The EMERGENCY Thread!!!

[BrowningOG]

these are pictures of both eyes

 

[AustralorpsAU]

these are pictures of both eyes

Hi. Ive not had experience wuth blind chickens but i thought that when they were blind, they had a cloudy clear look in their eyes? What is she doing that makes you think that?

 

[BrowningOG]

She is acting blind runs into walls and refuses to eat or drink so we have to force feed her.

 

[AustralorpsAU]

She is acting blind runs into walls and refuses to eat or drink so we have to force feed her.

Take a scroll on this old thread and see the pics if the blind chicken.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1072328/blind-chicken-bulging-eyes-pics
I'm thinking the running into walls and that might be caused from her neck injury

 

[BrowningOG]

ok thanks

 

[AnimalHaus]

Hello!

My husband works at the SPCA, and we are suckers, so we ended up bringing home 5 cute little silkie hens and a Polish hen. I guess they were left in someone's backyard to fend for themselves after someone moved, and brought into his work

. We put them into a small coop that is inside of our larger coop/ aviary that currently houses 12 hens. One of the silkies started getting gunk in one of her eyes, so much so that it was swollen shut. Being relatively new chicken owners and being lucky to have never experienced chicken illness before, we freaked out and took her to the avian and exotic vet, which is unfortunately the only option around here. A ton of money later (which we don't really have), we were out the door with some Clavamox, which we gave her for 10 days. We also flushed out her sinuses daily with saline. The issue never went away! After doing some research, I ended up going to the feed store and getting some Tylan 50 injectable. She's had it for about 3 days, and I think/ hope she is starting to look a bit better. Now, however, two of her friends (another silkie and the polish) have gunky eyes! The Polish has what look like bubbles in her eyes. We gave them all injections of Tylan tonight, but my questions are.....

1. What is the max amount of time we should give them injections of Tyaln 50 for? Per feed store instructions, we have been giving 1 ml once a day.
2. If Tylan doesn't solve the problem, is it okay to move onto another antibiotic immediately afterwards?
3. Is it okay to give two types of antibiotics at the same time? I also bought Tetroxy HCA-280, and was thinking about mixing that into their water as well.
4. Should I start medicating the other chickens, since 3 out of 6 are already ill?
5. Should I move their smaller coop out of the larger coop/ aviary, and if I do, how long should I keep the 12 chickens I already had away from the ground the silkies/Polish were? Does it even matter at this point, since they have been exposed to them already for 13+ days?

Sorry, I know this is a lot! I can't thank everyone enough in advance for taking the time out of your day to help those of us that are new!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hello!

My husband works at the SPCA, and we are suckers, so we ended up bringing home 5 cute little silkie hens and a Polish hen. I guess they were left in someone's backyard to fend for themselves after someone moved, and brought into his work

. We put them into a small coop that is inside of our larger coop/ aviary that currently houses 12 hens. One of the silkies started getting gunk in one of her eyes, so much so that it was swollen shut. Being relatively new chicken owners and being lucky to have never experienced chicken illness before, we freaked out and took her to the avian and exotic vet, which is unfortunately the only option around here. A ton of money later (which we don't really have), we were out the door with some Clavamox, which we gave her for 10 days. We also flushed out her sinuses daily with saline. The issue never went away! After doing some research, I ended up going to the feed store and getting some Tylan 50 injectable. She's had it for about 3 days, and I think/ hope she is starting to look a bit better. Now, however, two of her friends (another silkie and the polish) have gunky eyes! The Polish has what look like bubbles in her eyes. We gave them all injections of Tylan tonight, but my questions are.....

1. What is the max amount of time we should give them injections of Tyaln 50 for? Per feed store instructions, we have been giving 1 ml once a day.
2. If Tylan doesn't solve the problem, is it okay to move onto another antibiotic immediately afterwards?
3. Is it okay to give two types of antibiotics at the same time? I also bought Tetroxy HCA-280, and was thinking about mixing that into their water as well.
4. Should I start medicating the other chickens, since 3 out of 6 are already ill?
5. Should I move their smaller coop out of the larger coop/ aviary, and if I do, how long should I keep the 12 chickens I already had away from the ground the silkies/Polish were? Does it even matter at this point, since they have been exposed to them already for 13+ days?

Sorry, I know this is a lot! I can't thank everyone enough in advance for taking the time out of your day to help those of us that are new!

Welcome To BYC!

It sounds like your new chickens have a respiratory disease. Bubbles in the eyes, swelling and sinus issues can be a sign of Mycoplasma Gallisepticum (MG). Antibiotic treatment will only help with any secondary (bacterial) infections that may occur and possibly give some relief of some symptoms, but will not "cure" the illness. Birds that have had MG and/or have been exposed are considered carriers of the illness regardless if they show any sign of illness or not.

Injectable Tylan 50 dosage is 1 cc or ml per 5 pounds of weight. You can give it orally or as an injection into the breast muscle 1/4 inch deep. Generally give for 5days.

Flush the eyes with saline and remove any pus, you can apply Vetericyn eye gel or Terramycin eye ointment to the eyes.

Giving another antibiotic on top or at the "end" of the Tylan treatment would be "overkill" IMO. Separate and treat only the birds that are showing signs of illness. Monitor the rest of your flock for signs of illness. Practice bio-security measures between the sick birds and the others. Even though they have been exposed, this may help reduce spread and possibly help contain a full outbreak.

Since they are rescues, focus on nutrition. Feed a high protein poultry feed like an all flock/flock raiser feed (18-20% protein), add some poultry vitamins to their water a few times a week, offer oyster shell free choice and limit treats to no more than 10% of their daily intake. Make treats things like fresh fruit/veggies, eggs, sunflower seeds, mealworms, etc.


Poultry Diseases:
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044
http://www.clemson.edu/public/lph/ahp/disease_links/images/poultrydiseases.pdf

Quarantine and Bio-Security:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/...often-underestimated-part-of-raising-chickens
http://www.thefancychick.com/PoultryBiosecurity.html
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/adding-to-your-flock
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2016/08/biosecurity-for-backyard-chickens.html
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/12/quarantine-of-backyard-chickens-why-and.html

 

[AnimalHaus]

Thank you very much for your fast and thorough response! I really appreciate it! I will get to separating everyone first thing tomorrow.

 

[AustralorpsAU]

Thank you very much for your fast and thorough response! I really appreciate it! I will get to separating everyone first thing tomorrow.

@Wyorp Rock gave you some great info so I will just say Welcome to BYC!

 

[casportpony]

Hello!

My husband works at the SPCA, and we are suckers, so we ended up bringing home 5 cute little silkie hens and a Polish hen. I guess they were left in someone's backyard to fend for themselves after someone moved, and brought into his work

. We put them into a small coop that is inside of our larger coop/ aviary that currently houses 12 hens. One of the silkies started getting gunk in one of her eyes, so much so that it was swollen shut. Being relatively new chicken owners and being lucky to have never experienced chicken illness before, we freaked out and took her to the avian and exotic vet, which is unfortunately the only option around here. A ton of money later (which we don't really have), we were out the door with some Clavamox, which we gave her for 10 days. We also flushed out her sinuses daily with saline. The issue never went away! After doing some research, I ended up going to the feed store and getting some Tylan 50 injectable. She's had it for about 3 days, and I think/ hope she is starting to look a bit better. Now, however, two of her friends (another silkie and the polish) have gunky eyes! The Polish has what look like bubbles in her eyes. We gave them all injections of Tylan tonight, but my questions are.....

1. What is the max amount of time we should give them injections of Tyaln 50 for? Per feed store instructions, we have been giving 1 ml once a day.
2. If Tylan doesn't solve the problem, is it okay to move onto another antibiotic immediately afterwards?
3. Is it okay to give two types of antibiotics at the same time? I also bought Tetroxy HCA-280, and was thinking about mixing that into their water as well.
4. Should I start medicating the other chickens, since 3 out of 6 are already ill?
5. Should I move their smaller coop out of the larger coop/ aviary, and if I do, how long should I keep the 12 chickens I already had away from the ground the silkies/Polish were? Does it even matter at this point, since they have been exposed to them already for 13+ days?

Sorry, I know this is a lot! I can't thank everyone enough in advance for taking the time out of your day to help those of us that are new!

Welcome to BYC! Since you've already seen a vet, please call them and ask about Tylan injections or perhaps switching to Baytril.

-Kathy