needin' the unicorn-- all input appreciated

[spook]

YEAH

Sorry about the asprin suggestion. Glad you waited for Uni. I gave my birds asprin (light dose) as I didn't know you could use Tylenol or acetomeniphine, need to find the recommended dose, any suggestions from your personal usage dose?!

 

[onthespot]

mine got like that, listless, watery smelly poo, off their feed at the first few days before they broke out in fowl pox. check her comb for little blistery lesions. Do NOT pop them or mess with them, they just go three times as big and take four times as long to heal if you do. If you leave them alone they heal up on their own in a short time.

 

[kinnip]

Maybe it's just a morning thing, but her eyelids have more colour than yesterday. Last night they were white. The rest of her face has maintained the same shade of red.

 

[dlhunicorn]

I had assumed you had already done so , but you need to separate this bird immediately to a clean temp stable and draft free environment with a high humidity level (can you put her in the bathroom in a cardboard box... on a towel (no shavings or DE as the dust may irritate things more) and hang a wet towel in there for humidity (crack the window open for fresh air)
Flush the eyes copiously with sterile saline (you can make this yourself by boiling a 1/4 tsp salt in a quart of water for five minutes >make fresh daily and flush daily) esuring it runs off away from the beak (you do not want her swallowing it)...
no grass or weeds or insects... offer her live culture yogurt and her normal feed (if she seems reluctant to eat then mix just enough cooked-in water oatmeal to make the feed clump together) and put electrolytes/vit in the waterer if she pants or seems in distress.
Has this bird laid yet? if so then she needs to be switched over to a layer feed (the flock raiser has insufficient calcium really or you must ensure a source of oyster shell free choice for them) and if not then she may be at point of lay which might explain the weird behavior.
Monitor her for any other symptoms and ensure she drinks and does not become dehydrated.

 

[kinnip]

She's in a dog carrier on my ottoman right now. She spent most of the night on the sofa with me. I do have shavings in the carrier with her. I'll remove them. I never thought I'd sacrifice so many towels on the alter of vet care. I'm trying to work up the courage to do the eye flush (animal perceived "abuse" fatigue). She did eat a little crumble and I'm about to give her some yogurt. She isn't laying yet, nor do I think she's close. I don't have any mature Marans for comparison, but the cockerel in her group only started crowing a couple of weeks ago and my big roo shows no interest in mounting her. The panting is a lot better this morning. We seem to have found a happy medium with the AC. All in all, she seems to be improving. Maybe she just ate the wrong thing. One day I'll build a space station coop, then there'll be no more guessing.

Besides, freefall poultry sounds entertaining.

 

[dlhunicorn]

you know, if she was panting for an extended period of time then she needs electrolytes in her water for a couple days (24 hours if she is no longer panting) instead of that ACV... there are some situations where the ACV would be detrimental so stop it for now...give electrolytes a couple days and then fresh water.
You say you have her on your ottoman... I still feel the bathroom at night ( so at the hour they would normally be in their coop roosting and sleeping) with a wet towel for humidity (especially with the eye problems) as humidity is very important for birds and the living room is usually insufficient (should be around 8o%)...
She may not object to being in your living room and "appear" to be calm but that is how they are when stressed...put her in the bathroom or a room by herself especially at night to reduce the stress which is a stressor on her already weakened system....
(do the eye flush in the evening...she will be less active and stressed then)

 

[kinnip]

I stopped the ACV as soon as I noticed the problem. I've been sticking with plain water since she's getting poly-vi-sol and I don't want too many variables to account for. Our bathroom is so tiny and damp it's like an indoor outhouse. Right now she's in my lap. The only symptom that's still apparent is the closed eyes. She just hopped out of that carrier about an hour ago looking spry. She is opening her eyes all the way, but not as often as I'd like. Her eyelids are pale again. I think it's because she's squeezing them shut. Again it could be sleep deprivation, but I think her eyes are becoming more red. It's normal for these birds and I've been expecting it, but photosensitivity would be a surprise.
O.k., now I think she's having me on! Every time I look into her open eyes, she shuts them. I'm not that ugly!

 

[Solsken Farm]

How's the little lady doing? Sounds a bit better, huh?

 

[kinnip]

She's great! She's eating, moving, looking about, and chatting normally. I guess she just ate the wrong thing. Her poo is still a little unusual and she closes one eye more often than the other, but her overall condition and activity level have improved notably. I'm glad I didn't drag her across Atlanta to a vet. It would've been undue stress on us both. I'll probably never really know what it was that made her ill. Thanks Diana. Your help is always appreciated! Thanks everyone for your concern.

 

[Solsken Farm]

SO glad your girl is better, kinnip!