Sick Chicken

[xjchief]

I tried to read up on caring for a chicken before we got one but I'm new at this and still learning a lot so please be gentle.

Our chicken, Mele, started sneezing on Dec 23. By the 24th her eye was watering but she quit sneezing. On the 26th I'd read enough about chicken illnesses that I felt she need to go to the vet. They put her on .04ml of Baytril orally once a day and said she had a respiratory infection. This morning I wasn't happy with her condition as I felt her eye was still too swollen and weeping and her "voice" sounded congested. I took her back to the vet today and they added neomycin and polymyxin drops to put in her eye twice a day. They also gave her a dewormer as a precaution for the eye worm disease.

She spent last night in the house and will tonight as well as it's a bit chilly outside. She's still eating very well and drinking plenty of water.

We never thought a chicken would become such an important member of the family but she's worked her way into our hearts and we'd do the same for any of our pets. I just want to see if we're doing everything we can for her and if there's any other advice she'd benefit from.

Thanks

 

[dlhunicorn]

Did the vet say it was eye worm or just worms in general (an eye worm needs literal removal)

Here is a page from an avian vet on avian respiratory illness:
http://www.redrobe.com/sharon/avian-respiratory-diseases.html

 

[dlolato]

Sounds to me like you are doing everything right.........it generally takes three to four days after medication before you see an improvement. My girls are generally in the "in-house" infirmary for approximately four to five days. Last year we experienced no upper respiratory diseases, this year is quite different......have already had six in house with full recoveries. Last night identified two more, so in house they go.

I examine all the flock every day and listen to their breathing and watch how they are interacting. We have a large investment not only the the flock, but the monthly expenses in keeping them healthy and well fed, therefore I spend a lot of time watching and caring for them. I never realized the amount of time it takes to have a healthy flock!!!

I sure you will see improvement in a couple of days!

 

[xjchief]

Thank you for the replies.

The vet took her and checked for the eye worm and didn't see one. She gave her some kind of deworming medication but didn't say what exactly it was for.

Mele's eye looks much better this morning. It's not as swollen as yesterday but it is still draining and she keeps scratching at it with her foot which I'm sure isn't all that helpful. The vet did mention the possiblity of collaring her but she thought the collar might actually stress her and do more harm than good and advised to give the drops a chance to work.

My hopes are up that she's going to pull through but I'm still pretty worried about her. For some reason she's adopted me as her best friend in the house so I feel extra responsible for her!

 

[seminolewind]

I think you're doing great. Now that I have my bird vet, I wouldn't hesitate to go there. And you going there shows how much you really care. I don't think there's anything more you can do-you've covered all the bases. Oh yea, except for maybe sharing your pillow with her at night!