Respiratory infection - vet visit & prescription list

[905silkies]

Hiya! I brought a beautiful new bird home: Milkshake, a one year old chocolate Orpington. I believe the stress & heat brought on the illness as I picked her up the hottest day of the year (when it was 42C with the humidex).

She has been gurgling when she breathes & sneezing, though her comb has colour & she’s eating & drinking.

The vet prescribed 1mL Metacam 1x daily for 3 days, and 2mL SulfaDiazine (antibiotic) 2x daily for 7 days. We are about 2.5 days in & I haven’t seen much improvement yet. Still gurgling/sneezing. I wanted to start this thread to provide updates on progress & hopefully get some insight from others who have had a very, very congested hen! Pic below of Milkshake’s trip to the vet.

 

[905silkies]

It’s now Monday morning. Meds were started Friday evening. It’s been so difficult to get the antibiotics into her with a syringe & I feel like some isn’t getting swallowed.. ugh. I did find a better method to get the meds into her, & that’s soaking watermelon in it. It’s the only thing she goes totally nuts for!

She is still gurgling. Her appetite isn’t 100% – she’s ignored some scrambled egg & mealworms, & doesn’t really do much with her regular feed. She is ravenous for the melon though, which will at least keep her hydrated in this heat!

She did get out of the barn & dustbathe/peck around in the compost pile for quite a while yesterday, and desperately wants to join the flock though I won’t let them intermingle.

 

[C Siena]

Do you ever wet her dry food? Most of ours devour it. I write this just for her to have more nutrition and she will get moisture from the wet food.

Hopefully you will see improvement today.

 

[Eggcessive]

Did the vet know much about treating chickens? Sulfa antibiotics are usually not the first choice in treating a respiratory infection in chickens. There are viruses such as infectious bronchitis wheich antibiotics do not treat, mycoplasma or MG which may be treated with Tylosin or Tiamulin, and then coryza which can be treated with sulfa drugs. Coryza causes swollen eyelids, gunky mucus from the nostrils and beak, and stinks. Is her crop emptying overnight by early morning if you check it before she eats or drinks at daylight? Many times a crop problem may cause crop contents to back up into the throat causing gurgles. It would be good to figure out if she has a crop issue or a respiratory infection/disease. Do you hear rattles or crackles when she breathes most of the time? Are there any bubbles or foam in either eye? Have you checked with the seller about her symptoms?

 

[Eggcessive]

Here are some excellent vet videos of how to give medications to a chicken:

 

[905silkies]

Do you ever wet her dry food? Most of ours devour it. I write this just for her to have more nutrition and she will get moisture from the wet food.

Hopefully you will see improvement today.

That’s a good idea. I’ll try that!

 

[905silkies]

Did the vet know much about treating chickens? Sulfa antibiotics are usually not the first choice in treating a respiratory infection in chickens. There are viruses such as infectious bronchitis wheich antibiotics do not treat, mycoplasma or MG which may be treated with Tylosin or Tiamulin, and then coryza which can be treated with sulfa drugs. Coryza causes swollen eyelids, gunky mucus from the nostrils and beak, and stinks. Is her crop emptying overnight by early morning if you check it before she eats or drinks at daylight? Many times a crop problem may cause crop contents to back up into the throat causing gurgles. It would be good to figure out if she has a crop issue or a respiratory infection/disease. Do you hear rattles or crackles when she breathes most of the time? Are there any bubbles or foam in either eye? Have you checked with the seller about her symptoms?

She is not gurgling all the time, just when I start chasing her or she gets a little spooked. She sneezes occasionally. No discharge from eyes or beak. The symptoms began the day I picked her up; it was the hottest day of the year so far (43C) & I believe she overheated & got overly stressed on the way home. She was completely normal when I examined her at the breeder’s.

Sending a swab away for labs to determine what’s actually ailing her. Costing me a small fortune, but hey. Better be safe than sorry.

 

[905silkies]

We’re now at day 11 of this respiratory issue. Less gurgling, but still some open mouthed breathing & sneezing. It seems to be worst midday. She’s eating & drinking, and runs very fast if watermelon is involved.

The antibiotics, SulfaDiazine Trimethroprim, were finished at day 7. I had hoped to see more improvement by now, but she’s at least quite stable & content.

 

[Eggcessive]

It is good that you got some testing to rule out the 8 or more respiratory diseases.

 

[905silkies]

It is good that you got some testing to rule out the 8 or more respiratory diseases.

I haven’t got the sample tested yet… nobody will test in except the veterinary university & it’s like $10000000, lol.