New hen coughing/sneezing?

[lexgold]

My new Amherst hen started a cough 24 hrs after arriving. She was shivering the first night and now looks fine except for the cough. The male is fine. They were barn kept and my pen is outside with an open fronted coop for shelter. Temps upper 40s at night...60s day. Ideas? Has she caught a chill?

 

[NCIndiaBlue]

I wouldn't think that would be too cold for Amhersts. My Red Golden's did great through the winter. I would start her on antibiotics - adding to her water daily for specified time on instructions.

 

[Resolution]

Grab some raw garlic cloves and peel them. Cut a clove into bite-size slivers, long not short. A bird the size of an amherst can swallow a big grasshopper so don't be too shy.
You'll need to poke at least two whole cloves of raw garlic down her gullet and a few shelled nuts- almonds are probably the best. The garlic kills harmful bacteria and the almonds give her valuable energy she will need to recover. Also, staple gun an old sheet across the front of the enclosure so that they have lower ambient light. Forest birds don't like being in the open, especially hens and if you've just moved them especially this time of year, she is likely very distressed. In the future, try to always keep cranberry gel caps and garlic gel caps handy. You can find both in any decent pharmacy. Don't buy the powdered form only the liquid gel caps. This is something you can just cut open with an exacto knife and drench over some fruit salad for the birds to eat. Ask your feed store if they sell babycakes. They work really well for birds that have been moved and are not feeling too hot. Foragecakes are for the adult birds.

 

[lexgold]

Thanks so much guys. She seems much better and I will be keeping a close eye on her tomorrow as we are forecast temps in the '20s tonight...one thing is for sure...she's not stressed! She spends all day flirting with the displaying red golden next door while her clueless Amherst male wanders around without her!

Resolution...I LOVE the idea of the natural remedies...have been too nervous to give my birds antibiotics.
I dusted them when they first arrived and now I'm wondering if that's what gave her the cough. Can I create a natural dust bath for them and will that be effective against mites?
Also what do you give as a supplement if any to newly hatched chicks?
I just hatched my first red golden chick and a tiny fragile peach golden chick. They are doing great on just chick starter but I bet you have some ideas.
Also I give my birds lettuce and grapes as treats. They also seem to like apples. Any more ideas? Thanks

 

[Resolution]

Quote:
The first most important thing to do for new birds is keep the light level low. New pheasant hobbyists inadvertently distress/harm/kill their birds by putting them into bad situations. Smashing their hard-wired instincts to take cover in the deepest forest when distressed by releasing them into pens that lack sufficient cover and that are too bright- have too many exposed walls/roof etc- this is the major issue. Think forest light- and synthesize it. The birds are more calm and active- behave in more natural relaxed way when in an enclosure that is the appropriate dimness.
Wanting to see your bird because its an ornament is what most people begin with- its logical- as they are accustomed to keeping cage birds-like canaries and cockatiels. Pheasants can't handle that. They are ground birds by nature- most species that you will find to keep as captive species are actually ravine and mountain slope species and so are hardly flat ground adapted- something to really think about- they should always be maintained in such a manner that they can move up and down on solid surfaces that synthesize a steep ravine bank or cliff face- add potted ornamental grasses on these ledges- or go the artifical vegetation route- just give them lots of visual barrier cover that matches the plumage of both sexes- be creative- Cage bird species- are birds that live in tree branches. They don't like to be left in a cage on the floor of your house - They are much more comfortable up high out- of reach of other pets- and- not exposed to intense direct light that would leave them feeling vulnerable to predators and exposure to the elements- . Pheasant-like birds need to have three or four floors of ledges. lofts and shelves- feeding tables- all at different heights and widths- I fully realize the literature out there doesn't suggest this- but do it anyway. Your birds will live longer and you'll be able to observe them behaving as if they come from a real environment and actually have a natural history- one that is completely unrelated to ornamental pheasant exhibition. Zoos have been making huge inroads with naturalistic enclosures and its much cheaper to do this at home where you can recycle old doors and book shelves- dressers and so on- bride your kids into painting exposed sides with naturalistic patterns and colours that help make both sexes feel as if they can vanish by just standing still in one or two places at different heights within their enclosure.

A good rule is to have a quarantine enclosure built that is set apart from your other enclosures. This holding pen should be very dark with a few windows up high and great air circulation and perching with feeding tables up in front of the windows. Water on one side, feed on the other. This way, you can monitor the new birds without contributing to their stress levels. Meanwhile, ask your library to order William Beebe's Monograph of the Pheasants and read the natural history account of the species you are preparing to buy or have already purchased. Go to the task of interior and exterior dressing/landscaping that enclosure. A rule of the thumb for ground birds is to make it so the birds cannot see out of the pen if they are standing on the ground. You want to limit the amount of time they are on the ground and prevent them from pacing.
Use shadecloth to cover large portions of the ceiling and walls. Build feeding shelves/ lofts so that the birds can live most of their day high off the ground in the best air circulation and their food never comes into contact with the substrate of the enclosure as once its been contaminated with feedstuffs the soil is for all intensive purposes ruined as it is a bacterial arsenal in the making.

That rattling cough is an upper respiratory infection. Its the bane of serious aviculturists and its perpetuated by well-meaning and unethical people alike- people that don't realize they are exposing their bird to infection by not paying close attention to details. Fecal material should never contaminate feed. If you feed the birds close to the ground the food will become contaminated. If the birds are not fed adequate nutrition they will consume manure. If the water container is something you would not drink out of its not fit for a pristine mountain loving species like most pheasant species- if it is clean enough drink out of it. This is a good rule to live by. You can't fool yourself. If there is a scum layer of saliva and mucous coating the water container you have a problem. Now that bacterial infection that one bird has is being spread to all the others.
In the event that birds are exposed to any of the above they are going to be stressed when packed up and sold at a swap meet. It's a sad state of affairs.

Apples are nice but are nothing more than pulp and sugar water. Unsweetened cranberry sauce is much better for them and actually helps to boost their immune functions. People eat fruit because it tastes good. Birds eat fruit because it rids their bodies of whatever is ailing them- most of the fruit they eat would not be palatable to people and is filled with seeds that border on the toxic side.
As a rule, drupes are preferable over other fruit and they should be left out before feeding to the point that they are beginning to take on bugs -spoon out the pit or mash them into an enriched finch /budgie seed -now they are rich in insect eggs/larvae as well as nutritious fatty acids and protein.

Cooked sweet potatoes are far more nutritious than just about anything affordable and be loaded up with finch seed, pepper corns, crushed red pepper- basically keep your birds on a spice and herb diet- it need not break the bank- every dollar store has whole shelves just overloaded with spices and herbs no one else is buying. And remember, birds eat bugs that are loaded with stuff that makes them untasty to most other birds. Ground birds have acquired a different set of taste bugs. They crave the pungent, the peppery, the spicy and these materials are loaded with antioxidants and calming stimulants good for the crop/gut flora and a good holistic source of preventative against parasites.

Keep a natural dust bath going at all times- DE/playground sand/ wood ashes/ground cinnamon/ crushed lime-