Respiratory distress after-care for sick bird and rest of flock.

[RedheadErin]

I searched on the forum, and found a lot of information about which antibiotics to use for a sick bird and so on. now I have 2 more questions:

1. What can I do for my little sick hen to help her recover (besides giving her meds). The vet said she was too skinny. I handle her all the time and I really hadn't noticed!

2. What should I do preventatively for the rest of the flock?

 

[chicmom]

Hello! If she's a bit underweight, you could feed her some hard boiled, chopped up egg yolks. They just love them and there's alot of protein. Basically, just let them rest, and I even run a vaporizer on mine if the respiratory illness gets really severe. It's worked wonders for me.

She might be a carrier of this illness, so if you do put her back with the flock, she could seem well, but still spread the symptoms. There's a product called Denegard on the market that works great. You can put it in their drinking water for three days, once a month as a preventative.

Oh, and worming also helps as far as the weight gain.....If you haven't wormed, then falbazen (sp?) is a greate wormer.

Good luck with her and take care,
Sharon

 

[RedheadErin]

Im not sure how she could be a carrier, since we have had her for 5 months and this is the first sign of any of them getting sick.

In our house alone, this bird, one of the cats, and I have all had respiratory diseases this winter. Could it be this crazy weather we are having? I know cruddy weather doesn't actually CAUSE diseases, but it always seems like wet seasons bring on more coughs and sneezes. ( GAH! NOw one of my other cats is sneeziing! Will this ever end? )

I let her out of the box to stretch her legs for a minute, and she has eaten some chicken food, some cat food, and something she found on the floor

. ALso pooped as soon as I let her out! It was a little foamy in the white parts, whih I suspect is from all the meds/shots/fluids she got last night. SHe looks pretty much like her self now, but I aim going to put her back in her carrier in a dark room with the vaporizer for a couple of days, jsut so she can rest some more. She will likely stay in the house until spring now, with jsut short visits outside for fresh air and exercise.

How do you know if they are underweight, anyway?

 

[foxypoproxy]

X2
Many respiratory diseases are chronic/contagious and can make them carriers for life even after they recover from it.
They will show no signs of still being ill unless they are put under stress and they can still spread the disease to other birds.
Some diseases can be transferred on your skin, clothes, hair, shoes, water dishes, feeders, etc (which makes it very hard to avoid).

Hello! If she's a bit underweight, you could feed her some hard boiled, chopped up egg yolks. They just love them and there's alot of protein. Basically, just let them rest, and I even run a vaporizer on mine if the respiratory illness gets really severe. It's worked wonders for me.

She might be a carrier of this illness, so if you do put her back with the flock, she could seem well, but still spread the symptoms. There's a product called Denegard on the market that works great. You can put it in their drinking water for three days, once a month as a preventative.

Oh, and worming also helps as far as the weight gain.....If you haven't wormed, then falbazen (sp?) is a greate wormer.

Good luck with her and take care,
Sharon

 

[dawg53]

Other than underweight; how old is your bird and please describe her symptoms....sneezing, bubbly eyes, gurgling, snotty nostrils, etc...? What meds is she taking? Color and consistancy of her poop? I recommend you stop giving her catfood.

 

[RedheadErin]

I dont know how old. She was past laying age when we got her last summer. She is on an antibiotic, and anti-viral, and an anti-fungal. Do you want to know their exact names? Her poop is a little runny but otherwise unremarkable. She has been shedding feathers all week, but her breathing and behavior are much better now. I had her in a steam tent with a vaporizer for the better part of 3 days. She is pretty sick of it, but the rest and steam did seem to help her.

Actually, I didn't mean for her to get the cat food. I keep it in a separate room, and she just came in and started eating it. I guess she was curious about it. Apparently she didn't like it all that well, because she hasn't tried any more of it.