I know I should have quarantined, but.....

[Camelot Farms]

If you decide to treat for corzya, then I recommend SulMet. I would treat everyone just as a precaution.
Make sure that you also offer yogurt (plain vanilla) to put back the good bacteria as the Sulmet is going to wear out their digestive tract.

I would consider giving ACV in thier water for a little boost also. Cant hurt.

So sorry this happened.

 

[RM44]

Thanks. My plan is to just keep six hens for eggs and for the novelty. I am the only one in the neighborhood who has chickens (as it is technically against the covenants; I'm a maverick!). I don't plan to breed or sell them, but I do plan to give away and/or sell their eggs once they are in full production.

Thanks for all the encouragement and advice.

 

[STEPHANIELAUREN]

ahww

im so sorry your going through this i am too, with what im pretty sure is coryza, my 2 show quality silkies and my showgirl have it and h ave for the last 2 months! seriously ive tried duramycin, and the terramycin eye ointment stuff! nothing works, its not getting better

im going to have someone come out and test them, and help me with injecting tylan cuz ive heard its tricky, but i hope you girls get better!

 

[RM44]

A sort of bad news/good news update.

First, I did contact the guy I got the sick chicken from. He went totally bananas on me, yelling, screaming and then hanging up on me after telling me if the chicken has an odor, maybe I needed to clean my pens out. I tried warming him up in conversation before even asking him about any possible outbreaks, but he didn't appreciate my efforts and just went totally nuts on me. I realized a) he was never going to be reasonable and honest with me; and b) based on his aggressive, mean and defensive posture, he probably knew he passed me a sick bird. So no help from him.

But then I called the guy I got my first chickens from. This man sold me such incredibly healthy, beautiful large birds, and his place was really clean and well planned out. I told him what happened, about the coughing, swollen eyes, smell, etc. He told me that most of the time in the conditions I got the other birds from, it was probably just a cold. (the conditions of the other man having a very overcrowded pen from which he gave me 2 chickens.) And the first guy recommended I keep the light on to keep them as warm as possible, and that I put my chickens on an antibiotic and use medicated feed for about 7 days. After less than 48 hours, most of the flock has stopped rattling/wheezing, and are back to running around the yard acting normally. There are only 2 chickens still rattling, and even that is significantly reduced from where it was yesterday. I think I might have escaped any serious harm, but it's still early. Everyone keep their fingers crossed for me.

 

[Cetawin]

I am so sorry you are going through this but I must admit that I am shocked at how the man who sold you the sick birds reacted. That is despicable. Having said that, let me tell you that chickens do not catch colds. It is either viral or bacterial or neurological if they get sick. Keep the sick birds separated as others have stated, that is the only hope you have of not infecting the remainder of your flock.

If you cannot find a vet to run labwork on one of your sick birds, you may need to contact your state vet for information. They can be very helpful in helping you to diagnosis a problem and recommend treatment. If they are laying age, please do not give them medicated feed. You are better off giving them antibiotics through their water.

 

[RM44]

Thank you. Yes, I was shocked too. The conversation went something like this:

Me - hey, remember me? I traded you those 2 roosters for two hens about a week and a half ago? How are you? How are the roosters working out for you?

Him - yeah, I remember. They're fine. What's up?

Me - well, you know....that red hen I got? Remember it had a bad eye? You pulled the eyelid back and saw that there was an eye, but the lid was swollen shut? Well, when I got it home, I noticed it had a very bad odor to it (the bird). Anyway, I put both that one and the other hen in with my other 4 chickens, assuming it was just a bad eye. But I realize now that I should have quarantined them first. I think that red one might have been sick, and now one of my original hens is also sick with similar symptoms plus a wet, rattley cough. Anyway, I was just wondering if you had any sort of outbreak on your farm lately, that perhaps might be similar to what I'm experiencing? I'm just trying to find out what might be wrong so I know what to do to treat my hens? I've done some research on the symptoms, and I'm afraid it might be infectious corzya. Have you ever heard of that? Have you had anything like that on your place lately?

Him - well, it didn't come from me! I haven't ever had any problems. My flock is clean!

Me - Well, I'm not very experienced but I've done some research, and the most distinctive thing I noticed is that this bird has a very foul odor. It smells almost like a dead corpse.

Him - Well, if it has an odor, maybe you ought to try cleaning out your pens!

Me - I do clean them out. Once a week actually. I researched chicken illnesses and found that only the corzya has a symptom like that. If you haven't had any outbreaks, I'm glad, but I do want you to know that you might want to keep an eye on your flocks because I think they may have been exposed.

Him - (mumbles something, curses and hangs up on me).

2 minutes later, he calls me back!

Him - Let me tell you something! If you think I intentionally gave you a bad bird, I'll be glad to give you my license number and you're welcome to report it to the State Agriculture dept. I have them inspect routinely. I am licensed to sell birds and I have never ever had a problem. Maybe before you call up accusing me of anything, you ought to get your facts straight. And by the way, only an idiot would trade two perfectly good laying hens for 2 roosters! I thought we could do business together since I was doing you a favor, and now you call me up complaining and accusing me of passing off bad hens on purpose!

Me - I think you are misunderstanding the purpose of my call. I was calling to get information from you in hopes that I could figure out whats wrong, so I would know how or what to use to treat my flock. I have not accused you of anything.

Him - then maybe you need to learn when to shut your mouth! I already told you that I didn't have a problem, and then you go and make a comment about how I need to keep an eye on my flock because they've been exposed. You are accusing me of passing it on to you, after I told you I didn't have a problem! And you just kept talking. I don't need that!

Me - I am sorry you misunderstood my purpose. After you told me that you didn't have any problems, I still felt it was the responsible thing to do to tell you that you should keep an eye out. I do believe the hen was sick when I got it, and I got it from you, so I thought my comments were more of a warning.

Him - well, if you think the thing is suffering, maybe you ought to do the right thing and get your husband to put it out of it's misery instead of wasting time calling me up accusing me of passing on a sick bird. You need to do the right thing and learn when to let it go!
(Then he hands the phone to his wife and tells her to talk to me). I told her I hoped that if they did detect anything later on, that I hope they would call me, but I doubt I'll hear from them again.

I was absolutely horrified. But at the same time, I now think he's guilty. His defensiveness was just too suspicious. I didn't write down his license number, but now I wish I had.

 

[elmo]

Glad the treatment you're doing seems to be working. Just a thought, though. You could have multiple things going on; the black specks on the comb could be nothing more than pecks, or it could be an early symptom of fowl pox.

 

[RM44]

The bird with the black spots is definitely "low man on the totem pole" around my flock and the flock it came from. It absolutely could be pecks. This particular bird has been less than interested in feeding or getting out in the run, from the time I brought it home. However, 2 days on the antibiotics and it's out in the run, acting silly and not getting picked on as much! It is acting like a totally different bird today.

Oh and Btw Cetawin, why not feed medicated food to layers? I'm not planning to eat the eggs for a month after taking them off the meds? Just curious. Any knowledge is helpful.