Sick chicks useless vet please help!

[Demidog]

I'm in Macedonia and the vets here are rubbish! I've got 2 sick chicks, one is sneezing and croaky sounding but otherwise seems OK, and the other has really bad swelling on one side of it's face and it can't close it's beak or open it's eye and it looks really bad. I took them to the vet who said there was nothing they could do, they don't have medical supplies for that. This is a poor country and they are ill equipped!! I don't understand everything she said but what i think she said was the swelling is from an injury probably from the other chicks pecking it, she said it was not an infection but something wrong with the cornea. She said i didn't need to separate them. She said to give them vitamins in their water. I asked about washing it's eye with something, salty water or whatever, she said no need but i pressed her about it and she gave me a syringe with something in it to clean it's eye. I also had to press her about giving antibiotics in the water. Really i feel like I'm on my own here, the vets are hopeless! She gave me some antibiotics with vitamins and minerals for chicks that I'm now giving them in their water. I've also separated the two chicks from the others because I'm worried they could spread it and because I'm really concerned about the one that is swollen; it can't eat properly and it's not as active as the others, maybe they're picking on it. I want to make sure it's drinking the antibiotics and to keep it clean and safe. I've put them in separate boxes with newspaper to keep them clean, and with food and the antibiotic water. I fed some of the water to the swollen one with a syringe because i don't think it can eat properly. It's beak is all distorted from the swelling and it can't close it, I'm really worried about this chick it looks terrible! This is the first time I've dealt with sick chicks, I'm looking for some reassurance because the vets here are no help!

 

[MrsBrooke]

An injury is possible, but if you've got sneezing in the flock, I would think you've got a respiratory disease going around... You were wise to separate those chickens, for sure.

You should be able to order some oxytetracycline antibiotic powder online to use in their water. Other than that recommendation, I'm not sure what the rules are as far as medication available in feed stores in Macedonia.

Are they still trying to eat and drink?

I would rinse her eye out with saline solution just like you're doing... Sounds like you're doing a great job.

Sorry for your troubles and vet experience.

MrsB

 

[tjo804]

Pics are always helpful sometimes we as people communicate differently.

you can make your own saline solution for washing the eye and other wounds even on humans. just google homemade saline recipe.

Also you can make homemade electrolytes if you cant get them there.

If it is an injury it might help to add 1- 325 mg aspirin to a gallon of water to help with pain and swelling.

good luck and keep in mind the limitations in *poor* countries the vet may want to help but not have available supplies to do so. Not all vets are willing to treat chickens even in *rich* countries.

 

[Demidog]

Yeah, she looked at the chick and cleaned it's eye and gave me advice, but they don't have anything for birds. I took an injured magpie there last month and they told me the same thing: "we don't have anything for magpies". It's just frustrating because they lack the basic medical supplies. I took my cat there once because it fell from the balcony and i was worried it had broken it's leg and the guy told me "we can't do anything, we don't have plaster". Luckily it's leg was not broken and it recovered.

Only the one chick is sneezing but it seems otherwise OK, it's still eating and drinking and running about.

I'm really worried about the one with the swollen eye though. I just checked on it and it's poo is dry and hard so it's obviously dehydrated and can't eat and drink properly. It was trying to eat some melon, i was breaking little bits off for it but it was having a hard time swallowing it. How often do you think should give it the antibiotic water, every hour or so? And do you think i should give it electrolyte too? I've got that in the house. Can i mix it with the antibiotics?

I can't find my camera! I don't usually pannick about things but this looks awful. The whole of the one side of it's face is swollen. It's eye is swollen shut and the inside of it's mouth is so swollen it can't close it's beak and it's beak is all distorted. It doesn't seem to be sneezing, it can still tweet normally. But it's not very active compared to the others, it was sitting a lot on it's own while the others were running about and it looks in distress. It saw trying to eat food though, it ate a few bits of melon but with great difficulty.

 

[tjo804]

most important if you think it is dehydrated is to rehydrate.

Yes you can add electrolyte to the same water as antibiotic.

you can help with the syringe if it is not getting water on its own

 

[Demidog]

The swollen chick was even worse today. Can't even tell where it's eye is anymore it's so swollen, looks like it's going to burst! And it's not able to eat or drink at all.Was giving it the antibiotic and electrolyte with a syringe but it was throwing it back up. I showed it to my father in law who's kept lots of chickens, turkeys and pigeons before and he thought it looked like a disease he's seen that is very contagious and can kill the whole flock. I don't know that it was that, the vet said it was from an injury, but the chick was in a terrible condition and suffering a lot and we decided to put it out it's misery. He did it for me, i can't do that but it was painful watching it suffer like that. So that's it over with now. The other chick seems really good though, apart from the sneezing, and I'm quite confident it will be better in a few days with the antibiotics and i can put it back in with the rest.

 

[HeritageGoose13]

Its probably for the best you put that sick one down so nothing would spread, hopefully the other one recovers. I wonder what the name of the disease is, that your father thought he recognized?

It's not just Macedonia, there are a lot of clueless and/or unprepared veterinarians out there.

 

[Demidog]

He only knew the Macedonian name, which now i can't remember but i can find out. He said they get white spots inside their mouth too. I didn't notice any white spots but it was hard to tell because of the swelling and i didn't want to poke and prod it too much because it was is so much distress already.

I found another chick laying in the next box yesterday which couldn't stand up. I took it in and it died on it's own after a few hours. It didn't have any swelling. We think it's possibly been crushed by the mother. I really hope we don't have a disease going round! I'v got the whole flock on antibiotics now, including all the adults, and i'v had to wait till today for the vet to open so i can go buy the vaccine for them too. Fingers crossed we don't have any more casualties!