Newly Sick Silkie, unknown cause

[Gregschickens]

I have a silkie thats about 3 months old, and I went out today to feed them and such but I knew something was wrong when she didn't run out to greet me. I knew where she was though and so I picked her up, but she smelled just awful. Her eye was closed and her other one was watery looking. I've taken her out of the coop and put her in a pet carrier so that I can watch her. I really love this silkie, and shes always been very spunky. Including yesterday. Which is one reason I'm so surprised. She was acting fine and she smelled fine yesterday. It's hard to believe that she'd be like this in one day, which is why I'm so concerned. Any help you can give me would be greatly appreciated. Also, none of the other birds are acting differently or are having the same thing happen to them. Thanks a lot.

 

[Gregschickens]

Also, I know some doctors and nurses so is there any medication that they might have access to for people and that I could get from them today that could help this chicken? I ask because I used to keep exotic pets and there was a lot of medications that were meant for people but could be repurposed for animals. Thanks again for whatever you can tell me.

 

[kelar]

What is the smell coming from & what does it smell like? Does she have diarrhea, poop stuck to her, a wound somewhere, bad breath or what? We need more info to help.

 

[stargirl]

Oh poor baby!

The bad smell is a sure sign of infection. My girls had a bad respiratory infection earlier this year & they both smelt unpleasant and 'farmy' all over. Different to usual.
Bubbly/sticky eyes definitely suggest some sort of infection too - maybe respiratory? I'd look at getting her some antibiotics asap.

Someone will be along soon with better advice though! x

 

[Gregschickens]

I guess the smell is coming from her face although its hard to tell. She has a very small amount of poop stuck to a couple feathers--it doesn't really seem like a noteworhty amount. It smells like a really strong gag-worthy animal smell. I looked her over and I didn't see any wounds or anything that looked unusual. It seems like its all on her face. Her beak looks a little different, like its softened or something, and she does have some gunky looking stuff on her beak too.

Stargirl, thank you. What kind of antibiotics did you use?

 

[stargirl]

Are you in the US?
My girls were put on Tylan soluable, but I'm in the UK and we don't seem to have as many options available as the Americans!

Although I'm no expert, it def sounds like respiratory to me. If she'll let you, pick her up and hold her to your ear to hear her chest as she breathes. Is it rattly or wheezy? Sneezy? Blocked nose/opening her mouth to breathe?

Sometimes these infections are viral and don't need antibiotics, but if she's smelling bad I'd say a bacterial infection has set up. The rubbish thing about any respiratory infection is that although they recover well with antibiotics, they remain carriers for life. Search the forums to find out a bit more about this - it means keeping a closed flock or *gulp* culling the affected birds. Closed flock won easily in my case, but its a personal choice.

Keep us posted and good luck!

 

[stargirl]

Aha! Much better advice!:

chickenpiedpiper in another thread :

Bubbly eyes is cause by an upper respiratory issue, pushing fluids into those passages is not a good idea (sorry) The air is cause by block sinus, so more fluid probably wouldnt feel good.

Try to do a little diagnostic work to help us narrow down the problem.

Is the bird weasing and gasping? Means the lungs may be involved, try a tetracylin in the water

Are the eye tissues swollen? This may be a Mycoplasma, and you will need Tylan or Pennchlor 64 Soluble

Is there a bad smell around the head of the bird? That would be Infectios Coryza, and you will need Sulfadimethoxine.

The right med is neccesar, the wrong antibiotic will actually just make the bug stronger by making it immune. Choose the right med, and watch closely, if you dont see a DRAMATIC change in 3 days, you have the wrong med!

Isolation is a good Idea if only one bird is sick, but sadly with upper respiratories, chances are good they all have it, and just one or two are currently showing the symptoms. When you seperate a bird, it looses its place in the flock, so try not to keep her away for too long. Medicate everyone, dont take chances! And remember, even if they look better after a few days, you must keep medicating for the full time (per med) or your bug will get resistant to the meds, and come back stronger!
Good Luck.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/post.php?tid=528404&qid=6738997​

 

[Gregschickens]

Thank you, yes I am in the US. Can you still eat the eggs if they're carriers of the infection? I would certainly prefer having a closed flock over killing them because I do have 11 other birds, most of which I like.

 

[stargirl]

Yes, their eggs are not affected in any way, except for during antibiotic treatment (and sometimes for a little while afterwards).
They're just carriers, so they're not unwell in any way. There are a few other considerations, like not wearing the same shoes to visit your hens and someone elses, but the main thing right now is to get your floc k back to full health.

Not sure if you caught my second post quoting piedpiper - great advice there

 

[Gregschickens]

Oh yes thank you for that! Do you know if it can affect people at all?