Please help me save my bird

[SarahLadd]

Jasper is sick. Something is sickening my whole flock and I still don't know what it is. Necropsy on a chick born sick came back with nothing cultured, negative for MG. 5 birds were swabbed Friday by doctor Porter in pathology from u of m

and I have no results yet

I have been giving her half pill of doxy-tyl for the last 9 days. This morning was her 9th dose and she looks worse than the first day I found her acting dumpy. She showed improvement and looked normal yesterday.

Not eating. Droppings are clear water with no overt smell. Bird sits at drink sipping every 60 seconds. Will not take special food like cooked eggs/cheese

Last weighed a week ago at 533g. Weighs 543g today

Please help. The veterinarian doesn't know what's wrong with my birds and they charge me 385 dollars every time I go. I've spent 3.2k this month in xrays ultrasound necropsy PCR tests doxy injections pills and HPAI test. No answers. This is my favorite bird, I'm crying ugly tears writing this. I can't lose my baby girl

Can anyone help me save her???

https://imgur.com/a/kCqD74H

 

[azygous]

When multiple birds become sick and antibiotics do not seem to quite be effective, then you need to examine for environmental causes. These can include contaminated well water, contaminated feed, toxic exposure to petroleum distillates such as leaking machinery sitting in the spaces where your chickens scratch for grit and bugs.

Sometimes you may have no reason to suspect your water supply if it's not making your family sick. But chickens are far more sensitive to the presence of bacteria in untreated well water. It's been known on this site to have a chicken keeper lose an entire flock to contaminated ground water even though it didn't make the humans sick.

I discovered my leaking log splitter was poisoning my chickens. Others have discovered their chickens were eating toxic fruit that had fallen on the ground. Others tracked the problem to mold growing in their deep litter and poisoning their flock. You need to do some open minded detective work and if you find something suspicious, avoid the tendency to deny it could have killed your chickens. I faced it squarely and accepted that my ignorance had killed some of my chickens, some just new babies. But I had to face it in order to make changes to eliminate the hazard.

 

[speckledhen]

Someone tagged me for this one. I don't have real answers other than if the antibiotic is not doing any good, it could be viral. I've not seen anything really similar, but does not appear to be MG. Did they swab for Coryza? This seems to be a very nasty virus. I'd say poison other than the pus in the eyes and such. There are so many things that this could be and it may be something unusual, not a common ailment. I will tag @1muttsfan and if she doesn't have a clue or a direction, I surely don't. There are things many folks are not familiar with like very strong forms of coccidiosis that can be passed down at hatch-a friend got that diagnosis when chicks kept passing away and neither of us could make sense of what was happening. She was told to give double strength Corid in that instance.
A few years ago, my huge Brahma rooster had a mysterious ailment that was not even respiratory, thought he was dying, had all the symptoms of lead poisoning, but could never figure where he'd get hold of anything with lead in it, so there are occasionally these frustrating mysteries. I gave him supporting care and he recovered, never knew what we were dealing with. I'm sorry I can't be more help. Your veterinarian obviously is out of his depth with this one unless he takes time to research further than what he thinks he already knows. Some will do that and some won't for a chicken. Overall, this sounds like something environmental to me, to be honest, like others have said. Poisoning can take on many forms. I'm sorry I really don't know.

ADDING: azygous mentioned mold. Mold can really do in a chicken, especially if it's in their feed. Look for any contaminants with a vengeance.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Any lesions inside the beak or bad odors?

Eyes that are swollen with pus need to be flushed, pus removed and an ointment like Terramycin put into the eye - do this 2X a day. Pus will not dry up on its own.

Can you please look inside the beaks for any lesions - any bad odors?
Are the crops emptying overnight - you mention drinking a lot of water.

Hard to see the eyes or anything else in the photos - can you get some more pictures?
What exactly has the vet tested for? Have they taken any swabs and sent them to your state lab or???

The pills came with no instructions and I went with recommended dosage from another person that keeps this breed of chicken. She said 1 pill per kg and the bird weighs 530g. This is why I was not sure if I was dosing correctly, where can I get the dosage information so I can give the correct amount?

Doxy-Tyl dosing is on the front of the package.

You've given 1/2 dosing for 9 days.
I'd stop the medication. Get the birds on some probiotics for a few days, then switch to another antibiotic if they are not improving on their own.
You can re-consult your vet for suggestions as to what to use or if you are trying to treat on your own, try Baytril. Dosing is on the label https://allbirdproducts.com/products/baytril-10

I'm sorry that you're dealing with this. Sometimes it can be difficult to treat respiratory disease depending on what they have.
I'd make sure they are getting outside for plenty of fresh air and sunshine, are moving about as much as they can and encourage them to eat a nutritionally balanced poultry feed.

 

[SarahLadd]

Jasper weighs 15 grams more today which is exciting. We are having some quiet bonding time in my studio.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Something is sickening my whole flock

I have been giving her half pill of doxy-tyl for the last 9 days. This morning was her 9th dose and she looks worse than the first day

First bird looked dumpy tail down head down laboring to breathe. Second bird had a swollen eye socket filled with staph like infection. Third bird presented with sinus draining, bubbles and spit in the mouth, labored breathing, constant swallowing, lethargy
Fourth bird presents no other symptoms besides lethargy, water for stool, no appetite

Getting a necropsy on your sickest bird would give you answers.

Is there a reason why you are only giving 1/2 tablet of the DoxyTyl that's only a 1/2 dose?

Any lesions inside the beak or bad odors?

Eyes that are swollen with pus need to be flushed, pus removed and an ointment like Terramycin put into the eye - do this 2X a day. Pus will not dry up on its own.

At 1/2 dose, were you seeing any improvement at all with the ABX? If yes, then get some Tylosin or even some Baytril since they are not going to be used for food and dose each bird to see if they improve.

Not all respiratory diseases are caused by bacteria, some are viruses which have to run their course. Antibiotics can be given to help treat secondary infections.

 

[SarahLadd]

Gotta suspend all my anxiety because it's another holiday week and apparently the university of Minnesota veterinary labs throw spitballs all week when they get a week day off

Pattern recognition tells me I should have another sick bird in like a week.

My coop is clean and dry as hell. One mite infestation is enough to give anyone cleaning ptsd. I don't think aspergillosis is the culprit.

I wonder if I can test for cholera and coryza

I'm replacing all the food and bins anyway out of an abundance of caution... what can it hurt, besides my wallet.

my babies. My heart. Sigh.

 

[kurby22]

I’m so sorry to hear about your poor sweet babies @SarahLadd I know you have put your all into them.

I have a couple suggestions, I had a really bad case of Candida run through my chickens this winter that looked JUST like a respiratory virus in symptoms. Have you tried treating for a yeast infection? Mine didn’t present like I thought they would but the respiratory gunk and mucus went away after three days of Monistat straight in the beak. I also had them getting wet mash that was full of straight Vitamin B and E as well as hemp hearts for added omegas, poultry cell, and some egg yolk. I got to the point I started throwing the kitchen sink at them and was so mad when it ended up being so simple. I have also found probiotics necessary after long antibiotics…but yeasts are common after antibiotics too, due to the changes in gut flora and that was likely part of the reason it seemed the antibiotics weren’t working. It’s worth a try? Hugs

As for the lab costs, have you looked into Research Associates Laboratory down in Texas? I was able to collect live samples and send them in to them and got results back fast. Wasn’t cheap but probably cheaper than Dr Bailey and minus the attitude.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

I'm glad more people are reading and responding to this thread. @SarahLadd definitely needs the knowledge and emotional support from the BYC community, especially since she wasn't getting much from one of her vets, despite all the money she spent.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

@SarahLadd , have you considered tubefeeding? Just about anything you can entice her to eat is better than nothing at all, but tubefeeding will allow you to deliver proper nutrition including vitamins straight to her crop. Tube-feeding may sound intimidating, but is easy to do once you understand how and gather the needed materials. This wouldn't be long-term; only under you receive a diagnosis and she recovers her appetite and strength to eat her regular feed.