Poorly girl

[Blondie654]

Morning,

I have a couple of hens for the children and a couple of days ago two of my hybrids sat out in the rain the others went in and saught shelter but these two decided to have a shower! My Buff hybrid (Buffy) is a little snotty and sneezes on occasion where as my white hybrid (Sophia) seems quite poorly. Her comb is not the pretty red it was a few days ago, she is making a purring type noise while breathing and her nose is also snotty (clear discharge).I also attached a picture of how she looks under her wing.. she seems to have got a little dirty and its gone all hard and stuck together.. should i bath her? She attempts to clean herself and seems to be drinking and eating. I have brought her in the house in a box today to keep an eye on her. She has been running around the garden as normal but not with the same amount of excitement as normal.

I started putting Apple and garlic cider vinegar in their water yesterday afternoon but wanted to check if anyone knows what i should do? They are all about 23 weeks old.

Thank you

 

[Wyandottes7]

They likely have a respiratory diseases. Respiratory diseases are quite common in chickens, especially during wet and cold weather. They usually spread quickly, so I would isolate the birds that are showing the symptoms. I'm not sure exactly what respiratory disease your bird have, as many respiratory diseases have the same symptoms.

If this respiratory disease is viral, you can't really treat the disease itself. With viral diseases, you just have to wait until they go away on their own. However, in case this is a bacterial respiratory disease (which are just as common), and to prevent a secondary infection if its viral, I'd start treating with antibiotics. If you don't feel comfortable giving injections, a water soluable antibiotic like Duramycin or Terramycin may work. However, a better antibiotic would be Tylan50 injectable. Its a good antibiotic for respiratory diseases. You should be able to find Tylan at a livestock supply store, and the Duramycin too, should you decided to use it instead. The dosage for the Tylan50 is 1cc for large birds (over five pounds), and about .5ccs for smaller ones. Its given as an injection into the breast muscle once daily for five days. Here is a link to giving injections to chickens: http://shilala.homestead.com/injection.html

While giving antibiotics, don't eat the eggs, and don't give the birds any yogurt or probiotics.

 

[foreverlearning]

I don't know what is wrong with her right now, but a bath is a great idea. Give her a nice warm bath, and blow dry her on low making sure you get the under feathers dry as well. By cleaning her you will be able to tell what mess is new and what was just from running around the yard. I like Dawn for a soap, but really you can use just about anything. Chickens love baths and mine like light rains. Keep her warm and check what pops up on her after a bath. Let us know if anything changes.

 

[BantamLover21]

I agree with Wyandottes7--it sounds like your flock has a respiratory disease. The antibiotics mentioned should help if it is bacterial (or if you just want to prevent secondary infection), though they will not help if it is viral. In that case, the only thing you can do is give supportive care (warmth, vitamins ,etc.) and hope that the bird's immune system can fight the disease off. If they can't, then culling is preferable, as the birds will always carry the disease and even show symptoms.

As long as she doesn't seem too weak (bathes can be the downfall of really sick birds), I would go ahead and wash her. Make sure the water is warm (90-95 degrees), use a mild soap/shampoo, and make sure to rinse thoroughly. Pat dry and then with a towel and then let her dry on her own, or use a hair dryer on low. She may have gotten herself dirty while running around in mud/something else; the other cause of the stiffness could be her snotty nose. Chickens usually sleep with their heads under their wings, so her nose may have dirtied the underside of her wing while she slept.

Good luck!

 

[Blondie654]

Ok update.. after being in the warm all day her comb is now red again however still floppy. She has not really drunk much and eaten a little. She has diarrhea and yet seems ok in herself.. will give her a bath and dry her off tonight and see how she is in the morning.

As i'm in the UK i cannot purchase the drugs iver the counter and have to go via a vet.. will they be able to tell if viral and bacterial?