Symptoms of a Possible Sick Chicken (Help Appreciated)

[Smittenroade]

Tonight I went out to check the chickens before I go to bed and I noticed one of them wasn't chirping like the rest. One of my cornish X's was making kinda like a coughing sound, like there was phlegm in her lungs/throat. I turned my flashlight on her and noticed on the left side of her beak below her nostril there was a bit of green mucus. When I get up first thing tomorrow I will remove her from the rest and quarantine her somewhere. If she is not better.

Her history and diet are as follows: I got her about a week ago from someone who was keeping her in a small warm coop, no outside time. He was feeding her a high fat diet, pretty much chick starter mixed with lard/bacon fat. She is about 4-5 weeks old currently. I kept her in a small warm hutch with other chicks until she was 5 weeks old. The last two days I have put them outside because it has been getting warmer. They dont go in the coop at night the 5 chicks all huddle up and sleep together in the run.

Im not one to wait for help on the forums so I will be looking for more information on these symptoms throughout the night. If anyone has any insight on chicken sickness and disease that would be most helpful and greatly appreciated.

 

[TrystInn]

Your description is very confusing - you keep switching genders, did you realize that? It sounds like you only quarantined for a week, is that right? At 5 weeks now and out in the pen and coop with your home flock? Are you providing any infrared heat support for these chicks? What are your day and night temps?

Generally speaking, green phlegm means its a bacterial infection and likely its had it for awhile. Best bet, separate it from the others, provide electrolytes and a heat lamp if its under 70F and be ready to provide antibiotics. Which may mean a trip to the local feedstore to see what your options are. I'm fairly partial to injected Penicillin but many folks prefer pills or powder. Keep a very close eye on the rest of the flock.

Good luck.

 

[Smittenroade]

Sry I was talking to someone while typing it all up.

And like I said it has been getting warmer, it is about 70 degrees where they sleep outside right now. They seem to be doing fine as far as warmth is concerned. I havent quarantined yet, I will tomorrow if the chick is still sick. They probably wouldn't have antibiotics at our local feed store, but they should have some at the vet. Thank you for your help btw.

 

[TrystInn]

Ask at your feedstore, I think you'll be amazed how many animal pharmaceuticals they have in stock. If you go with the liquid Penicillin, remember to get a very large gauge needle to give it.

 

[unionwirewoman]

So this hen is a cornish x ? If it is , depending on what color /breed , they don't last too long . They are supposed to be a meat chicken that you butcher around 8-12 weeks if it's white . We all love our chickens up here , but if you're like me I don't give shots and there certainly is no vet around here that works on chickens . Sometimes it happens . If she is sick then you should quarantine her .

BTW....you didn't mix up her gender , I think the OP didn't read through the whole post , or didn't understand that when you said " him " you were talking about the previous owner . It's sad , but everything dies , and sometimes you don't know why . JMOA .

 

[TrystInn]

unionwirewoman,

The original post has been edited to fix the pronoun discrepancy.

 

[unionwirewoman]

Quote:
TY .

 

[Smittenroade]

Yea, I edited my post. Well...I dunno Ive been trying to decide if its worth it. she really only has like 3 more weeks like you stated. Ill just wait and see tomorrow, like you said might not even be worth getting the shot and stuff depending on how much it costs. If I sent her to freezer camp now, would she be safe to consume with a bacterial infection I wonder?