Urgent - Coryza?!

[Nats Chickens]

My pullet has bad breath and a slight runny nose with a little sneezing. I can’t tell if her face is swollen or not. I don’t know what it is. Do you think Coryza? I pray to God it’s not. I am terrified for my Araucanas. She is alert. What do you think it is?

 

[Nats Chickens]

It smells a bit like wet dog food.

 

[Nats Chickens]

Grrr - further symptoms I have discovered are:
Mites/lice.
I am unsure if her pathetic little comb (I love pullet combs) is swollen.
Bubbly eyes.
She sounds like someone gently snoring when she breaths.
But despite all this she is alert and active!

 

[Eggcessive]

It does sound like she might have a respiratory infection, but hard to know if it is coryza, or one of the others. Usually, coryza causes thick yellow nasal secretions, swelling and gunky eyes, coughing, and rattles. There can be some other causes of a bad odor coming from the beak, such as canker or sour crop. Can you look inside her beak, cheeks, and throat for any yellow to white material? Also feel of her crop to see if it is full and hard, doughy, or puffy? The best time to check the crop is when it should be empty in early morning before they eat or drink.

If you can get some antibiotic from a vet to treat the respiratory symptoms, it may be helpful. Probiotics can be helpful for helping her fight off illness. If you see any material inside her beak, let us know. Canker is a contagious disease carried by pigeons. It and wet fowl pox inside the mouth and throat can look similar.

Permethrin is very good to treat mites, and needs to be applied at 5-7 day intervals at least 2-3 times to kill the mites, and newly hatched eggs.

 

[Nats Chickens]

Thanks so much! It's not sour crop, her crop was empty this morning. It isn't Coryza (thank you, God, for answering my repeated prayers) And she is really active and alert. Her nasal discharge is clear and thin. She is very flighty nd I can't get her mouth open, I am worried if I use force it will hurt her.

 

[Nats Chickens]

I'll give her yogurt.

 

[Eggcessive]

If you can get her off the roost at night, and have an extra pair of hands to hold her for you, you can pry open her beak with your thumb and forefinger, and look into her beak with a flashlight. It just would be good to know if there is canker in there. Canker is treated with Fish Zole (metronidazole) 250 mg daily by mouth for 5-7 days. You may be able to get that from a vet. If you don’t see any yellow gunk inside her beak, it may be one of the other respiratory diseases. Here is some reading about canker:
http://www.poultrydvm.com/condition/canker