UP-DATE: Watery Eyes, Snot, Swollen Face+Eyes. Its getting worse! Help

[jonichole]

I just got four 7-8 month old hens (2 RIR and 2 Red Stars) from the same guy 4 days ago. The RIRs have both had a ... dirty butt since I've had them. Yesterday when I let them out in the yard for the first time, I saw one drop some runs. I figured thats why their butts are dirty due to diet change, new home, car ride -whatnot.
But today both the RIRs had watery eyes, and a snotty nose? But they also both seem to be moving around, eating, drinking, sitting in the corner for a bit, dusting, perching, scratching like chickens, I suppose do.
Both the other Red Stars seem completely fine. Both are "clean" and moving around eating etc... (except I swear I head one of them sneeze a few times). One has even produced 2 eggs so far for me. I also have noticed poop in the coop that has a light coffee-colored gelatinous consistency to the top part of it...

These are my first four and I'm a worried first timer! Please aid me with advice!

Thank you

 

[Judy]

Chickens do sneeze sometimes. Frankly it sounds like you got chickens that have one of the respiratory infections. It is possible the stress of the move brought out the symptoms. I'm not that familiar with the different ones. If I were you I'd find out what my flock has, then make a decision about how to handle it. Sorry. It is a real shame when people sell diseased birds and saddle a new owner with this situation.

Here's a link about some of the more common diseases:

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

 

[jonichole]

I ended up getting some antibiotic (tetracycline hydrochloride) and a dewormer (wazine) to mix with the water-

The feed store also said it may be a respiratory thing (hence the antibiotic) and a friend told me that most chicken illnesses are derived from parasites and that the symptoms can sometimes look like a respiratory infection (hence the dewormer).

I kinda figure throw the kitchen sink at em (figuratively, not literally) and hopefully their symptoms will clear up.

The labels dont say anything about not feeding it to the seemingly "healthy" ones but I figure it'd be a good precautionary step anyway.

Does anyone know about mixing the two together in the same water source? Do they react to form some crazy toxic compound or any other scary thing? - I only have one waterer and would also like to make sure they ALL get BOTH treatments.

Thanks for the response!

 

[jonichole]

UP-DATE!!! ITS GETTING WORSE AND I'M SUPER WORRIED! PLEASE HELP!



I just got four 7-8 month old hens (2 RIR and 2 Red Stars) from the same breeder 8 days ago.

Day 1 : The RIRs have both had a ... dirty butt.

Day 3 : I let them out in the yard for the first time, I saw one drop
some runny poop. I figured thats why their butts are dirty due to
stress, diet change, new home, car ride -whatnot.

Day 4: both the RIRs had watery eyes, squinting, a snotty nose, shaking their
head, throwing the snot around and scratching their head. But they
also both seem to be moving around, eating, drinking, sitting in the
corner for a bit, dusting, perching, scratching like chickens.
Both the other Red Stars seem completely fine. Both are "clean" and
moving around eating etc... (except I swear I head one of them sneeze
a few times). One has even produced 2 eggs so far for me. I also have
noticed poop in the coop that has a light coffee-colored gelatinous
consistency to the top part of it.

Day 5 : the 2 RIRs symptoms persist. The bigger RIR seems to be a bit
lethargic. I get another egg from the bigger Red Star, no eggs from
any others and the smaller Red Star seems to be sneezing.
I obtain some antibiotic (tetracycline hydrochloride) and a dewormer
(wazine17) to mix with the water-
The feed store said it may be a respiratory thing (hence the
antibiotic) and a friend told me that most chicken illnesses are
derived from parasites and that the symptoms can sometimes look like a
respiratory infection (hence the dewormer).
I mix with their water and administer bothe meds at the same time (1/4
tsp tetracycline and 30ml Wazine17 per 1 gal).
I also try to call the breeder but was only able to leave a msg and
received no call back.

Day 6 : symptoms persist. I freshen water and mix the 1/4 tsp
Tetracycline per 1 gal again. I stopped the Wazine dose, only worming
for 1 day, as directed.
I go out of town and leave my roommate in charge of changing the water
and administering the antibiotics.

Day 8 : I come back from my short trip, check on the chicks and notice
one of the RIRs eye is staying shut, her face is very swollen (one
side, the side with the eye is more swollen than the other) and is
pale in color and is acting lethargic. She is moving very slow, is
standing crooked, not eating out of my hand and looks very sad and
sick. I'm worried. The other RIRs face also seems pale but is eating
and moving about. I notice bright green feces in the mix of various
colors and consistency of droppings, I am unsure of from who. I also
have 2 eggs, I am unsure from who but I assume one from the larger Red
Star who has been producing and the other is probably from the other
Red Star.

Today is day 8 of this and I'm trying to figure this out. I dont know
whats going on, these are my first 4 birds and I'm very disappointed
that I'm having to deal with such things from day 1. I'm worried that
this is getting worse and may spread.
I am also expecting 12 new day old chicks at the end of March so my
concerns of possibly culling, disinfecting, and starting over are
high. This is something I really hope not to do!... I dont even know
where to start with that. I've spent many hours internet researching,
calling places, trying to get a hold of the breeder, and gathering advice from
from friends.


Like I said, these are my first four and I'm a very worried first timer! Please aid me with advice!

 

[CMV]

Those birds need to be returned to where they came from. They are sick and probably highly contagious. Any new birds you bring in will likely get sick, too, unless you get rid of these birds and thoroughly disinfect everything that has been used with them.

I have a zero tolerance policy for respiratory illnesses. Most respiratory illnesses are contagious, and even if a bird survives the initial illness they are often rendered a carrier for life. Not only that, but carriers can also become ill again at any point in the future when they are stressed (like when they molt, or the weather is poor, or they start getting older). Not a good situation.

Keeping poultry should be a pleasure not a pain. Starting out with a sick flock is not the way to do it. I'd recommend getting rid of those birds. Sorry, but there is just too much at stake. You should not have to deal with someone else's diseased birds.

 

[bragan]

I am so sorry you are having to deal with this.
We had this same thing happen this past Fall. We got some chicks last April & everything was great....until late Sept. when we made the mistake of bringing home a couple of hens from trade day. With in week almost all my birds were sick with the same symptoms you describe, a couple of them died.
I was told it sounded like Infectious Coryza, which makes them carriers for life. So, I researched it & it did sound like that. (Do yours nasal drainage have a foul odor? Ours did & that is a symptom of Coryza.) My husband & I made the difficult decision to cull the entire flock.

It was horrible, but we feel like we did the right thing.
We have ordered chicks from McMurray Hatcheries & they should arrive in April. Our intention is to try to raise our own replacements, or if that is not successful will only order chicks from a reputable hatchery, so that we never have to go through that again.

I can't advise you as to what you should do, except to share my experience & say do some research & make an informed decision.........Just do it before the new chicks arrive & get infected.
Again, I am so sorry you are going through this.

 

[ChooksChick]

I agree- you must try go back to the seller and return them.

You need to buy Oxine and mist the heck out of your coop, after getting rid of all of the bedding, etc.

I'm sorry this has happened. It's sad to get attached and then find out they have a chronic illness. I'm guessing the illness came out because it was dormant and the stress of moving brought it out. The other two may just have a system that isn't as ready to bring it out with this amount of stress, or perhaps they were the carriers and the ill pair are suffering their first exposure.

Either way, you will likely have some very ill chicks if you don't remove the ill grown birds and sanitize.

 

[teddiliza]

Look up the Mycoplasma Gallisepticum (?) or M.G. if you don't think it's infectious Coryza. But tetracycline has been around a long time and has lost a lot of effectiveness, you could try tylan or denaguard. Both are actually 'off label uses' for poultry. It could also be that your flock or chicken housing had something that the new birds weren't used to and the new birds are getting sick as a result. Either way, if you haven't already put them in with your birds, I recommend finding a vet to euthanize them rather than let them suffer or get better and be carriers for life. You could also see if your state has a program to necropsy birds who are ill when tracking down outbreaks. I had a bad experience purchasing some bantam hens and one I noticed on the way home was sick and wheezing. To summarize, of the two surviving hens which I took to the state Veternarian for testing, one had MG and one had MS. Glad I practiced the quarantine rules! Of course I obsessively read everything about both mycoplasma types. I'm glad I had BYC to reference and had read about quarantining any new bird purchases. The seller had taken all his other birds to the auction that morning, as well.

 

[ChooksChick]

Quote:
That's precisely why I don't bring in grown birds or go to auctions. I'm terrified of that kind of stuff!

I did bring in a grown roo last year, but the breeder had had her whole flock tested for everything including the Mycoplasma types just previously. Only someone as obsessed and paranoid as me could have a bird I'd bring in. I doubt I'd ever do it again.

I recommend Denagard, as the British have been using it for years against MS/MG/MM and have documented studies showing its effectiveness against those becoming a chronic illness. I've never heard of any other med taking the chronic carrier part out of the Mycoplasma equation.

I think I have a link to that study posted in the Consolidated Kansas thread...I'll have a look later.

 

[pips&peeps]

Sounds like ILT.