A few weeks ago I started a backyard flock of five from local chicken breeders around Dallas TX;
From farm A, a silkie a few months old vaccinated for FP
From farm B, a speckled sussex and a splash wyandotte about 5 weeks old both Marek's vaccinated
From farm C, a buff orpington and black laced wyandotte about a month old both Marek's vaccinated
All birds are housed at night in a coop I made from a doghouse by adding ventilation and hardware cloth and a heat lamp, and shredded paper bedding changed weekly, and in the day they have the run of my small backyard about the size of a 2 car garage. I feed them medicated starter and kitchen scraps, and they forage for bugs and whatnot in my yard. A few days ago I noticed the sussex acting oddly- she went from the most energetic and dominant to lethargic with fluffed feathers and a periodic cough/hiccup and gaping, would mostly just follow the big silkie around trying to snuggle with her, still eating and drinking but not as heartily as before, never observed what her poop looked like, she wasn't vocal. Yesterday I noticed the black wyandotte starting to do the same, and this morning I found the sussex dead in the coop and the black wyandotte looking much worse than the sussex ever did- she was doing all the stuff the sussex did and has swollen runny crusted-shut eyes. I disposed of the sussex, cleaned/sunned out the coop and isolated the black wyandotte, who'se in a cat carrier alone and peeping a lot when I'm not handling her, she doesn't seem to be doing the cough as much now as earlier. I've been periodically washing her eyes and bottle feeding her kitten formula, and I have a couple antibiotics onhand if that would help, (ciproflaxin and amoxicillin) and also apple cider vinegar if that would be good in the water? Please help! What does this sound like, and what else can I do to try and help her through and protect the other chickens from whatever's going on here?
From farm A, a silkie a few months old vaccinated for FP
From farm B, a speckled sussex and a splash wyandotte about 5 weeks old both Marek's vaccinated
From farm C, a buff orpington and black laced wyandotte about a month old both Marek's vaccinated
All birds are housed at night in a coop I made from a doghouse by adding ventilation and hardware cloth and a heat lamp, and shredded paper bedding changed weekly, and in the day they have the run of my small backyard about the size of a 2 car garage. I feed them medicated starter and kitchen scraps, and they forage for bugs and whatnot in my yard. A few days ago I noticed the sussex acting oddly- she went from the most energetic and dominant to lethargic with fluffed feathers and a periodic cough/hiccup and gaping, would mostly just follow the big silkie around trying to snuggle with her, still eating and drinking but not as heartily as before, never observed what her poop looked like, she wasn't vocal. Yesterday I noticed the black wyandotte starting to do the same, and this morning I found the sussex dead in the coop and the black wyandotte looking much worse than the sussex ever did- she was doing all the stuff the sussex did and has swollen runny crusted-shut eyes. I disposed of the sussex, cleaned/sunned out the coop and isolated the black wyandotte, who'se in a cat carrier alone and peeping a lot when I'm not handling her, she doesn't seem to be doing the cough as much now as earlier. I've been periodically washing her eyes and bottle feeding her kitten formula, and I have a couple antibiotics onhand if that would help, (ciproflaxin and amoxicillin) and also apple cider vinegar if that would be good in the water? Please help! What does this sound like, and what else can I do to try and help her through and protect the other chickens from whatever's going on here?
