I've got this tiny 1lb Serama I've had for a year. She came with toes falling off from what I now suspect is really severe scaly leg mites, and she's down to one toe on each foot, and gets regular leg treatments to help the mites. She was in isolation in December while clearly in some pain from her toes. The feet seem fine now, but at the end of her isolation, she got sick with something else. before you ask, there's no vet I've found within 3 hours of here that will see a chicken, and we're in lockdown, so I'm kinda winging it.
She was breathing heavily and a bit wheezy. VERY hungry and very thin. One day I found her with an eye frozen shut, but no noticable discharge. I fed and watered anything she wanted (tomatoes and eggs) by hand twice daily, a few hot baths and some vap-o-rub. Looked pretty critical for a few weeks. For a bit, while she was breathing heavily, I could see her inhale, her nostril would puff up, and then a little tiny bit of air would suck in from the corner of her eyelid!!! A few times one side of her face looked swollen.
Eventually a weird head movement put me onto thinking gapeworm. I couldn't see anything down her tiny throat, so I ran a 5-day course of safeguard anyway.
That was almost 3 weeks ago, and she's perked up a bunch, but her head is still really pale. Almost a yellow tint (if it were liver-related, my research says she'd be dead by now.) Her peacomb is shriveled and kinda greyish. Anemia? Her feathers seem a little brittle and scraggly especially on head and tail, which could just be a product of being trampled by bigger birds, or a lack of nutrients?
Now, I feel she might pull through fine with time, but last night I found my oldest hen (9 yrs!) on death's doorstep with either thrush or trichomoniasis -- totally unexpected, except she had a stuffy nose back in December. I tried to hydrate and give pedialyte, but she didn't make the night. I didn't see that coming! She had tons of cheesy thrush and laboured breathing, runny eyes.
Around the coop I sometimes hear a few wheezy breaths at night. I've given the three culprits a look-over, but I don't see signs of thrush and no confirmed gapeworm.
I don't know what to do next. Do I spend the time giving all 45 chickens and ducks a dose of safeguard? 5 days of doses? Ivermectin in the water (for leg mites?) I brought my feeders and waterers in to sanitize, and will be adding ACV to water for a while. How about my pale-faced bantam?
She was breathing heavily and a bit wheezy. VERY hungry and very thin. One day I found her with an eye frozen shut, but no noticable discharge. I fed and watered anything she wanted (tomatoes and eggs) by hand twice daily, a few hot baths and some vap-o-rub. Looked pretty critical for a few weeks. For a bit, while she was breathing heavily, I could see her inhale, her nostril would puff up, and then a little tiny bit of air would suck in from the corner of her eyelid!!! A few times one side of her face looked swollen.
Eventually a weird head movement put me onto thinking gapeworm. I couldn't see anything down her tiny throat, so I ran a 5-day course of safeguard anyway.
That was almost 3 weeks ago, and she's perked up a bunch, but her head is still really pale. Almost a yellow tint (if it were liver-related, my research says she'd be dead by now.) Her peacomb is shriveled and kinda greyish. Anemia? Her feathers seem a little brittle and scraggly especially on head and tail, which could just be a product of being trampled by bigger birds, or a lack of nutrients?
Now, I feel she might pull through fine with time, but last night I found my oldest hen (9 yrs!) on death's doorstep with either thrush or trichomoniasis -- totally unexpected, except she had a stuffy nose back in December. I tried to hydrate and give pedialyte, but she didn't make the night. I didn't see that coming! She had tons of cheesy thrush and laboured breathing, runny eyes.
Around the coop I sometimes hear a few wheezy breaths at night. I've given the three culprits a look-over, but I don't see signs of thrush and no confirmed gapeworm.
I don't know what to do next. Do I spend the time giving all 45 chickens and ducks a dose of safeguard? 5 days of doses? Ivermectin in the water (for leg mites?) I brought my feeders and waterers in to sanitize, and will be adding ACV to water for a while. How about my pale-faced bantam?
