Infection or virus?

[Wyorp Rock]

Hi,
So to update, both hens are now very very sick, I have them in the kitchen in a dog crate, I am feeding them emeraid every four hours and they are both having metacam, the first one is still on antibiotics but her breathing is really ruckly, her eye is not getting any better, so I fear it must be a virus.Would you continue with the antibiotics ? (She has had four days of me dosing her directly and before that five days in her water).
The second hen has no respiratory symptoms but she does have fowl pox on her comb (two blisters so far). She is just sitting hunched up with her eyes shut. I am not giving her antibiotics as i know they won't help.
I'm so sad for the poor little things.

Can you get photos of the eyes and of the hens?

Any lesions inside the beak from the Fowl Pox?

I'm sorry they are both sick. You are probably right about it being a virus if they are not responding to abx.

 

[StellaP]

The first photo is the good eye of the hen with respiratory issues, the second is her bad eye, the last photo is the hen with pox

 

[Wyorp Rock]

They don't feel well do they.

Do they have any lice or mites?

I'd keep ointment on the eye to hopefully help keep it open. Careful not to rub very hard to keep from spreading the pox.

 

[StellaP]

I treated with ivermectin when I got them two weeks ago, no sign of either, but I am now treating with flubenvet just in case it's gapeworm.

 

[StellaP]

I have more questions (sorry), the hen with the fowl pox on her comb is getting emeraid twice a day and is eating a tiny bit on her own (mainly scrambled egg, but some layers pellets and porridge oats), her poop is awful ( photo attached), can you suggest what this indicates please? ( she was treated with ivermectin three weeks ago, so I don’t think she has worms, she is 18 weeks old so could it be coccidiosis?
Also the hen with the respiratory issues has not responded to the flubenvet so it can’t be gapeworm, she has been ill for three weeks now with no sign of improvement, if this is a virus shouldn’t she be getting through it? She had Tylosin and doxycycline, but not amoxicillin, should I ask the vet to try that?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I have more questions (sorry), the hen with the fowl pox on her comb is getting emeraid twice a day and is eating a tiny bit on her own (mainly scrambled egg, but some layers pellets and porridge oats), her poop is awful ( photo attached), can you suggest what this indicates please? ( she was treated with ivermectin three weeks ago, so I don’t think she has worms, she is 18 weeks old so could it be coccidiosis?
Also the hen with the respiratory issues has not responded to the flubenvet so it can’t be gapeworm, she has been ill for three weeks now with no sign of improvement, if this is a virus shouldn’t she be getting through it? She had Tylosin and doxycycline, but not amoxicillin, should I ask the vet to try that?

Ask the vet if they can run a fecal float on a sample of her poop to see if Coccidiosis is a problem.

If that's not possible, then yes, I'd treat for Coccidiosis. Amprolium, Toltrazuril or a sulfa antibiotic can be used for treating Coccidiosis.

 

[StellaP]

Just got back from the vets, I must have known what you were going to say!! I took poop samples and a throat swab, they are testing for coccidiosis and culturing the throat swab to see if it's bacteria.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Just got back from the vets, I must have known what you were going to say!! I took poop samples and a throat swab, they are testing for coccidiosis and culturing the throat swab to see if it's bacteria.

Oh, I'm glad you saw the vet. Getting the testing and culture may be helpful so you can figure out the best treatments to give.

Let me know what you find out.

 

[StellaP]

So an update, when I got the other baby hens up this morning the grey one was beak breathing, so I decided to take that one and the two poorly leghorns to an exotic vet in Lisbon, (my local vet is a farm vet and seems to have very limited skills with poultry), good job I did as by the time I’d booked an emergency appointment and got them all crated the little grey baby was gasping for breath and making the most awful rasping noise.
The vets were amazing, (at one point there were five interns in the consultation) they have done throat swabs, fecal floats (one intern is doing a paper on internal parasites so this was free) and an injection of amoxicillin, I have three more days worth of antibiotic injections, and I have a new supply of metacam. The vet said she will give me antibiotics for the rest of the flock, but we decided to wait until the swabs come back before treating them to make sure it is going to work (unless they get sick in the meantime). She suggested I get a nebuliser and she will send me a prescription for meds to use in it.
She is worried it may be bird flu, or if it’s an infection or virus that it’s very virulent and as they are so sick they may not make it.
I’m praying for a miracle.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

So an update, when I got the other baby hens up this morning the grey one was beak breathing, so I decided to take that one and the two poorly leghorns to an exotic vet in Lisbon, (my local vet is a farm vet and seems to have very limited skills with poultry), good job I did as by the time I’d booked an emergency appointment and got them all crated the little grey baby was gasping for breath and making the most awful rasping noise.
The vets were amazing, (at one point there were five interns in the consultation) they have done throat swabs, fecal floats (one intern is doing a paper on internal parasites so this was free) and an injection of amoxicillin, I have three more days worth of antibiotic injections, and I have a new supply of metacam. The vet said she will give me antibiotics for the rest of the flock, but we decided to wait until the swabs come back before treating them to make sure it is going to work (unless they get sick in the meantime). She suggested I get a nebuliser and she will send me a prescription for meds to use in it.
She is worried it may be bird flu, or if it’s an infection or virus that it’s very virulent and as they are so sick they may not make it.
I’m praying for a miracle.

Hang in there.

I'm glad you were able to get them to this other vet, it sounds like they are working hard to figure out what's going on.

Thank you for the update, I sure hope they get better, please keep me posted.