Mycoplasma and possible fungal infection

[ThatCrazyChickenGirl]

we recently had our tiny serama chick die we were raising her and a silkie chick as house pets, and we took her to the local avian vet. He diagnosed possible mycoplasma and gave us antibiotics, but all the stress (she'd recently been moved and recovered from coccidiosis) apparently made her susceptible to a fungal respiratory infection, which the vet said was likely a major cause of death (her necropsy showed pus in lungs and air sacks).

Our silkie is doing well, VERY active and growing. She has been on antibiotics (vet prescribed, oral) for 2.5 weeks now. Unfortunately, she's developed a runny nose despite this, and I've seen her gaping (that weird yawning behavior) a couple times a day. She had swollen eyes, but these vanished after 5 days on the antibiotic. Since she's so young and tiny, the vet can't do all the tests necessary to determine exactly what she has. He's offered to hospitalize her, but she's so very very attached to us that we're worried being alone and in a strange environment would do more harm than good.

She hangs out on a sheet on the bed all day, and jumps happily into my boyfriends lap for snuggles while he's at his computer. She adores him, and becomes concerned when he leaves the room without her. She'd love to ride on one of our shoulders everywhere we go, like a parrot. She's the family dog, I swear. We are terrified of losing her. Our vet is hopeful that she will recover on her own, but he's told us stress is a huge factor in her health right now, and since she's so attached, my instinct is to keep her with her 'flock', especially since my boyfriend is home most of the day, and his younger brother is in love with her as well and hangs out with her whenever we are both out of the house. She's rarely unattended while the sun is up.

Has anyone helped a chick/chicken recover from mycoplasma or fungal respiratory infections before? What can we do to aid her immune system and ease her symptoms? Or, should we hospitalize her after all?

 

[ThatCrazyChickenGirl]

For reference (and cuteness) here are some photos:

With the swollen eyes (first day of antibiotics):

About a week into treatment:

And from this weekend (you can see the improvement in the comb color, but she does have the runny nose):

I'm concerned that her eyes improved so quickly but the discharge is still lingering :/

 

[Eggcessive]

It is unfortunate that your two chicks had mycoplasma, a chronic disease that can come back again, and make the silkie a carrier for life. The first chick may have deceloped air sacculitis, a secondary infection sometimes from E.coli that can complicate the disease. Chicks react much worse to respiratory diseases, and she may always have problems gaining weight and thriving. I would give her chick vitamins and probiotics daily while she is on antibiotics, and then afterward, 2-3 days a week. What antibiotic is your vet prescribing, and how long is it to be given? It seems, that most antibiotics are only given for a specific time, say 5, 7, or 14 days. I would not add any more chicks, since they may become infected since she is a carrier. They do need other chickens for company, but it sounds like she has imprinted on you. Sometimes a little plastic mirror and a small stuffed animal or feather duster can be used to make them less lonely. I hope that you can get her over this infection.

 

[ThatCrazyChickenGirl]

She has a stuffed elephant that she loves (she snuggles between it's legs to sleep). I'm worried about her lacking chicken company, but as you said she will be a carrier for life, and introducing another chick while she's showing symptoms seems irresponsible.

Our antibiotics were prescribed for 14 days, but our vet told us to give them until we run out since she is still experiencing symptoms. I'll post the name when I'm home, but i do remember it starts with a D and we give her a 0.01ml dose twice a day.

For the vitamins, should I be concerned about overdosing? She's still on medicated chick feed. I've gotten both save-a-chick and nutri-drench while we were nursing our poor serama. Is one better than the other?

 

[ThatCrazyChickenGirl]

Also, I've read about Oxine AH for fungal infections, but I've never heard of this being used for chicks. Is it safe for the young ones? Should I use some in this case, since our serama had the fungal (I realize it's not contagious)?

 

[Eggcessive]

She will remain a carrier for life, not just while she has symptoms. Her illness can also return at anytime she is stressed, such as molting time or if she ever lives outside during cold weather. Vitamins with electrolytes should not be used indefinitely, since the electrolytes might cause diarrhea, and she should be getting enough vitamins in her feed. You could some vitamin B complex, ground up in her feed, about 1/4 tablet a couple of days a week. Probios powder, according to label directions or plain yogurt--a tsp a day would be sufficient. After antibiotics drop off to 2-3 days a week.

 

[Eggcessive]

She could have had bacterial air sacculitis, instead of a fungal infection such as aspergillosis. It would have been unknown unless your vet did cultures with the necropsy. Yes, oxine can be used with chickens for fungal infections. Aspergillosis (fungus) is usually the result of wet or moldy conditions. I haven't used oxine, but there is plenty of info about it. I would stick to doing one thing at a time for her, completing the antibiotic, using some probiotics, and consult your vet.

 

[ThatCrazyChickenGirl]

Alright, I will add the yogurt to her feed - she loves mashes.

She's just over 2 months old now, and I suspect she's been exposed to mycoplasma since birth. The serama had a runny nose when we got her from the breeder, but since we are inexperienced we thought nothing of it until it got worse. The breeder told us at that time it was 'allergies' Since she's been a breeder for almost 30 years, I imagine all her birds have been exposed and she was taking advantage of our inexperience.