Second sick bird in a week now isolated...first died...please help!

[Mrs. Feathers]

We lost a 20 week old Wyandotte on Tuesday and tonight have another sick bird I have just isolated. I will report on both of them below as bird 1.(the one who died) and bird 2 (the one I have just isolated)

1) What type of bird , age and weight (does the chicken seem or feel lighter or thinner than the others.)
bird 1 - 20 week old Wyandotte pullet normal weight and well sized
bird 2 - over 2 year old EE hen normal weight and well sized
2) What is the behavior, exactly.
both bird were quieter than normal and isolated themselves from the flock
we noticed this with bird one when it was time to lock the girls in for the night...she was still outside but we have a few who like to sit out when there is a bright moon...we brought her in and noticed nothing unusual...she was the last one off the roost in the am but went outside with the others then we found her dead in the early evening
bird 2 was under the coop when I went in to give some treats to the girls today...she is one of the first ones there usually so I checked for her, found her under the coop and took her to examine and isolate in our old rabbit hutch...she has what I would describe as a very slight upper wheeze...no laboured breathing...kind of like they get when very stressed or hot (it is not hot here right now) as well as the symptoms described below
3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms?
bird 1 only one day and then died
bird 2 we just noticed the syptoms this afternoon...she was fine this morning
4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms?
just these two at this time. I checked all the other girls and they are alert and active
5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.
bird 1 no signs of any trauma
bird 2 limping on her left leg but no paralysis and can move her foot and toes fine
6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.
no changes to feed, water is cleaned daily, coop is clean, all stools on the droppings board and outside in the run appear normal
I am stumped
7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.
Bird 1 I do not know as it happened so quickly
Bird 2 I have isolated so will keep an eye on if she is eating/drinking
nothing new in the diet for either of them though...they are on layers crumble (same food as usual), scratch I make (crushed oats, wheat, boss), and veggie/fruit/greens but nothing new lately
8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.
normal
9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?
isolation
10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet?
if my animals get sick it is ALWAYS on a long weekend!!! What is with that???? Hoping for advice here...have a local feed store that should be open tomorrow so I likely have access to some medication
11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.
nothing abnormal to show in a photo at this time
12) Describe the housing/bedding in use
pine shavings stallion bedding same brand I have been using for years with my flock

note...I have two groups of girls...the first we hatched ourselves two years ago, fed medicated chick starter and have had no health concerns until this point...bird 2 is from this group

the second we purchased as vaccinated day olds from McMurrays. They have been in the coop with the other girls since 4 weeks (from the in coop brooder to a separate section until 12 weeks and all together for the last 8 weeks) bird 1 is from this group...again no illness until this point
the girls from bird 1's group have just started laying and hubby and I thought perhaps she had a problem with her reproductive organs as her death was so sudden...then the second one became ill today.

I appreciate any thoughts or suggestions you have to offer...Thanks

 

[J-Sanders]

Watch bird 2 and if possible get a necropsy done on bird 1. I might be tempted to give bird 2 some support meds such as Poly vi sol and maybe ACV in the feed.

Jim

 

[Mrs. Feathers]

Update...I just went to check her and do a more thorough exam. Took her some of her favorite blueberries which she inhaled...so she is eating. The only other significate thing, in addition to my first post, is that she does seem to have some fluid build up in her lower abdominal area to her vent. Not huge but different than normal. I can't feel anything to indicate she is eggbound. I only had one olive egg today from my two ee's but that is not abnormal. Could this be signs of internal egg laying and maybe coincidental with the death of the earlier chicken, or are we likely looking at something else? thanks

 

[Mrs. Feathers]

Watch bird 2 and if possible get a necropsy done on bird 1. I might be tempted to give bird 2 some support meds such as Poly vi sol and maybe ACV in the feed.

Jim

Thanks...good idea...unfortunatley bird 1 has gone to the landfill but if we lose this one we will definately take it in...hope not thought. We have poly vi sol in the emergency kit so I will give that a try.

 

[froggiesheins]

I am suggesting looking up internal egg laying / egg bound / periotitnis [sp?] because of the fluid build-up feeling...but how that could possibly be related to your young bird would be a mystery.

 

[J-Sanders]

Update...I just went to check her and do a more thorough exam. Took her some of her favorite blueberries which she inhaled...so she is eating. The only other significate thing, in addition to my first post, is that she does seem to have some fluid build up in her lower abdominal area to her vent. Not huge but different than normal. I can't feel anything to indicate she is eggbound. I only had one olive egg today from my two ee's but that is not abnormal. Could this be signs of internal egg laying and maybe coincidental with the death of the earlier chicken, or are we likely looking at something else? thanks

Well if she is getting an infection her egg laying will decrease and if it something nasty it may stop all together. If she isn't running a fever I would try to give her a warm soak and see if that helps her bottom. Does the vent look normal?

Jim

 

[Mrs. Feathers]

Thank you froggiesheins and Jim.
Her vent does look normal. We thought the first one we lost might have been something internal but then wonder what are the chances of two in one week? It would be a much better case scenario than something running rampid throughout our flock. She seems settled for the night. I will check her in the morning and give her a warm soak. It seems like a pretty weird conincidence that they would both have laying issues in the same week but I am hoping that is what it is.
Thanks for the help

 

[Mrs. Feathers]

Our gal made it through the night and is sitting on my lap wrapped in a towel after a bum soak. Her vent looks totally normal and she had two good sized normal poops last night. She does not feel as warm as she did yesterday so I am hoping no fever. How does one take a chicken's temp anyways?
Her little vent is working like crazy (I put a little olive oil around it) and she has significantly more swelling in the area under her vent. It feels like a small balloon with water in it.
I am leaning toward this being a separate issue from the pullet who died earlier in the week and treating it like an egg laying issue. Sound reasonable?
I am going to give her a little vitamin water and keep her in a crate inside the house with me.
How often and how long should I give her a soak?
Any other suggestions?
thanks again...worried about my little gal.
Her name is Paddlefoot as she had splay leg and toe issues as a chick...we splinted her (hence the name) and she turned out just lovely.
Crossing my fingers

 

[seminolewind]

Could be the heat. Put ice in the water outside and keep them in the shade. I have 2 that got overheated. I brought each (different times) into the house with air conditioning and each drank gobs of water the next day. Electrolytes too.

The 2nd one I also put on antibiotics because she had a swollen eye.
If I find a bird that is panting so fast they can't drink, I soak them with tepid water, and see if that helps.

If both have wheezing, I would put on a respiratory antibiotic like Tylan. It's just that where are they getting a respiratory ailment from if you only have hatched eggs and day old hatchery eggs.

Vents are constantly working.

Good luck, hopefully this will turn out good from now on.

 

[chickenzoo]

The liquid build up in her lower abdomen is fluid build up from an infection internally. The fluid build up and presses on the organs....often causing the bird to pant in pain. Fluid needs to be drained with a.short 18 gage needle into the fatest part of the fluid far away from internal organs. Often when pierced and drawn out with a syringe...if plunger is pulled out it will continue to flow....let it do this and watch what color.the fluid.is. If it is more clear then she has a better chance of pulling through it with strong antibiotic like Baytril. If it is yolk like it would much harder as the infection is deeper in the egg forming organs....and can keep recurring.
High protein diet can affect some hens and cause egg issues.
Make sure she has no respiratory issues by listening under her wing.to her chest.
Sorry for the loss of your other bird. It may not be.connected..