Think I know what I have to do, but want more opinions....

[gapeach717]

I have had my little flock for months now, last week I brought home a chicken and didn't quarentine. (i know, i know) Well, the night we got her we seen her sneezing, but didnt think much of it at first. By the next morning however, her sneezing had gotten a lot worse and we took her out and got in touch with the people we got her from and they too her back, but not for another day. By the 3rd day, 2 of my other chickens were sneezing...but eating and drinking fine. Well, a week later, FIVE of them are sneezing, sound gurgled when making normal chicken talk, and one is real bad. She barely eats or drinks, one eye is almost always crusted or closed up, and she just lays around the yard.

I am attaching a video as well as a weird thing going on with the second sickest chicken's neck feathers. The bottom of the feather is covered in what looks to be tiny white scales.

I am prepared to cull the flock, bleach, disinfect, scrub, toss, burn, and in a few months start again, lesson learned, heart broken, and smarter with 50/50 hindsight. BUT....before I do, what do you think this illness may be?

SYMPTOMS:

sneezing
lethargy
closed eye
some nasal discharge but not much
gurgling sounds when "talking"
decreased appetite
diarrhea that went from what looked like watered down milk to redish brown mucousy stuff
gagging motion
dry orangish pale comb, seems to be shrinking?

Time from first sick bird to next sick bird:

1-3 days

Total now sick:

at least 5

FYI, the water pan they are drinking out of is stained, not full of dirt. its the pan i have been giving electrolites, vitamins, and antibiotics in this week.

feather pic:

 

[Reurra]

Are those egg sacks attached to your birds feathers???

I think those are some sort of parasitic mite! Ewwwwwwww!

My chicks yawn like that all the time. Once Stumpy yawned like that 6 times in a row when he was about 4 weeks old. he is 13 weeks now. I dont know if its a sign of anything serious about your birds. Other than being tired because they are sick.

I dont think you need to cull, just get them treated for mites. Maybe everything else will clear up.

Do a search for "mites"

Now I ahve the creepy crawlies

 

[gapeach717]

if they are eggs i am blown away, my chickens get dusted with DE and have flock protector and sevin dusted in their coop. this is brand new, like wasnt like this 3 days ago either kinda new.

 

[gapeach717]

also i tried to "squish" them with my nail against a hard surface and they just flattened without so much as a smudge. like skin flakes. not like eggs at all.

 

[ziL]

I might try giving them baths, depending on the weather, but I can't think of anything else, sorry.

 

[Reurra]

http://forums.thepoultrykeeper.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=11019

This is a site I found with pictures on the second page of the forum post. The images look similar to what you ahve.

http://www.citygirlchickens.com/poultry_lice.html

http://club.omlet.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6949

http://www.americansilkiebantamclub.org/articles/Lice Eggs.asp

 

[gapeach717]

Ok lice is indeed a problem, runny nose sneezing, one eye closed on the one pullet. All eating and drinking. All have lice. Ugh.


Question, can severe lice infestations cause cold like syptoms?????

 

[FlyHigher]

Ok lice is indeed a problem, runny nose sneezing, one eye closed on the one pullet. All eating and drinking. All have lice. Ugh.
Question, can severe lice infestations cause cold like syptoms?????

Sounds much like Infectious Coryza, but I am not sure.

 

[Reurra]

From what I read it cna cause lethargic behavior, pale combs due to blood loss. Maybe with the lice they have lowered immune systems and picked up something along the way?

 

[ziL]

I've dealt with lice on some of my chickens. It took treating them with powder, repeating 2 weeks later, giving them a warm bath and scaping the rest of the eggs off, followed by another dose of powder to keep them off. The lice I had to get rid of had different eggs, but treatment shouldn't be too different.