i don't know if i'd do shipping again- he was such a beauty- maybe go the egg route or shows to get another- but if shipping stress can do this- i don't want to put another through it- i didn't give him electrolytes- maybe that was my mistake? would that alleviate the stress??
I had 3 birds shipped to me a few months back. All of them had some kind of shipping stress. I got my cockerel a few days ahead of the others. He presented with just being a bit "off". I was already prepared to give him electrolytes and sugar in his water. That perked him up pretty quickly. I also dusted him for mites (which I did not see any evidence of.. but wanted to be sure). I did that within hours of him arriving.
Then my other two silkies came in-- which BTW, none of my birds had an extended trip, they arrived within two days. They did however, arrive on a plane. I have heard horrible things about the potential of altitude/air pressure injuring birds with vaulted skulls (like silkies). But mine were fine. Anyway, I treated my new pullets with the same thing-- electrolytes and sugar in the water and a dusting in case of mites. They were both off too when they got here. But after a couple of days seemed to snap out of it. I attribute the electrolytes and immediate care to their survival.
Unfortunately about 3 days later after they arrived, they all ended up getting sick from being stressed and were "yawning" and had a sneeze. NO mucus discharge, no runny nose, and no watery eyes... nothing except the yawning, shaking their head and a sneeze. I immediately took them to the vet when I realized their symptoms were not treatable with VetRX and I got them on 5 days of .5cc Baytril. Vet said that their lungs sounded fine, but he believed they had an upper respiratory infection in the sinus cavity. I continued with the electrolytes in their water while they were antibiotics. I also top dressed their feed daily with Probiotic powder to help counter act the damage antibiotics can do to their bowels. I continued the Probiotic powder 5 days past the last dosing of Baytril since antibiotics remain in the body days after the last dose.
They all lived and are fine now! I think you just have to really be on your toes and stay on top of any signs or symptoms when you have shipped birds. Be prepared, and keep all of this stuff on hand. Delaying even a day or thinking about what to do could kill them. If he had mites--that could have contributed to what killed him on top of the shipping stress. I think he probably also really needed the electrolytes to keep up his strength. I always add a bit of sugar, too. I'm very sorry for your loss, he was a beautiful roo.
BTW-- because these birds did show signs of some kind of sickness, they will NEVER be put with any of my other birds. They will forever live together by themselves. I plan to incubate eggs and keep their chicks away from them. I don't know what these birds had and if they might be carriers, but I'd like to take no chances with it.
