Penelope isn't improving with antibiotics, now what? What could it be?

[Lyris]

It's been over three weeks since Penn got sick. Limping, blue comb, and weird chirping. The vet diagnosed pneumonia and put her on antibiotics. She didn't respond to them, so we switched to a different one. We've tried doxy-tyl, Baytril, and Tylan for her. I had another hen who had the exact same symptoms, but she recovered. That hen is now laying eggs with a very thin shell. A different hen has a blue comb off and on with no other signs of illness, but she's the top hen so she could be hiding it. Whatever it is doesn't seem to be an injury since it's more than one hen, but I have no idea what to look for next. Vitamin deficiency? She's been taking rooster booster, but it's not always every day. She readily eats and drinks. If it's a vitamin, what should I be looking for? They mostly free range in the yard, but they have access to layer feed all the time. I don't think it's the heat since she limps even when we get cooler weather. After two thousand dollars without answers I'm kind of desperate. I can't afford all the expensive testing my vet new wants to do (I switched to a better vet) I also don't want to put her down unless there's absolutely nothing that can be done... Since it seems to be a problem with my other hens I also need to try to identify it before I lose all fifteen chickens. If it's not an illness, what do I look for? Could it be something they ate? The heat? Vitamins? An ancient Egyptian curse? At this point I'd try anything to help her.

She likes to lift this one foot up and walk weirdly. My top hen spends a lot of time with her so that Penelope can lean against her and clean. I'll see if I can get a better video later, but she almost windmills her foot to walk. She's improved to the point of getting out of the coop and walking the yard, but she won't fully recover.

 

[Eggcessive]

The limping could be injury, or she may have signs of Mareks. Was she vaccinated? Respiratory diseases can be viral, such as infectious bronchitis that cause chirping or sneezing often, and may also cause some thin or wrinkled egg shells. Antibiotics will not help IB virus, but they can help with MG. If you lose a bird, the best way to know if there is an infectious disease is to have your state vet do a necropsy. What state are you in?

 

[Lyris]

The limping could be injury, or she may have signs of Mareks. Was she vaccinated? Respiratory diseases can be viral, such as infectious bronchitis that cause chirping or sneezing often, and may also cause some thin or wrinkled egg shells. Antibiotics will not help IB virus, but they can help with MG. If you lose a bird, the best way to know if there is an infectious disease is to have your state vet do a necropsy. What state are you in?

The thing is, if it was an injury, why would it show up right when my other hens had the same symptoms? And my other hens have blue combs off and on. Maybe the injury is just bad timing and a coincidence? Neither vet could find an injury and her testing came back "unremarkable" for a blood/fecal test. I'm not sure what all they tested for though. I don't know if they were vaccinated. I adopted them from someone who decided they couldn't handle chickens. They have started laying within the last year, so young. I guess there's an avian flu going around as well? I'm in Utah.

 

[Eggcessive]

Can you post a picture of the blue combs? Is it just at the tips or back of the comb? Do they have large combs? Avian influenza is pretty dramatic, and you would probably lose birds. Symptoms can include hemorrhages on combs and wattles, swollen combs, and legs. If you lose a bird, the best way to get a diagnosis is to keep the body cold, and ship it overnight to your state vet lab for a necropsy.

 

[Lyris]

Can you post a picture of the blue combs? Is it just at the tips or back of the comb? Do they have large combs? Avian influenza is pretty dramatic, and you would probably lose birds. Symptoms can include hemorrhages on combs and wattles, swollen combs, and legs. If you lose a bird, the best way to get a diagnosis is to keep the body cold, and ship it overnight to your state vet lab for a necropsy.

I can get one in the morning. It seems to be bad in the morning, then fades as the day goes on. I don't think it's heat. It starts at the back of their comb. Usually the tips, but I've seen it spread further down the comb. Penelope has a super dry comb too. I've noticed several of the other chickens having breathing issues as well. They all sound congested. I haven't lost any though. I'm hoping for the best.