PLEASE HELP, Losing a chicken a day! UPDATE: CORYZA CONFIRMED.

[Buxton Ducks]

First of all Pullet Suprise, great name!, second of all: thank you! I will read these today.

 

[Pullet Surprise]

I wish you the best of luck. Chicken keeping should be a happy thing and not such a drain.

 

[Buxton Ducks]

UPDATE: A couple more are sick today and my chick brooder is already full! The good news is that Cleo and Edna look fantastic and may be able to join the other chickens soon. Most of my chickens have some watery eyes now but if they aren't that bad, I just leave them be and try to reduce stress. I did not lose any today though. However my first chicken and ultimately favorite chicken is El Diablo the old OEG Rooster and he is now really really bad! Myrtle the silkie is also doing terrible. I bought some electrolytes and vitamins for their water so lets hope for the best. I also keep cleaning out their eyes so they can find their food and water so that seems to be helping.


This is my buddy El Diablo today before I cleaned his eyes



Here is poor Myrtle who is hanging in there but doing terrible



This is Cleopatra who looked as bad as the others before her night in the brooder with some electrolytes and vitamins. She is looking great tonight!

 

[swindledana]

I had some welsummers I rescued from someone. Out of 9 5 of them had swollen shut eyes. I have been doctoring on them for a few days. All but one is doing very well. I took Johnson's Baby Shampoo and washed out there eyes and I used eye wash to rinse the shampoo out. Then I put triple antibiotic ointment and there eyes and inside the eyelids. I did this every other day for a week. Still working on the last one. The others are eating and drinking now and gaining weight. They were really thin when I got them. They couldn't see to eat or drink. I also gave them water thru a syringe and feed them baby food thru a syringe.

 

[Buxton Ducks]

Local vet confirmed that it is indeed infectious coryza. I have only lost one since I took action. Every bird that shows a severe reaction I immediately put in the chick brooder with food and a multivitamin/electrolyte and tetracycline in the water. El Diablo, my favorite rooster (show above), is all better and back with the flock! The three silkies are still very sick but improving daily. It affected hens way more than it affected the roosters and had no discrimination on age. The Turkens seemed to handle in the best and I am pretty sure I got this disease from my newly aquired polish chickens who never showed any signs during this whole ordeal. I quarantine every new bird but it didn't help in this situation. Once a chicken has gotten this virus and gotten over it, they will not show any signs. All my survivors will always be carriers of this disease and therefor I cannot bring in any uninfected birds or give any away. I refuse to "cull" the flock off because they are all beloved pets. QUARANTINE DOESN'T INSURE YOUR FLOCKS SAFETY! Be careful when adopting older birds. Wish my flock luck in the future.


Oh and ducks rule! They cannot contract Coryza!

 

[Buxton Ducks]

Only 2 left in the chicken hospital as of 11/12/2012

 

[tellynpeep]

Good job, and thanks for the update!

 

[gg706]

Thanks for the update and info! I really does help to have others share information.

 

[baabs9698]

If they have crusty eyes, and hard scabs on their combs, could be pox, mine had it *dry version, not lab confirmed but we're pretty sure thats what it is., and i couldn't figure out what was wrong. She wouldn't eat because she couldn't see, I'm sure she would have died if i had let it go. Got some antibiotic for the water, gel for the eyes...(i'm in bed now but will look at what it is and post, it's an antibacterial gel). i babied my little girl to bring her around< i brought her out into the sun, warm packed her eyes to get them open, kept moving the water and encouraging her to drink. (she did very little of this, but once i got her eyes open she perked up a little bit). I offerred oatmeal, yogurt, mealworms, all her favorties and kept fussing with her so she didn't just sit down and give up. this is what mine looked like a couple days ago. She still looks rough but she is doing much better. I don't know what to tell you in case it's something else, but it seems like a really high mortality rate for pox (wet or dry). incubation period is up to 21 days so and it usually moves more slowly through a flock, it sounds like yours have been walloped. I sure hope you get it figured out. I am so sorry for the pain...i know you are going through. Keep a good thought and I will be praying for you!

That much i know if it's pox,

 

[baabs9698]

Sounds like Pox...did they have crusty scabs on other areas of "non feathered regions"?