Newbie to forum seriously bummed...

[MrsRodgers]

Hi all..
I have lurked here for awhile, and unfortunately, my first post is a sad one. I have (or had) a flock of thirteen, all are about 7 month old. They all came down with a respiratory problem, and were given antibiotics to help. No yucky eyes, just a runny nose (clear discharge). It seemed at first that they were all better. Several weeks later, my lavender orp hen became lethargic, and seemed to be breathing hard. I separated her, put her in a crate with food and water. I hand fed her, as was interested in eating, but she only lasted a few days. By the time she passed, she was nothing but bones. On that day, I noticed a wyandotte acting lethargic. I again separated her, and two days later (today), she has died. I was in the process of giving the coop a cleaning, and I heard flapping coming from the crate. I looked in, and she was gone. She also had a very pale face and comb, and clear discharge had run from her mouth. I immediately disposed of her, as today was trash day. Now, I have checked out the rest, and they all appear to be healthy, bright combs, alert, eating, scratching around like happy girls. I am waiting for one girl to lay an egg (she is up in the coop now) and then I am going to disinfect. My plan is to move them to another yard while I completely remove every bit of bedding, and scrub down every wall and floor with a water/bleach solution. I'll let that dry, and rake up all the droppings from the yard. I am also going to clean all the waterers, and food tube. I have read a lot of posts that seem to have the same problems, and I think I am on the right track. I believe that the respiratory problem became pnuemonia, and that is what they succumbed to. I hope I don't lose anymore. They are pets, and loved by all of the family. I'm just really sad that they have to suffer.....

Melanie

 

[Fly 2006]

Oh dear, I am so sorry to hear your troubles, I sincerely hope the rest of your girls are ok, you sound as if you are going all out to get rid of the problem, good luck and keep us updated, if you need any advice, this is the place to be, lots of good chicken folk!

 

[MrsRodgers]

Thanks for the kind thoughts! My daughter will cry when she gets home from school....Fanta laid her egg, so now I am off to disinfect the coop. I think I will even spray the ground in the pen with the bleach water...then I will will neutralize everything with vinegar water. It's nice here today, so everything should dry nicely.

 

[MrsRodgers]

My latest update: I have decided that what is going on is more than respiratory. The two hens that died lost weight rapidly. Only one of them showed liquid from the beak when she died. The other simply wasted away to nothing. My lavender roo is also wasting away, however he eats like a maniac, and is acting like nothing is wrong with him. He shows a snotty nose, and I can hear the rattling in his head. No swollen sinuses, no yucky eyes, no bad smell whatsoever. My other Wyandotte is now acting tired, and shows weight loss as well. I have decided that maybe the cause is worms, although I don't see a one in anyone's poop. I have checked the poop chart, and I see no poop that looks abnormal, except for the Wyandotte's, which is a bit watery. I have been dosing all of the girls with Tylan, and giving electrolytes and vitamins. The other hens are the picture of health. I have now quarantined the roo and the Wyandotte, and I am worming them with Wazine. I can't think of anything else that would make my roo lose so much weight when he eats this good, except for worms. Guess I'll see if they both get better. I live at 9000 ft in the mountains, and it's really dry here right now. I wouldn't be surprised if the dust had something to do with the runny nose, but when it goes on for awhile..it's got to be more.

 

[Eggcessive]

If you have a local vet, you can take a stool sample in for a worm check just like you would with a dog. That way you would know what to treat. Wazine is good for round worms, but Safeguard is good and Valbazen is supposed to be best because it kills all known chicken worms (but is expensive and by mail order.) All chickens get worms and many oldtimers do not treat them, but they can weaken a chicken with a respiratory disease, too. If you look up some of the respiratory diseases, weight loss, decreased egg laying, diarrhea, and some deaths are fairly normal. When you use any antibiotic a side effect can be diarrhea, so ACV and yogurt can help.

 

[MrsRodgers]

Thanks, Eggcessive, and I did consider testing. Here in the mountains, the vet's prices are exorbitant. I have looked at a huge amount of information about respiratory diseases...however, my girls don't show certain specific symptoms, so I am at a loss. I do feed them yogurt, however.

 

[MrsRodgers]

Also, I went with Endo-Mectin instead of Valbazine, and I will administer that 10 after the Wazine...there were so many posts about what to use as far as wormers go, so I chose what seemed to be the majority rule. I read here that the 'ectins' were better than the 'zines'.