Isa Brown troubles...

[FrizzleFreak]

Symptoms: lethargic, opens mouth when breathing, eyes closed, head does a typewriter motion (you know, goes across then comes back?) Seems a little off balance. Otherwise fine, is on medicated water. No discharge, no diarrhea, no mites, nothing.
I had heard that other people had had troubles with their Isa Browns? I'm down to one of four. Whatever it is doesn't seem to be contagious. This one has lived a lot longer than the others, which all just dropped dead. She(the one I have) was a midget, about half the size. She's at least 6 months, but size-wise she's about 12 weeks. She's about the size that the others died.
P.S.A couple weeks ago, 1 Brahma hen dropped dead with no symptoms. Related? they were in the same pen, both were clean of mites....

 

[LynneP]

Have you checked her crop? Are there any materials which are long and fibrous which might be difficult to digest? Have they been wormed recently?

Search for recent posts under 'crop bound' or 'crop stasis'. Sometimes these birds bob their heads when trying to pass the food onwards from the crop and can seem to be choking. Any blue on tips or comb or toes?

If this turns out to be the situation, you wil have to work hard to bring her back, but it can be done. Took me a week to get a hen back and it can take longer.

But it *could* be something contagious, passing slowly from one individual to another. Don't bring any birds in or let any be rehomed. If you lose another a necropsy may be a good choice so you can decide what else needs to be done.

 

[FrizzleFreak]

Circulation was good this morning, but I haven't been home yet. Crop is normal, but she doesn't appear to be eating. She also seems to have paralysis of the legs. I'm PRAYING for not Marek's.
Something that I just realized: Wasn't there something that was passed by earthworms? She ate about 50 of them over the weekend, cause we were gardening and she loves them so much. Would that work so quickly?
They haven't been wormed recently. Their diets are mostly grass and bugs and stuff like that.

 

[FrizzleFreak]

She's walking aroudnt the cage, eating and drinking...I'm not letting her out until she's drunk all of the medicated water that she needs to.

 

[Judy]

Gapeworms are passed by earthworms, I have read here.

 

[LynneP]

She may have had a bit of indigestion from those worms...*fingers crossed*...

 

[FrizzleFreak]

She's making it so hard to keep her in the cage! She makes a break for it every time I open it, and she just acts so darn healthy......Should I leave her in for a whole month? Just to make sure the contagious period is over? THen again, she probably gave it to her whole pen if it WAS contagious...I think she had indigestion.

 

[LynneP]

Well, last week when my hen was crop bound she hated the cage and eventually I put her back in the flock, but I was reasonably sure by then there was nothing contagious. Covering the cage with a cloth may quiet her.

I don't think it's the breed, my birds are similar to yours and I didn't lose any. Mind you mine were brought to our co-op from a local source and I had them at less than 12 hours after hatch. And you have lost the others, this one is undersize...so might be an organism in them, and we don't know if your Brahma had same thing or not.

It's a judgment call. For example if you thought she had mites, chances are it's throughout the flock so you might as well treat together. If you think something contagious is in one bird and you have a chance to isolate the source, then separation is the better choice. You've had various birds arriving, so it's a difficult task to make a judgement. I wouldn't bring in any more.

Do you have any pics, or is there anyone local who could give you some assistance? Not sure antibiotics are the answer but you've started and will have to discard any eggs she produces- was she laying?

 

[FrizzleFreak]

She isn't laying (probably because she's so undersized) There isn't really anything to take a picture of, she's just completely symptom free now. I think I will let her go out soon, but maybe wait a week, since it was a while between her and the Brahma.
Thank you so much for your help. You are a life saver.