Sick birdie

[Darren77]

Hi Everyone,

We noticed a few days ago that our Polish, Mable had respatory problems, we took her back to the breeder, who gave her a antibiotic shot, and in the form of powder for the water, we've seperated her from the rest, it looked like it was touch and go, shes still weak and sleeping nore, shes also eating and drinking again, so looks like she may actually pull through, however today she's starting to sneeze, could this be a good thing, ie her bodies starting to get rid of whatever this is? Or could it be a sign she's getting worse?

Thanks
Darren

 

[anvia]

Antibiotics will work on a bacterial infection but not a viral infection. Eating and drinking is a great sign. When you say respiratory problems what do you mean? is she struggling to breathe? Is she sneezing mucous?

 

[Darren77]

Hi,
Thanks for the reply:
her breathing is raspy, wheezy, id say shes struggling to breath, her beak sounds like it has mucous in it, but I can't see any outside, when she sneezes there is no mucous coming out either?

 

[anvia]

If she’s had an antibiotic then hopefully that’s addressing any bacterial infection. I've had success before with respiratory problems using citricidal - it’s grapefruit extract & can be added to the water. If she has mucous in her beak & passages it’s helpful to try to help her clear it through, with the beak being rigid any mucous can easily gum up her breathing passages - but it’s hard for a chicken to clear it - all she can do is sneeze.
It’s great that her beak looks clear - when the mucous starts to drain out you might have to help her keep it clear. Just as when we have a cold - all the yuck has to come out somehow.
I’d advise citricidal and keeping the beak clear if mucous does appear - best of luck & I hope she recovers soon!

 

[Darren77]

So just an update, she seems to be far better, eating and drinking well, however she still has breathing difficulty and sneezing, should I perhaps get her another antibiotic injection? Or see how the week pans out?

Thanks

Darren

 

[Eggcessive]

You could be dealing with a virus such as infectious bronchitis or a chronic mycoplasma respiratory disease such as MG. Symptoms can be similar, but IB lasts about a month and goes away. It can spread through your flock over several weeks. Is anyone else sick or sneezing every few minutes? Have you seen any bubbles or foam in either eye, or any swelling around an eye or the face?

MG can last weeks, but Tylan50 injectable can help treat symptoms. Tylan powder or oxytetracycline powder for the water may treat symptoms as well. It is never cured completely , although symptoms may disappear, and return whenever there is stress.

You may have brought the disease into your flock from the breeder, or if you have chickens already, she may have gotten exposed to a carrier or wild birds.

How old is she, and have you been giving antibiotics in the water? Sick birds may not take enough of the medicated water, and so you can try to get them drinking more. Here is a good link with the common respiratory and other diseases:
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

 

[Darren77]

Hi she's had an injection of Tylan last week, and we have continued with the powder in her water for another 72 hours, she's still wheezing and sneezing, although no mucous is coming out, she's around two and half months old, I was wondering whether another injection might help, or just see it through another week and see how she is..

 

[Eggcessive]

How old is she? Is she eating and drinking normally, active and alert? Or is she lying around and lethargic? If she drinks enough she should be getting enough, but you could try giving her more Tylan water mixed in her feed, and continue it for 5 days. If she won’t drink well, you may want to get some Tylan 50 injectable, and give it orally 0.3 ml per pound twice a day, or 0.2 ml per pound 3 times a day.