Now I have another emergency!

[DellaMyDarling]

Sickly chick is still trying to starve herself to death. Doing what I know how.

At night lock up I could hear loud wheezing gurgling.
It's the hen I posted few weeks ago regarding odd behavior.
She's continued to act slow, frequently with tail lowered, avoids a lot of normal chicken things the flock does. She kinda just stands around all day and I've had to do several butt baths for seriously gross poo stuck to her. She's about 4.5.
Now she's gurgle breathing super loud. This is new.

So what do I do for her, and beyond her, I'm seriously concerned about biosecurity.
Are my chick deaths related? Are they related to this hen?
Brooder is in same shed as the coop.

 

[Henriettamom919]

It sounds like a respiratory infection.

Remove her as soon as you can make a secluded space. You'll need to clean your coop with new bedding and a vinegar scrub.

She'll probably need medication, you can try vitamin support with electrolytes but if she's not eating you'll need to feed her yourself adding droplets of treated water between bites.

*IF* it's bacterial you can try antibiotics which might help. Whatever you choose you'll need to do for the rest of your flock.

 

[Henriettamom919]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/treating-upper-respiratory-infections.755483/

First response lists appropriate antibiotics (Duramyacin and Terramyacin).

Best of luck! I hope everyone is okay!

 

[bobbi-j]

Quite frankly, I would not keep this chicken around. I prefer to cull for the health of the rest of the flock.

 

[DellaMyDarling]

Thank you. I'll remove her from flock tomorrow AM and see if I can treat.

I am uncertain I wish to spend much money for this particular situation. Getting those meds on hand will be important for future cases, yes, but a non egg laying grumpy old bird that's spreading illness?
Maybe that's cold
I'm in a cold mood over all this

Biosecurity measures have me really anxious.
I really cannot afford to dump out all the deep litter in the coop.
I can certainly make a bleach mixture and spray everything, I'd just have to move the brooder first.
Always worried that's not enough.

 

[bobbi-j]

Thank you. I'll remove her from flock tomorrow AM and see if I can treat.

I am uncertain I wish to spend much money for this particular situation. Getting those meds on hand will be important for future cases, yes, but a non egg laying grumpy old bird that's spreading illness?
Maybe that's cold
I'm in a cold mood over all this

Biosecurity measures have me really anxious.
I really cannot afford to dump out all the deep litter in the coop.
I can certainly make a bleach mixture and spray everything, I'd just have to move the brooder first.
Always worried that's not enough.

I meant that I would permanently remove her from the flock. I wouldnt' treat her. I'd use her to fertilize my garden or maybe plant a rose bush over her if you're feeling sentimental. I don't think you're being cold at all. I call it being practical.

 

[DellaMyDarling]

I meant that I would permanently remove her from the flock. I wouldnt' treat her. I'd use her to fertilize my garden or maybe plant a rose bush over her if you're feeling sentimental. I don't think you're being cold at all. I call it being practical.

That's exactly the Misters thoughts. He's a bit annoyed that I'm stressing over it.
I get caught up in the morality of any situation.
Is culling without attempting to heal wrong? Not necessarily spending money on a vet and medicine, but at least trying the things which are within our means because that's what we should do?
Or, is it wrong to put her in a crate for days away from her flock trying to fix her when I might need to cull anyway, but I can say I tried? Meanwhile, she might jeopardize more birds.

 

[bobbi-j]

That's exactly the Misters thoughts. He's a bit annoyed that I'm stressing over it.
I get caught up in the morality of any situation.
Is culling without attempting to heal wrong? Not necessarily spending money on a vet and medicine, but at least trying the things which are within our means because that's what we should do?
Or, is it wrong to put her in a crate for days away from her flock trying to fix her when I might need to cull anyway, but I can say I tried? Meanwhile, she might jeopardize more birds.

In my opinion, it's not immoral to end an animal's suffering. I believe that we have dominion over animals and it's our responsibility to manage them in a humane way. You need to think of her quality of life before anything else. In a crate for days to heal isn't cruel in my opinion. In a crate for weeks on end, however, is stressful on the bird and I wouldn't do that.

I also don't think it's immoral to put an animal down for the health of the rest of the flock. If you believe that she is making the rest of the flock sick, it's OK to put her down. It's best for the flock. If one chicken is expensive to medicate and treat, how much more is it going to cost to treat the whole flock? It's a hard call to make, I know, and you are the only one who knows what's going to be best for you. I just don't think that it's immoral to humanely kill an animal if it's suffering or going to spread disease to the rest of your flock, herd, or whatever other group of animals you have.

 

[Saaniya]

Sickly chick is still trying to starve herself to death. Doing what I know how.

At night lock up I could hear loud wheezing gurgling.
It's the hen I posted few weeks ago regarding odd behavior.
She's continued to act slow, frequently with tail lowered, avoids a lot of normal chicken things the flock does. She kinda just stands around all day and I've had to do several butt baths for seriously gross poo stuck to her. She's about 4.5.
Now she's gurgle breathing super loud. This is new.

So what do I do for her, and beyond her, I'm seriously concerned about biosecurity.
Are my chick deaths related? Are they related to this hen?
Brooder is in same shed as the coop.

She's having all Respiratory signs u should start baytril

 

[DellaMyDarling]

Son returned from animal check and said one of our healthiest birds just"threw up."
Says she drank water, walked a few steps, projected water back out.

What in good Goddess is going on with the birds?!
Place everyone on lockdown and remove brooder from shed is my instinct here.
I have electrolytes, vitamins, and NutriDrench. I will put SOMETHING on my credit card if there's one product you feel has the best chances of flock treatment. I do feel that HenX still needs to go based on long-standing symptoms and behavior.

Please advise before I lose my mind entirely.