thoughts are with you. best wishes

 

[realsis]

hi i use diabetic needles only because i have them on hand as I'm a diabetic my self. at this point I'd say smaller the better but really what ever you can get a hold of.my size is only 31 gage but like i said use what you can get. yes I've had heard of giving orally you can also do that however I'd opt for injection to get into the blood faster. OK there are two places to give the injection .one is carefully lift the skin at nape of neck and at a 45 degree angle Away from the head give the injection. the other is in the Breast by but not on the breast bone carefully .neck seems like its easier. its up to you to choose the site. don't worry you CAN do this OK.its MUCH easier than you think. I've injected chickens horses dogs cats and even my Koi fish when needed.first time is always roughest. its fast and it will be over before you know it.don't worry just clear your head. you if cant get the tutoring video on injecting chickens look up injecting chickens it might help calm your nerves. just think how much better she will be in a few days! that should give you inspiration. remember you Can do this! please keep me posted on her condition as I'm also worried for her! just think in a few days you will see improvements! you can extend the injections to 7 days if need be. my thoughts are with you. best wishes

 

[realsis]

oops sorry for double post!

 

[Abronsyth]

Thanks for all of the support and advice, guys! At this point we're not sure which way is best...I did read that the injections can make them very sore, so not to give them in the same place each time, so I think we'll go with the breast injections...now does it have to go into the muscle, or is an under-the-skin injection good too? I just want to do what I can to make her more comfortable...she is getting a kick out of listening the the chicks peeping though, so that's good...still perking up when she sees interesting things and clucking at us when we talk to her.

Thanks,
Abron

 

[lilchick]

I just inject under the skin and never into muscle. Usually for injections I turn them over and place it just under the skin along the breast bone.

I also have removed the needle and given it orally. Either way works well for me.