Sick bird protocol?

[krthaymp]

I had a 2yo polish hen with a caked rear today. Went to catch her to clean her and she’s sneezing too. Acting fine otherwise… eating, drinking, scratching around and fighting over tidbits. No discharge or swelling anywhere, no red skin, no evidence of mites, fleas, etc.
I cleaned her up and put her back with the others and added electrolytes and vitamins to her water. Forgot to add oregano to their food, but I’ll do that in the morning.
Now what? Should I have separated her? Do I just keep her clean and an eye on her? What can I give her to help her?
It seems like her symptoms match 90% of what could ail a bird, so how the heck do you even go about narrowing down what’s wrong? Are her eggs safe to eat? If not, they all get tossed because I don’t know who laid what.
So worried about bird flu now… there’s a lake near here and one lady had one of her domestic flock on that lake come down with it and they had to cull the entire flock.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Acting fine otherwise… eating, drinking, scratching around and fighting over tidbits.

Is she new to the flock?
Have you added any new birds within the last 30days?

How often is she sneezing?
Did you notice her sneezing before you went to get her or did she sneeze after being caught- did you have to chase her down?

Any mucous, bubbles in the eyes, coughing, facial swelling?

It's not that uncommon for a hen to have some poop stuck to their fluff. I'd clean her up, dry her really well and put her back with her flock. She's eating/drinking, active, doesn't sound like she's sick.

 

[Eggcessive]

Chickens sneeze occasionally if they get dust or feed into their nostrils. They also may get a dirty vent occasionally if they have had some loose poops. Usually a sick bird will appear lethargic, separate herself, and not eat well. So I agree to clean her vent off, perhaps trim any extra fluff there, and keep her with the flock.

 

[krthaymp]

Is she new to the flock?
Have you added any new birds within the last 30days?

How often is she sneezing?
Did you notice her sneezing before you went to get her or did she sneeze after being caught- did you have to chase her down?

Any mucous, bubbles in the eyes, coughing, facial swelling?

It's not that uncommon for a hen to have some poop stuck to their fluff. I'd clean her up, dry her really well and put her back with her flock. She's eating/drinking, active, doesn't sound like she's sick.

She’s not new…. They all came together over a year ago. I do have new chicks in a brooder but they’re inside and I’ve cleaned up leaving each area just in case.

She’s sneezing pretty frequently. 2-3 times in a 5 minute period, and I noticed it before she was caught. She wasn’t easy to catch and took two tries and some cracked corn.

She is my hen that prefers not to sleep on a roost, so a dirty rear is pretty common, but the sneezing is new. No facial or waddle swelling or discoloration, discharge, etc that I could tell. I’ll catch her and check more thoroughly today.

I guess the sneezing just seemed like a lot and her dirty butt worse than usual, and between the lady who just had her whole flock decimated and the chicks I just got I maybe kinda panicked.

 

[Eggcessive]

We’re the baby chicks from a breeder, hatchery, or feed store?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She’s not new…. They all came together over a year ago. I do have new chicks in a brooder but they’re inside and I’ve cleaned up leaving each area just in case.

She’s sneezing pretty frequently. 2-3 times in a 5 minute period, and I noticed it before she was caught. She wasn’t easy to catch and took two tries and some cracked corn.

She is my hen that prefers not to sleep on a roost, so a dirty rear is pretty common, but the sneezing is new. No facial or waddle swelling or discoloration, discharge, etc that I could tell. I’ll catch her and check more thoroughly today.

I guess the sneezing just seemed like a lot and her dirty butt worse than usual, and between the lady who just had her whole flock decimated and the chicks I just got I maybe kinda panicked.

Can you get a video of her actions? Upload video to youtube and provide a link.

Also a couple of clear well lit photos of her face on both sides.

The sneezing is new, are her nostrils clogged with dirt/debris?
Any lesions or canker inside the beak?

I can understand your concern, I don't know when the lady had her flock culled, was it on the news or where did you get that info from?
GA supposedly has no restrictions at this time concerning AI, so while it's always a good idea to be cautious and practice biosecurity but being panicked is not productive. AI comes around every year, it's not new, just search here on BYC you'll find threads that are 10+years old expressing concern.

 

[krthaymp]

We’re the baby chicks from a breeder, hatchery, or feed store?

They’re from a local feed store and they get their chicks locally I think. I know someone who works there, so was able to pull the chicks before everyone had their hands all over them.

 

[krthaymp]

Can you get a video of her actions? Upload video to youtube and provide a link.

Also a couple of clear well lit photos of her face on both sides.

The sneezing is new, are her nostrils clogged with dirt/debris?
Any lesions or canker inside the beak?

I can understand your concern, I don't know when the lady had her flock culled, was it on the news or where did you get that info from?
GA supposedly has no restrictions at this time concerning AI, so while it's always a good idea to be cautious and practice biosecurity but being panicked is not productive. AI comes around every year, it's not new, just search here on BYC you'll find threads that are 10+years old expressing concern.

She’s not sneezing like she was and I gave her a good check over yesterday… she’s the visual picture of health. Nostrils are clear, skin is clear, good color. The only thing amiss I noticed is another chicken had a lump on her toe that does not seem to be bothering her.
Unfortunately, pictures will unquestionably require a second pair of hands. I tried. Hen said absolutely not.

The lady that had her flock culled is in the same neighborhood as my parents and they know her pretty well. I’m not sure who she called, but they rounded up every bird she had and I think took them away, so she didn’t have to do the culling at least. Her birds got it from the local wild waterfowl but the people that came said it was a private lake so there wasn’t anything they would do about the sick wild birds.
I try to be careful about keeping my shoes clean, but the geese there wander and poop everywhere, and my thinking was that the driveway was contaminated and I may have brought it home that way.
I think I probably need a separate pair of shoes only for my back yard.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She’s not sneezing like she was and I gave her a good check over yesterday… she’s the visual picture of health. Nostrils are clear, skin is clear, good color. The only thing amiss I noticed is another chicken had a lump on her toe that does not seem to be bothering her.
Unfortunately, pictures will unquestionably require a second pair of hands. I tried. Hen said absolutely not.

The lady that had her flock culled is in the same neighborhood as my parents and they know her pretty well. I’m not sure who she called, but they rounded up every bird she had and I think took them away, so she didn’t have to do the culling at least. Her birds got it from the local wild waterfowl but the people that came said it was a private lake so there wasn’t anything they would do about the sick wild birds.
I try to be careful about keeping my shoes clean, but the geese there wander and poop everywhere, and my thinking was that the driveway was contaminated and I may have brought it home that way.
I think I probably need a separate pair of shoes only for my back yard.

Yes, most of us keep a dedicated pair of chicken keeping shoes.