This what I do when I find a sick bird - Updated w/supplies

[casportpony]

When mine get sick, this is what I do:

• *Thorough* physical exam which includes inserting a gloved, lubed finger into the cloaca to check for an egg, check for cuts, bruising lumps, smells, etc.
• Dust for mites/lice with poultry dust even if I cannot see any. DE does not work.
• Weigh on digital kitchen scale (see avatar), record weight and weigh daily. any weight loss is bad.
• Place bird in a warm, quiet place on towel with food and water that it can't drown in.
• De-worm with Safeguard or Panacur, liquid or paste (fenbendazole 10%) 50mg/kg by mouth and repeat in 10 days. Warning - Safeguard/Panacur should not be used during a molt.
• Once warm, if not drinking and crop is empty, hydrate with warmed Pedialyte or lactated ringers with a feeding tube - 30ml/kg every 6-8 hours.
• If not eating after 24 hours and crop is empty, tube feed baby bird food mixed with Pedialyte
• Inspect poop.
• If I suspect a stuck egg, treat for egg binding.
• If I suspect a bacterial infection, treat with antibiotics.
• If I suspect a fungal infection, treat with Nystatin.
• If I suspect coccidiosis, treat with Corid (amprolium).
• If I suspect canker or histomoniaisis (blackhead), treat with Metronidazole.

From: http://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/avmed/cam/07_emergency_and_critical_care.pdf
Supportive Care
SICK-BIRD ENCLOSURES
Sick birds are often hypothermic and should be placed
in heated (brooder-type) enclosures


b (Fig 7.7) in a quiet
environment (see Chapter 1, Clinical Practice). A temperature
of 85° F (29° C) with 70% humidity is desirable
for most sick birds. If brooders are not equipped with a
humidity source, placing a small dish of water in the
enclosure will often supply adequate humidity. A moist
towel that is heated and placed on the bottom of a cage
or incubator rapidly humidifies the environment, as indicated​

by the fogging of the acrylic cage front.

FLUID THERAPY
Oral Administration
Oral administration is the ideal method of giving fluids.
This method is more commonly used in mildly dehydrated
birds or in conjunction with subcutaneous (SC)
or intravenous (IV) therapy. Oral rehydration (30 ml/kg
PO q 6-8 h) also may be used in larger birds (eg, waterfowl)
that are difficult to restrain for parenteral fluid​

therapy.

ORAL NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS
Below are listed some of the oral nutritional supplements
that can be gavage-fed to debilitated birds. Various
hand-feeding formulas are on the market and, as a
whole, are far superior to the homemade formulas used
decades ago that contained monkey biscuits, peanut butter
and ground seeds. Commercially available hand-feeding
formulas for baby birds are often utilized in the treatment
of sick and debilitated adult birds. The quantity
that can be fed at one time to a sick bird is greatly
reduced from that of baby birds. On the average, a baby
parrot can accommodate 10% of its body weight per
feeding due to the elasticity of the crop and its rapid
emptying. Adult birds have a greatly decreased crop
capacity, averaging 3% of their body weight. Additionally,
sick birds are less tolerant of food in the crop and care
must be taken to avoid regurgitation and/or aspiration.
A sick or debilitated bird should always have its
hydration corrected prior to attempting to initiate​

oral gavage-feeding.






Here is a list that I'm working on. Let me know what else I should have!

Medications - With the exception of Clavamox, all can be purchased without a prescription for tropical fish or pigeons. If you need help finding any of them, let me know.​

• Metronidazole 250mg, 100mg and 50mg/ml liquid (banned for use in food animals)
• Nystatin (antifungal)
• Amoxicillin 250mg
• Cephalexin 250mg
• Tylan (tylosin)
• Clavamox 250 mg
• Baytril 10% (banned for use in food animals)
• Corid (amprolium - coccistat)
• Sulmet
• Terramycin Antibiotic Ophthalmic Ointment
• Neosporin
• Safeguard wormer (fenbendazole 10%)
• Praziquantel
• Calcium
• Vitamin D

Supplies​

• Pedialyte for tubing
• Catheter for tube feeding
• Baby bird food for tubing
• Catheter tip syringe for tube feeding
• Lactated ringers for tubing or SC fluids
• Heat lamps
• Heating Pad
• Boxes and crates
• Poultry dust
• Digital kitchen scale
• Gram scale
• Needles and syringes of many sizes
• Mineral Oil
• Petroleum Jelly
• Vet Wrap
• Gauze Roll
• Gauze Pads
• Telfa Pads
• Raw, Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar
• Isopropyl alcohol
• Latex Gloves
• Betadine
• Epsom Salts

Books

• Plumb's Veterinary Drug Handbook
• AAAP Avian Disease Manual
• Diseases of Poultry
• Clinical Avian Medicine
• Penn State Poultry Health Handbook

Online poultry books:

[URL]http://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/avmed/cam.html[/URL]
Download the entire book (two volumes): Clinical Avian Medicine
(Large file - please allow several moments to download)

Another two book set:
[URL]http://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/avmed/chapters.html[/URL]

Penn State Poultry Health Handbook
[URL]http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/freepubs/pdfs/agrs52.pdf[/URL]

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I know a lot of people that agree with you 100%. I'm not one of them but everyone has their own purposes and management plan. Management and the need for chemicals also depends upon one's location, if there are lots of flocks or known virulent problems in the area. Some diseases and worms are more prevalent in warm humid climates.

I do agree with isolating the bird, thoroughly examining it and that DE doesn't work if they are already infested with parasites.
I especially like the idea of weighing the bird daily. (I wish I had thought of that)
I also have given Amprolium once when there was coccidia.

Where I differ is that a sick bird is weak and stressed.
A healthy chicken can handle a light parasite load and if they are free ranging they'll have worms. I would never worm a bird that wasn't thin or scruffy and only then if I could confirm that worms were present and identify what type of worm,
Worms can become resistant to wormers after a few generations.
Treating with anything else i.e. antibiotics, etc. doesn't happen here unless I know for sure what was affecting the bird.
Medicating casually only increases problems and expense.
Many of the diseases that affect chickens have no cure. Medicating a stressed bird can make them susceptible to secondary infection.
Only about 20% of those diseases are virulent, the others are opportunistic.
Respiratory disease can be not only bacterial and viral but also environmental, parasitic, nutritional or fungal. The most common are viral which respond poorly to meds or have no cure. Once weakened by a respiratory infection they can also get a secondary or tertiary infection.

Overuse of antibiotics not only cause increased resistance but along with sulfa drugs can create problems worse than the disease they're treating.

I can see trying to revive a pet or perhaps an extremely rare bird but the best thing is good management practices, isolating birds that get sick and culling all that don't recover quickly.
Cull birds that keep getting sick and breed for resistance and problems will be few and far between.

I wanted to add
I don't mean to imply that I believe I'm right and you're wrong. I'm not that smart but it is the way I manage my flocks. Robust healthy stock given good ventilation, clean dry bedding and good nutrition rarely have issues.

 

[casportpony]

I didn't mean to imply that I always give antibiotics or antifungals... Much thought goes into that, but I do worm all but the *very* critically ill unless they were wormed in the last 7-10 days.

You make some very good points, which I'd love to comment on, then you'll probably understand me a litlle better,

but I need to go run some errands, so I'll have to do it later!

Thanks for taking the time to comment on this subject.

-Kathy

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I think it would be a worthwhile discussion for all. Short posts surely give some misperceptions.

As I mentioned, my issue with worming is that birds with access to the outdoors will probably have some worms. Worming may clean them temporarily only to be reinfected.
I live in the Midwest which is cold and humid in winter, hot and humid in summer so I don't have the worm issue those in Florida or Louisiana might have but I've never wormed in decades of chicken keeping. Never had any scrawny birds - a good sign of a bird infested with worms.
I do other things that probably help.

I also think lists like yours can be instructive on sites like this with many of the unenlightened.

 

[casportpony]

While the lactated ringers are warming, lol, I'll comment real quick on cecal worms... I've been battling histomoniasis (blackhead) in my peafowl and turkeys for almost two years now, so that is one of the reasons that I automatically worm a sick bird.

 

[Betsy57]

I think it would be a worthwhile discussion for all. Short posts surely give some misperceptions.

As I mentioned, my issue with worming is that birds with access to the outdoors will probably have some worms. Worming may clean them temporarily only to be reinfected.
I live in the Midwest which is cold and humid in winter, hot and humid in summer so I don't have the worm issue those in Florida or Louisiana might have but I've never wormed in decades of chicken keeping. Never had any scrawny birds - a good sign of a bird infested with worms.
I do other things that probably help.

I also think lists like yours can be instructive on sites like this with many of the unenlightened.

One bird that is a little over a year old has recently started acting differently. She is staying on the roost longer than the others in the morning and sometimes sleeps in the nest. This is new. I picked her up today and she is thin and not eating much. I put her by herself and gave her special treats she usually scarfs down (cottage cheese, cooked duck egg, moistened feed) and she is not eating. Her poop is green (she's not eating, starving to death or not processing food--which she isn't eating). She did eat a few bites of the egg. The other birds are fine. Suggestions?

 

[seminolewind]

Quote:
Sounds like wasting. A year old is young. It's hard to know what it could be because wasting can be a symptom of different illnesses. She may be sleeping in the nest because she's weak.

 

[mithious]

I know a lot of people that agree with you 100%. I'm not one of them but everyone has their own purposes and management plan. Management and the need for chemicals also depends upon one's location, if there are lots of flocks or known virulent problems in the area. Some diseases and worms are more prevalent in warm humid climates.

I do agree with isolating the bird, thoroughly examining it and that DE doesn't work if they are already infested with parasites.
I especially like the idea of weighing the bird daily. (I wish I had thought of that)
I also have given Amprolium once when there was coccidia.

Where I differ is that a sick bird is weak and stressed.
A healthy chicken can handle a light parasite load and if they are free ranging they'll have worms. I would never worm a bird that wasn't thin or scruffy and only then if I could confirm that worms were present and identify what type of worm,
Worms can become resistant to wormers after a few generations.
Treating with anything else i.e. antibiotics, etc. doesn't happen here unless I know for sure what was affecting the bird.
Medicating casually only increases problems and expense.
Many of the diseases that affect chickens have no cure. Medicating a stressed bird can make them susceptible to secondary infection.
Only about 20% of those diseases are virulent, the others are opportunistic.
Respiratory disease can be not only bacterial and viral but also environmental, parasitic, nutritional or fungal. The most common are viral which respond poorly to meds or have no cure. Once weakened by a respiratory infection they can also get a secondary or tertiary infection.

Overuse of antibiotics not only cause increased resistance but along with sulfa drugs can create problems worse than the disease they're treating.

I can see trying to revive a pet or perhaps an extremely rare bird but the best thing is good management practices, isolating birds that get sick and culling all that don't recover quickly.
Cull birds that keep getting sick and breed for resistance and problems will be few and far between.

I wanted to add
I don't mean to imply that I believe I'm right and you're wrong. I'm not that smart but it is the way I manage my flocks. Robust healthy stock given good ventilation, clean dry bedding and good nutrition rarely have issues.

This is what I am aiming for also. I bought a hatchery lot, for the first time, since it has been awhile since I have had chickens. Wanted to know I still had it before investing in quality heritage birds. This is what I am finding. These birds are not a strong as the standard breeder birds and tend to get ill easier. Are more easily stressed and I am going to HAVE to treat for cocci. I tried to go with slowly building a resistance and I believe that failed and I believe it failed because the genetics in these hatchery birds are very poor. They are more flighty also. I am not happy with what I am finding in these hatchery chicks and mine are only 6 weeks old. They just do not stand up to a standard bred bird from a breeder, hands down a breeder's bird is far better and lives and lays longer. Only read about the laying as mine are not old enough yet. My little hatchery lot is dear to me, but I will faze them out, over time, and am going back to the heritage birds from reputable breeders! With that in mind. I am fairly certain, I can follow your methods successfully, but not so sure with this hatchery lot. I think I am going to need to medicate, more than I would like, to keep them healthy. I can forsee a lot of issues, one has already appeared, cocci...even though I did my best to build a failry natural resistance. I DID use one bag of medicated feed with them, knowing their genetics were poor, but also fed grass clippings, starting at 3 weeks, to help build their resistance. Had them outside a few days also...I do not believe it worked and am pretty sure we have cocci, brought on by the birds getting stressed, while I was gone for half a day, due to circumstances beyond my control. IF, they had built a good immunity, I do not believe, we would be having this problem. Thus, my conclusion is that this hatchery lot is far far inferior to a breeders quality and will continue to face health issues, unless their environment is totally controlled perfectly and still have my doubts that would work effectively!

Thanks for your views and methods. It's great that you all are willing to teach what you have learned to the rest of us!!! Thanks so much for all opinions and suggestions from all of you!!!!

 

[casportpony]

The Harrison links in post number 1 are broken, here's a new one.
http://avianmedicine.net/

-Kathy

 

[War Chicken]

Doxycycline definitely should be added to the list.

Amoxicillin + clavulanate is for sale OTC for fish/birds (eBay).

Ciprofloxacin is much cheaper than Baytril and also OTC for fish though I've never heard of it being used for fish. Ebay, again. Tablet form has a shelf-life of decades vs. a Baytril suspension.

Moxidectin.

Sterile swabs so you can send tracheal swabs to be cultured.

Nebulizer compressor with Acorn 2 nebulizer.

F10SC disinfectant. Better than Oxine for nebulization.

Porcelain mortar and pestle. Much better than drug store pill crushers.