Sound like Coryza???!

[EmAbTo48]

I have one silkie that is coughing (no wheezing) and has bubbles in her eyes.

Then I have a buff who is getting very skinny she's not as perky as the rest, she eats but much rather stay in the coop under the heat lamp all day.

I have seen a bit of runny poop and some BLACK poop in the coop.

Does this sound like Coryza? What can I get to treat the whole flock? I think I have caught this pretty early on. I don't see any of the rest sick at all. Is there an over the counter antibotic I could put in there water just to see if maybe its just a cold?

I haven't added any new chickens, this flock has 6 2 year old hens one which is the sick buff and the rest including the silkie are a year old. Is there anything over the counter antibotic that i could add to the water? Maybe its just a cold? we did have some terrible negative weather all last week (this is when I noticed my buff getting sickly and very skinny ) the silkies bubbles showed up yesterday...

Help please! I don't want to end up losing them all!

 

[Suzie]

Hi,
Coryza has a very distinctive foul smell associated with closed eyes,a horrendous sticky discharge from eyes and sometimes mouth - from what you describe it doesn't sound as if the symptoms match - hopefully somebody else an help you further.

Wishing you all the best

Suzie

 

[Suzie]

Sorry, forgot to mention that Tetracycline is a good general antibiotic - you really need some good advice - perhaps Dawg will see your post - he is amazing at helping with illness.

Suzie

 

[dawg53]

If there's no foul odor as Suzie mentioned, it's not coryza. It could be mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG.) If it's MG, you can treat with tylan or denagard.

 

[LLB66]

So, if there is no smell, it could be MG? As of writing this I havent researched that as yet, Here is my question, if chickens get a common cold, do you still need to keep your flock closed?

We bought 44 birds ranging in age from 6 months to 2 plus years. We lost 1 bird within the first 2 weeks,(egg bound from what I can tell) 2nd bird was doing ok, had an injured foot, the night before she died, I finally found a thread that told me what I was looking at. The 3rd bird, death unknown(no symptoms at all she was just dead) the 4th bird just didnt look well,no sneezing or runny eyes, nothing definitive, just didnt look well. She died in five days. Now I have about 5 or 6 birds that have been sneezing, all are eating well, drinking well, I stopped free ranging them this week so I could make sure they drank there water that has electrolytes. They are on a diet of Layer feed, BOSS, Oats, cracked corn. There were a few days they free ranged in wet weather. I dont see any mites or lice, all are acting normally for chickens, I have not wormed them, but am not seeing any signs in there feces.

Hope that is enough information.

Oh and not all of them are laying, I am guessing some are just too old and others may not be old enough, on average 5 eggs a day.

 

[dawg53]

So, if there is no smell, it could be MG? As of writing this I havent researched that as yet, Here is my question, if chickens get a common cold, do you still need to keep your flock closed?

We bought 44 birds ranging in age from 6 months to 2 plus years. We lost 1 bird within the first 2 weeks,(egg bound from what I can tell) 2nd bird was doing ok, had an injured foot, the night before she died, I finally found a thread that told me what I was looking at. The 3rd bird, death unknown(no symptoms at all she was just dead) the 4th bird just didnt look well,no sneezing or runny eyes, nothing definitive, just didnt look well. She died in five days. Now I have about 5 or 6 birds that have been sneezing, all are eating well, drinking well, I stopped free ranging them this week so I could make sure they drank there water that has electrolytes. They are on a diet of Layer feed, BOSS, Oats, cracked corn. There were a few days they free ranged in wet weather. I dont see any mites or lice, all are acting normally for chickens, I have not wormed them, but am not seeing any signs in there feces.

Hope that is enough information.

Oh and not all of them are laying, I am guessing some are just too old and others may not be old enough, on average 5 eggs a day.

Worming may be in order. I would feed them only layer feed, none of the other stuff. Once worming is completed, wait a week to start them on tylan or denagard if the symptoms still persist. You dont necessarily dont have to wait to see worms in poop to worm them. When you see them in poop, it only means the worms have no other place to go but out the rear end. Worms weaken their immune system to the point of making them susceptable to other diseases such as coryza and MG as well as other diseases. Safeguard liquid goat wormer or valbazen liquid cattle/sheep wormer are your best bets for worming.
Chickens dont get common colds, they get a specific disease.
You can also take several fecal samples to a vet and let them test for worms oocysts if you wish, perhaps bloodwork as well to confirm what you're dealing with, or have it sent off to a university vet school lab to be tested.

 

[agosti]

Could my 1-year old buff orpington need worming also? I am new to the blog and have had no illness to date among my three hens: a barred rock, a white rock, and the buff. Just sits in front of the light bulb all day. Getting more lethargic. The other two appear to have dirty bottoms, but not the buff. She is just eating poorly and now won't move or free range. Hasn't laid in 2-3 days. No discharge from eyes or mouth, but everyone's poop smells bad... I thought this was typical.

Please help.

Libby in Washougal

 

[EmAbTo48]

Could my 1-year old buff orpington need worming also? I am new to the blog and have had no illness to date among my three hens: a barred rock, a white rock, and the buff. Just sits in front of the light bulb all day. Getting more lethargic. The other two appear to have dirty bottoms, but not the buff. She is just eating poorly and now won't move or free range. Hasn't laid in 2-3 days. No discharge from eyes or mouth, but everyone's poop smells bad... I thought this was typical.

Please help.

Libby in Washougal

egg bound possibly?

 

[LLB66]

Worming may be in order. I would feed them only layer feed, none of the other stuff. Once worming is completed, wait a week to start them on tylan or denagard if the symptoms still persist. You dont necessarily dont have to wait to see worms in poop to worm them. When you see them in poop, it only means the worms have no other place to go but out the rear end. Worms weaken their immune system to the point of making them susceptable to other diseases such as coryza and MG as well as other diseases. Safeguard liquid goat wormer or valbazen liquid cattle/sheep wormer are your best bets for worming.
Chickens dont get common colds, they get a specific disease.
You can also take several fecal samples to a vet and let them test for worms oocysts if you wish, perhaps bloodwork as well to confirm what you're dealing with, or have it sent off to a university vet school lab to be tested.

Thanks Dawg,
I picked up the wormer yesterday. I will start treating this morning as long as I can find a measuring device. 3 cc to a gallon of water for 3 days? I guess I could find a conversion chart.I had really wanted to bring in new chicks this spring. So I am hopeful this worming will take care of the problem. I am also trying to do this as natural as possible, so the least amount of chemical maintenance, the best for us. I will start researching natural remedies to worming, and then plant or provide the product.