I don't know what to do

[Brie6895]

Today when I got home from work I noticed my buff orpington was in the same spot when I left. She usually jumps up when I walk in and make noise, but she just sat in the corner. After I moved her around she was walking fine just making a weird noise like she had a sinus problem and every now and then will let out a louder noise. She is sleeping on the perch now but I noticed when she pooped it was runny light yellow with a bit of red stuff in it. (I will post a picture in a second)
Anyone have any advice on what this is? She is around 8 weeks old still inside my hous with a few other younger chicks.

 

[Brie6895]

 

[Brie6895]

Also, there is some moisture around her nose.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Hmmmm....from what you describe, I think you have a sick chick. I'm sorry. Hopefully this will be mild and pass quickly. Was it especially hot today?

I would immediately put her on something like Save A Chick (vitamins and electrolytes) while you figure things out. [Is she still eating and drinking?] And I would separate her from your other chicks.

At 8 weeks , my mind thinks of Markes, coccidiosis, or viral/bacterial/fungal respiratory disease.

There is no paralysis, so Mareks is unlikely (thank God).

The poo is probably normal. It does not look red enough for coccidiosis to me (which is frank blood in the poo) nor watery enough for diarrhea.. The photo looks like it could be normal cecal dropping with some shed intestinal lining (normal)....so I'm not thinking yours has coccidiosis. Also, coccidiosis would not cause squeaking/vocal noise/breathing noise (rales) nor moist nose. Keep watching the poo to see if blood is in it or if it matches any of the "sick" poo. (See chart linked below).

Listless with vocal noise (squeak, nick, rattle) and moist nose indicate a respiratory illness as likely.

Having been kept inside, assuming you keep a clean brooder (no mold growing, fecal build up, etc.), and that you have no other birds with symptoms which you could have transferred agents from... it could be CRD (bacterial caused Chronic Respiratory Disease) as that can be transferred from hen to egg.

If it is CRD, or another bacterial respiratory infection, an antibiotic would be in order. You can get antibiotics at the feed store or your vet.

If it is viral, antibiotics won't help. Newcastles and IB fit into the category. They can be transferred through the air from wild birds, beak to beak, droppings, feed bags, anywhere a virus can hitch hike. With viral, you cross your fingers and hope it goes through quickly with as little damage as possible as there is no treatment for virus infections (like our common cold). If it is viral your other chicks will almost certainly catch it as morbidity (those affected) is usually high, however, good news, mortality (death rate) is low so most survive and go on to happy lives again.

I battled my flocks viral IB with Chick Saver vitamins/electrolytes, Elderberry tincture in the waterer (antiviral), fresh garlic in the feed (boosts immune and antiviral), and then followed up with a week of Rooster Booster Triple Action which has a wormer (Hygromycin B) and Bacitracin (antibiotic) which commercial growers use in continuous feed for CRD. http://www.abetterchicken.com/product/50101

EDITED TO ADD: Often it is good to follow up with antibiotic after viral as secondary bacterial infection can set in with the extra mucus the viral infection creates.

I've posted some links below to help you figure things out.
Good Luck,
Lady of McCamley

Poo Chart of healthy vs. illness (Compare your poo to one of these)
http://chat.allotment.org/index.php?topic=17568.0

Respiratory Illnesses in Chickens (Very likely one of these due to moist nose and noises made with listlessness)
http://www.barnyardhealth.com/resinindompo.html

Coccidiosis (I don't think likely as I don't think the poo is bloody but rather normal intestinal shed)
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/coccidiosis-how-to-treat-it

Mareks (not likely as your bird is not showing paralysis)
http://www.thecuckoopoultrystudofaustralia.com/mareks-disease.html

 

[Brie6895]

Thank you for that very informative post!! I'm almost sure it is crd or viral. This morning she is not quite as vocal with the noises but just a second ago when I went to hold her she shook her head and mucus went all over me! She does have a bit of a rattling sound. And the loud sound she makes every couple minutes is almost like a honking noise. I just also add that a few of my other chicks do sneeze every so often.

As of right now and last night I gave her some electrolytes and vitamins in the water. What is the name of the medicine I should pick up to cure (if it is viral?) I'm learning more towards viral since my others are sneezing and she now has mucus.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

If it is viral, just like the common cold for humans, there is no "cure."

What we can do is boost the immune system so that the body takes care of things on its own better and try to prevent secondary bacterial infection from all the mucus.

In attempt to do that, for my flocks viral IB, at the beginning of their symptoms (sneezing, rales/wheezing, squeaking) I began Elderberry tincture in the water . I did some reading to see if it would be effective on chickens as it has proven very effective in my family for battling lung colds and bronchitis. I did find some evidence to suggest it is helpful in chickens. Some just give the berries, but I did find some information that suggests the seeds can be toxic to chickens (although reports are that many owners witness their chickens eating the berries with no ill effect), but I chose to give a non-alcohol (glycerite) tincture in water...enough to approximate a tablespoon per gallon. I found it at my health food section in the grocery store. The expensive kind is labeled "Sambicus," but I found a different brand at New Seasons (if you have one of those) that was cheaper. I've gotten the best deal on Amazon.com. Be sure there is no alcohol in it as I can't imagine that good for birds.

I also fed fresh garlic in the feed. Garlic is also an anti-viral and boosts immunity. Chickens love it. Just crush enough so that the feed is "garlicky."

And I kept them on the Vitamins/Electrolytes.

Again, I did that for the first week while symptoms were worse and the virus worked its way through the flock.

After that week had passed of this treatment (and I did see notable improvement after applying those methods), I chose to place them on some antibiotics and a dewormer (worm load will increase in times of ill health).

I looked at the feed store, and after some research, first picked up Duramycin-10 (Tetracycline Hydrochloride) which was indicated as helpful in chickens for IB complications...however with more research I decided to go with Rooster Booster Triple Action because I have laying hens from which I sell eggs, and the wormer and antibiotics in Rooster Booster (Hygromycin and Bacitracin) is FDA/USDA approved for layers. (I sell eggs to my customers through a small farm direct to customer loop hole in my state so I am unlicensed; therefore, I have chosen to never use anything that is not FDA/USDA approved for laying hens.)

You can see Rooster Booster here at this link http://www.abetterchicken.com/product/50101 (Be sure to get the Triple Action Multi-Wormer as there are a lot of Rooster Booster products)

Rooster Booster is spendy in the feed store. I got the 1.25lb container there for about $30. It tells you the formula for small growers....I think it worked out to be about 1/2 cup per my 2 gallon feeder. With the one container, I had enough for my 16 chickens for continuous feed for 1 week.

I continued the elderberry tincture and garlic for that week as well, but discontinued the Save A Chick vitamin/electrolyte as the Rooster Booster has a lot of vitamins in it.

At this point they looked and acted healthy with no chickens exhibiting symptoms except for one hen that still had some mild squeaking (coughing)...she had been hit with it the hardest.

Good laying did not come back for about another month.

I did lose one hen due to kidney complication (known to happen with IB)...she went down fast early on. I have one hen that is laying extremely fragile eggs (typical of IB as it can hit the egg duct...likely the one who coughed the longest). I will likely have to cull her. But the rest have been restored to good health and good laying. (Yea!)

Anyway, that is what I did in my circumstances and I think it all helped.

Hope this proves useful for you.
Lady of McCamley