Multiple issues in hen; looking for ideas on what is wrong?

[PaisyQ]

Okay, about 5 days ago I noticed one of my hens has bumblefoot. I decided to try the tricide-neo treatment, before attempting surgery. We have been using that for five days now. Bumblefoot is not getting worse at this point; but not sure it is getting better, either. Other symptoms have been appearing since, as well:

I noticed at the time I caught the bumblefoot that she seems to be lighter than she was before winter hit.
She is losing feathers on her breast; not sure if she is picking them, or if someone else is. She also has a generally unkept appearance; she is one of the rooster's favorites, but I don't think she is taking care of her feathers herself.
Today when I picked her up to take her inside for treatment, she started wheezing. This seems to be stress related, since she's only doing it when I pick her up, or try to handle her.
She has been bedding down seperately from the rest of the flock at night. This started a couple days ago.

She is not acting ill. She eats well, drinks well, is the first one out the door when I open it in the morning. There is no discharge from her eyes or nose. She has been laying all winter, and her lay rate has not changed. She is inquisitive when in the kitchen with me, inquisitive when I bring treats out to them. Generally acting like she normally does. Her crop seemed rather large and soft last night, but it was completely empty this morning. I'm not sure what else to check for, or how to treat... if I should treat?

 

[PaisyQ]

Today the wheezing seems to have stopped, but she sounds congested when she clucks a lot. The bumblefoot appears to be a little bit better; still as swollen as before, but it is softer, and she doesn't pull her foot away when I touch it. The scab is also starting to pull away from her foot. Not sure if that is good or not.

She had a ton of watery poops during the day today. This surprised me because this was not an issue, even from over night last night. But she also drank a lot today, I think about 3/4 of a quart just since this morning. I also started adding a vitamin/electrolite mix to her water last night. Harder to tell how much she ate; I don't have a good bowl for her sick cage, and she spilled a good deal of it. But she's still bright eyed, inquisitive, trying to check everything out. Doing a lot of pecking and scratching around in the space she has.

 

[MrsBrooke]

Isolate her immediately, if you haven't already.

A bumblefoot infection has a core that MUST be removed, or the infection can become systemic and kill your chicken. It is staph, and it is NO fun to have.

There are several excellent bumblefoot surgery videos for how-tos... I promise you can do it and I promise it won't hurt your chicken. She will actually appreciate it afterward.

Soak the foot in warm Epsom salt water, peel the black scab off, and get that core OUT of her poor little foot!

As for losing weight and watery poops, when was the last time you wormed your flock? Has your mama been laying eggs regularly?

MrsB

 

[PaisyQ]

Isolate her immediately, if you haven't already.

A bumblefoot infection has a core that MUST be removed, or the infection can become systemic and kill your chicken. It is staph, and it is NO fun to have.

There are several excellent bumblefoot surgery videos for how-tos... I promise you can do it and I promise it won't hurt your chicken. She will actually appreciate it afterward.

Soak the foot in warm Epsom salt water, peel the black scab off, and get that core OUT of her poor little foot!

As for losing weight and watery poops, when was the last time you wormed your flock? Has your mama been laying eggs regularly?

MrsB

Thank you for the reply. She has been isolated since I noticed the wheezing, so, about 3 days now. I had been reading up and watching videos for the bumblefoot surgery, but I had to order some of the supplies online, and I am still waiting for them to get here. They should arrive tonight. I read about the tridide neo treatment while looking up about the surgery, and surprisingly, I was able to find that locally. I figured it wouldn't hurt to try it out while waiting for the surgery stuff to arrive. I think it has made some improvement, but I am still unsure.

My main concern right now is the resperatory stuff. It's progressed again. She is now panting after any exertion. Still sounds congested when she clucks. Still have watery stools, but she is still drinking a lot. She seems agitated today. She's been in my spare bathtub, with a dog gate around that to keep her in. First two days she was unconcerned with getting out, just spent a lot of time pecking and scratching at whatever she could, but today she won't stay in. I've moved her into a large cat carrier. More secure, but a lot less space for her. She will not let me hold her today. Becomes very agitated if I pick her up. I was not able to get a good look at the bottom of her foot because of this, but the swelling is down on the top. Otherwise, no new symptoms. Still clear eyed, no discharge from the nose, and for all that her stools are wet, her vent is nice and clean.

Her lay rate may be declining. She laid all winter, about every 2 to 4 days. It's been 3 days since her last egg. Will have to see if she lays tomorrow. I last wormed in the spring.

 

[MrsBrooke]

Thank you for the reply. She has been isolated since I noticed the wheezing, so, about 3 days now. I had been reading up and watching videos for the bumblefoot surgery, but I had to order some of the supplies online, and I am still waiting for them to get here. They should arrive tonight. I read about the tridide neo treatment while looking up about the surgery, and surprisingly, I was able to find that locally. I figured it wouldn't hurt to try it out while waiting for the surgery stuff to arrive. I think it has made some improvement, but I am still unsure.

My main concern right now is the resperatory stuff. It's progressed again. She is now panting after any exertion. Still sounds congested when she clucks. Still have watery stools, but she is still drinking a lot. She seems agitated today. She's been in my spare bathtub, with a dog gate around that to keep her in. First two days she was unconcerned with getting out, just spent a lot of time pecking and scratching at whatever she could, but today she won't stay in. I've moved her into a large cat carrier. More secure, but a lot less space for her. She will not let me hold her today. Becomes very agitated if I pick her up. I was not able to get a good look at the bottom of her foot because of this, but the swelling is down on the top. Otherwise, no new symptoms. Still clear eyed, no discharge from the nose, and for all that her stools are wet, her vent is nice and clean.

Her lay rate may be declining. She laid all winter, about every 2 to 4 days. It's been 3 days since her last egg. Will have to see if she lays tomorrow. I last wormed in the spring.

You know what's best for your chicken... Not her!

When your supplies arrive, I'd wrap her up in a towel and place another towel loosely over her head to make it dark to calm her. You've got to get the infection out of her foot.

For respiratory stuff, Tylan 50 (tetracycline) injectable works well. It's available at almost any feed store and it's fairly inexpensive... one bottle will last you FOREVER (unless you have 1,000 chickens). You can dose it orally or inject it. Either way, you'll need a needle and syringe to get the medicine out... It's 1 cc for standard and large fowl, .5cc for large fowl pullets and bantams (you can divide the dosage in half and give morning and night daily). Search "Go Team Tube Feeding" at the top of the forum for tubing food/water/meds into birds.

Keep her confined, for sure. Once you have the core of the staph out, having antibiotics in her system will only help. It's possible that the bumblefoot is beating down her immune system so that a respiratory infection set in.

If you wormed last spring, it's coming up on a year since that time. When everyone is healed up, it could be a good idea to worm them with some Valbazen or Safeguard (both also available at 99% of feed stores) as a preventative to make sure no one is about to be overrun with parasites. Just my opinion.

MrsB

 

[PaisyQ]

Laid an egg late yesterday. I think that is why she was acting agitated, and wanted out of the tub. I don't have a decent nest box area for her in there. She's back in the tub now, and perfectly content. Will have to see about getting her something to lay in before she's due to lay her next egg. Still panting, but not as much as yesterday, still sounding congested. Eating and drinking like normal. She no longer has watery stools. I stopped giving her the electrolyte/vitamin stuff in her water; I think that is what was causing the stool issue?

We did bumblefoot surgery today. Very nerve racking for me. Did remove the scab, and it had what I guess was the core attached. Seemed rather small to me. Tried looking around for anything that might still be in there, but didn't find anything, so cleaned the foot up, applied medicine, and bandaged her up. Keeping my fingers crossed I got it all.

 

[MrsBrooke]

As long as the mass in her foot doesn't have a hard nodule still in it, you got it. You did a great job. <3

Just keep her calm and quiet and let her heal herself. Glad to hear she's happy in her tub.

Were you able to track down any Tylan? Have you considered worming them soon? Just curious!

Congrats on your successful surgery. I hope it all came out.

Let us know if anything new comes up.

MrsB

 

[seminolewind]

I agree with MrsBrooke. I think she needs an antibiotic. Tylan is good, does it cover staph as well?

 

[MrsBrooke]

I agree with MrsBrooke. I think she needs an antibiotic. Tylan is good, does it cover staph as well?

I know it's good for respiratory issues... Although I've found that TerraVet water-soluble powder is the best tetracycline for mycoplasma. Unrelated, probably.

https://sites.google.com/a/poultrypedia.com/poultrypedia/medicine-chart

According to this handy-dandy chart, it looks like Denagard would be your best bet for treating BOTH staph infections AND mycoplasma. (Don't give with amproliums for Cocci.)

You can get it online from vet supply stores... Apparently, it tastes bad... I saw it recommends adding sweetner to the water to get the birds to drink it.

Tylan is good for: Infectious Coryza, Respiratory Mycoplasma, Necrotic Enteritis, Ornithobacterium Rhinotracheale, Borreliosis (Spirochetosis) (copy/pasted)... I didn't know Tylan 200 is better for adult birds than Tylan 50. I learn something new every day on here!

MrsB

 

[PaisyQ]

Her respiratory issues still have me scratching my head. There is no other symptom right now than the occassional panting, and the sort of congested sound that she makes while she clucks. I've been trying to read everything I can find, and I can't really pin point what might be the problem with her. She is acting and looking perfectly healthy otherwise. I did find Tylan and have been giving her that for 3 days now, but do not think it is making a difference. Going to continue with that until day 5, then decide what to do next.

I'm a bit concerned about the foot. Swelling is going down, but now that that is less of an issue, I think I can feel a hard nodule in there yet. So, I think I may have missed some of the infection. Going to wait it out a couple days to see. Been reading a bit and I think I want to get some penicillin for the bumblefoot. Unfortunately we have a major storm coming in tonight, and travel is not recommended tomorrow. I will have to wait until sunday to gather more supplies.