Newbie with sick pullet - not sure what to do

[fiddledeedee]

Hi

I'm hoping someone can help me. I bought 3 Australorp x Isabrown pullets about 2 weeks ago and within a day noticed that one of them was stretching her neck, trying to clear her throat and breathing with her mouth open. A few days later she developed a runny nose (I thought that her beak was dirty from drinking and then pecking in the dirt) and now she is making the occasional noise like a cough and has bubbles in her eyes. I have contacted the woman from the small business that sold them to me but she hasn't got back to me yet.

Any ideas what it could be? Do you think that it would be unreasonable to ask that she exchange her for a healthy bird if it is something serious as she was obviously sick when she was sold to me?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Elite Silkies]

If you have housed the sick bird with the others, then I would think that you have put them all at risk.

Hopefully, someone with a little more knowledge will come along and help you out.

You can check out www.msucares.com , they have a list about all diseases and give a detailed explanations.

 

[obe10]

the breathing w/her mouth open and runny nose could be a respiratory illness of some kind

 

[fiddledeedee]

I am worried that it might be CRD. When I went to pick them up and expressed my dismay that they had been debeaked (which was not mentioned on the website I bought them through) the woman who sold them to me told me that her supplier always debeaked their birds because they would attack each other due to the overcrowded conditions they lived in. In retrospect I probably should have said "thanks but no thanks" at that point. Apparently these kinds of environments are breeding grounds for lots of diseases.

She is coughing/sneezing a bit today and her nose is running. Otherwise she seems fine - very perky, interested in food etc.

Unfortunately I can't seperate her from the other birds. This is my first foray into chicken-keeping and we only have the one secure pen...and a dog that would almost certainly attack the chooks given half the chance (another unforseen problem!). In any case, I think the damage is probably done as I've had them all in together for just over 2 weeks now

Can any Brisbane based people advise me on any treatments I can buy from the feed store that might help her?

 

[threehorses]

You might want to add something to your title that says you're in Australia in case any other Australians see and want to help.

Could you not possibly quarantine her in a dog crate or something similar? A garage? If so, that could work for now. I can't stress enough how much easier life can be with out her being in with the other birds.

I would supplement them all with a multi-vitamin at least if you can, one packaged for use for poultry. I'm not sure which products they have there. You could also give cod liver oil misted on the feed twice or three times a week to provide an extra bit of vitamin A for respiratory healing.

What antibiotics are you able to get for poultry in Australia? I tried looking up feed stores without much luck. And I know you have more restrictions on such things.

You'll want to clean and flush her eyes daily with a sterile saline wash for eyes. Clean her nostrils ("nares") as well daily. You can even put some tumeric (the spice) on their feed in hopes that she's just fighting something and that it won't go further. But if you can help with the antibiotics available, etc, that would be wonderful please. Then I can be of better use to you.

 

[max101]

Im from nsw do they have foul smelly discharge smell there noses. If they do they have coryza perhaps. Oxy b is a broad spetrum anti botic that treats respiratory ailments

 

[threehorses]

Quote:
I think you're right. The smelly discharge is a hallmark of coryza. It's not necessary for it to be there for it to be coryza, but if all the symptoms are there and it is a nasty fetid smell then likely it is coryza. OxyB is oxytetracycline which Merck's says is good for treating coryza - if used correctly. What I've read was 5 grams per litre of drinking water. But read your label. If it says something different, and not very clear, let us know. Oxytetracycline usually requires a 14 day treatment program so I'd do it that long. Do *not* use any yogurt or milk during that period, but you will definitely want to use some other probiotic to prevent secondary scours or fungal infections. If you can get acidophilis capsules for humans, you can break those into a quickly eaten damp mash for poultry with their regular feed, water, and 1 capsule's contents (or one crushed tablet) per bird. Or you can simply use the powder and mix it with just enough applesauce or water to allow you to make it into a ball or pill and pop it into her mouth or make a paste and squirt the tiny bit into her mouth. Or hide in a small ball of cooked oatmeal. use your imagination, but some form of living bacteria is needed each day of treatment and then every other day for 2 weeks thereafter.

So an example of treatment might be:

Weeks 1&2
Isolate the bird, completely.
Treat her daily with oxyB in the water as directed x 14 days.
Acidophilis contents once daily in a treat.
Crumbles or pellets, free choice; mist 3x's weekly with cod liver oil before serving.

Other flock: use cod liver oil to boost immunity

Weeks 3&4:
Continue cod liver oil twice a week
Continue yogurt every other day

 

[fiddledeedee]

I've had a reply from the seller yesterday. She told me that it was a cold caused from the stress of the move and easily cured with some antibiotics that she will supply. I'm hoping that they arrive today as the poor girl is definitely worse and obviously uncomfortable. She is sneezing/coughing all the time this morning and her eyes are bubbly (she only got those symptoms as it got colder later in the afternoon before). She's still very interested in eating and such but she looks terrible

 

[fiddledeedee]

Oh I forgot to mention, the discharge doesn't appear to smell so hopefully it's not Corza.

 

[max101]

no no no no chickens do not get colds. The seller is lying. Coyza appears when a chicken is stressed if it has been exposed. The sellers chicken probaly has been exposed so all of her flock maybe carriers. If your chicken survive they also will be carriers meaning their is a great possibilty you may infect other chickens. Ring your rspca for help. If you decide to keep your chicken you will have to have a closed flock it is the only way to contain coryza there is no cure foor it. I hope everything goes fine for you and your chickens.