Orpington has Infectious Bronchitis?

[maggiegigs]

My two girls REFUSE to stay inside regardless of the weather. They are out all day regardless of rain or wind.
One of them has the discharge from her nostrils and eyes that I noticed today. I just shut them up in the coop to dry off w/lamp.
Is there anything I can do or does this just run it's course. I am NOT letting them out in the rain again unless it is sunny. I live in PA and it's chilly.
I believe this started the other day when they were out all day in the rain (free range) and then went into the coop for the evening and they were still damp.
Their environment is cleaned daily w/fresh food and water. So I know that is not the case. Any info would be appreciated. They have been a delight.

 

[CMV]

Your chicken sounds like it may have a respiratory infection. What is the history on your birds? Are they new acquisitions? How many others do you have?

If you have read any posts on respiratory illnesses then you will know that there are 2 schools of thought on the matter. One school thinks of treating the primary symptoms and then re-treating as needed (when symptoms pop up again) for the remainder of a bird's life. The other school culls all ill birds and often sends them in for necropsy to identify what they were ailing from.

Respiratory illness in birds is a significant problem. Most of the diseases that birds get can be treated, but after recovery the birds remain carriers of the disease and will spread it to any bird they have contact with (both directly and indirectly). Any birds that are introduced to a flock must be vaccinated against whatever disease is present or they will become sick and either die or survive to become carriers themselves. Birds will remain carriers for their lifetime.

You need to establish if your bird has a respiratory infection. Then you need to decide how you are going to deal with it. Your state vet can help you out in identifying what's wrong with the bird. You could treat the symptoms, but I strongly urge you to consider culling. By allowing a diseased flock to continue you are risking the health of any bird in your area. Wild birds can carry diseases far and wide. (They may have been the source of your problem in the first place.)

If you want to treat the problem, I can't really be of help because I have a zero tolerance policy for respiratory infections, but if I were you I'd start researching symptoms to establish what your bird could be suffering from. Sorry I couldn't be more help.

Good luck.

 

[maggiegigs]

Thank you for responding in spite of your hand. Hope it heals quickly. Just checked in on her and she appears much better.
Discharge has reduced almost to nill. I am hopeful. She was preening herself under the heat lamp and appeared quite content.

 

[Morgan7782]

I will speak from the not so... Well.. Other reply.

I would mix vitamin/electrolyte mix into the water, and if you have already seperated her that is best. When I spoke with my avian vet she said many virus' do not have a cure all, basically they need to run their course. I would check out the site posted on your other topic because that gives a good list of illnesses along with symptoms and routes of treatment. The bird will be a carrier but I am sorry I so do not share the attitude of the above response.

Your girl may have already had something, and being out in the rain and weather just might have brought it to surface. Especially if you haven't brought any new birds in, I would think these girls came with whatever this is. I

Scrambled eggs, yogurt, oatmeal, all these things are good for the digestion and to make sure she gets all the protien she needs, plus they just smell and taste better then chicken feed I would think.

I am hoping for the best for your girl! And

for you. I know this is hard, but hopefully things will work out and she will continue to show improvement.

Edited To Add:

One other thing you can do is at the top of the BYC page where the Rules, Index and User List are? Click the search button and do searched in THIS forum (ER cures injuries ect) for respitory infections, and that sort of thing. It will come up with posts and maybe there will be a helpful response or advice in one of those posts. The search button is a SAVIOR, definately use it

PMing you as well.

 

[gallusdomesticus]

CMV is right...respriatory problems can be pretty serious and warrant isolating the bird from the rest of the flock. I have used a treatment called "Vet Rx" I bought at my local feed store that claims it's been used since the 1890s to treat colds in poultry. It has camphor and some other ingredients that make it smelll like Vicks Vapo-rub. The substance is put on the bird's wattles and comb and brushed with a q tip on/in her nostrils. It seemed to invigorate the hen I used it on and she recovered. It might be worth a look.

 

[PepsNick]

I follow the cull policy. Won't have any carriers here. Symptoms may be gone, but once they're carriers, than they're always carriers.


Following the Speckledhen commandment #8.

 

[taliarose]

But what about the rest of the flock that may have been exposed but show no symptoms? I have been advised to cull the entire flock (21 - 6 week chicks)

 

[speckledhen]

Exposure doesn't mean infection, necessarily. If it did, you couldn't go into the doctor's office without coming down with everything every other patient had. If you separate and clean waterers and feeders, the others may not come down with whatever it is. And they may have better immune systems, too. That's why you immediately separate the ones with symptoms and change out waterers and hope the others don't come down with it. I will not treat contagious respiratory illness, ever.

There are too many respiratory illnesses to say it's Infectious Bronchitis. Similar symptoms for several of them. Most make the bird a carrier, unless it's something fungal or pneumonia (which are not contagious), and those require assessing the entire situation surrounding the infection, and maybe even testing, etc, to be sure of what it actually is.

 

[taliarose]

thanks...i culled the two today that were whistling and sneezing - who had been quarentined. i am cleaning the coop (for the rest of them) out and sterilizing all feeders and waterers. and they are getting apple cider vinegar and garlic as a preventative. hopefully no more get sick...but i will wait a few weeks before selling any...