Very sick faverolle pullet

[marie_martin]

My DH went out and closed the coop last night and assumed everyone was in. They never stay out. They are in an inclosed run but there is a little chicken brooder house that she could have been under and he did not see her. We always wait till they go home, at about dark or a little after and then close them up. Well this morning when I went out to let them out, I found her. Laying on the ground and in very bad shape. It was not too bad cold last night here in Mississippi but cold enough. Her comb does not look frostbitten but her eyes were gummed together and had pus and there is pus in her mouth too. What can I do. Should we just put her down? She is very weak. I put anitbiotic salve on her eyes and got them cleaned up and open. I cleaned some of the infection stuff out of her mouth with a q=tip but I cant tell what is part of her mouth and what is not. She is having to breath through her mouth, can't breath through her nose. Is this bird flu? She feels warm enough, not cool. When I mess with her mouth she comes up and appears to have a little energy, but not much. She is in bad shape and I am worried that whatever she has will affect all my chickens. I don't have any chicken medications except electrolytes which I tried giving her but she can't breath when I do that. I do have some antibiotics that are the same medication as the chicken stuff but is injectable. OXY something. Can I inject that maybe under her wink or something? Any suggestions would be great. She was my first chicken, and I love her. Thanks.

Marie

 

[GloriaH]

I would try giving her an injection. Give it just under her skin. Give it where ever you feel comfortalbe. I go under the wing or the back between the shoulders. Keep her warm. Someone who knows more will be along to help you.

 

[marie_martin]

I gave her a tiny bit of the tetracycline injectable but she is not eating or drinking and I am having a hard time getting any drops of water into her due to her breathing through her mouth only right now. It is weird but the inside of her mouth seems all pussed over and I can't tell what is part of her mouth and what is infection. I dont want to hurt her. I put antibiotic salve on her eyes to keep them from being dried up and it has helped she has opened them some. But I don't think it is good. I am just going to keep her warm and try the drops of water and see but I don't think it is good. I just pray no one else gets sick. I will be getting antibiotics tomorrow and putting in their water for sure. I want out and no one else looks like that but obviously it hits pretty quickly. When DH let them out yesterday morning they were fine, or did not act funny. He did not look at all of them of course. And then we were gone all day and they go up by dark so when he went out at dark to close the coop he did not know she was out in the run. Obviously already sick. If we had noticed her yesterday, I guess we could have been better off with this, but I guess it could not be helped. Just keep her in your prayers.

Marie

 

[therealsilkiechick]

i pray ur little one makes it i just lost my best red polish pullet who was 5mths old a few hours ago to something similar. but she was in the coop and had no infection. i got her through from yesterday evening till late this morning and lost her.

she only had a couple real tiny spots of frostbite on bottoms of her feet but she was ice cold when we found her.

she was eating or drinking either but i used a pipette to feed her. she did eat a tiny bit and drink a little last night and was perking up but over night when i went to sleep she didn't eat either with it right in front of her. she was real weak and i tried to still get some into her but she wouldn't swallow it and kept bringing it back up alittle while later she passed in my hands.

only thing i know to tell ya is her windpipe is that little hole in the middle towards the front. the throat is the little bigger whole on the right towards the back but does go farther over to the left. make sure their is no food on the top of the beak where the line is that's the sinus that goes to the windpipe so keep it clear.
best of luck to you i hope she pulls through ok.
silkie

 

[dlhunicorn]

You can infuse a q-tip with a dilute iodine solution to tease off the placques of gunk in there.
I suggest you contact Peter Brown at featherfanciers.com ... he is the owner of FirstState Vet Supply...he is very knowledgeable on meds and you can discuss this further with him and he can ship any meds out you need overnite if necessary.
http://www.firststatevetsupply.com

 

[marie_martin]

I just went to his site and it appears he charges $20 to ask him a question? Anyway, she is drinking now although gurgling a bit after. I put a little of the layer crumbles in the water and it is like a slurry and she is dinking. She could not eat because she could not close her mouth all the way. Here are a couple of pics of you can have a look and tell me what you think or feel free to pass them along to someone you think might be able to help.

http://s72.photobucket.com/albums/i162/marie_martin/?action=view&current=IMG_0040_1.jpg

http://s72.photobucket.com/albums/i162/marie_martin/?action=view&current=IMG_0041_1.jpg

I guess I should have edited them to make them closer but maybe you guys can do it on your end. I am so upset right now and I am sick on top of that. So this is tough today. She is at least trying to drink though. I guess that is good. I will check back to see if anyone else has any suggestions.

Anyone know of a place where I can find a pic of the inside of a chickens mouth so I can compare?

Marie

 

[dlhunicorn]

No, there are no charges to post questions on his board ...
People were overwhelming him at his home phone number... I believe the charge notice is to discourage that but you will find if you have a true emergency and you send him an email with the information concerning this and leave your phone number that he would call you back.
There are never any charges connected to information regarding treatment from clients who are ordering meds from him.

 

[dlhunicorn]

sent you a pm

ETA: Now I have more time I will post it here also ... I suspected trichomoniasis (in pigeons this is referred to as canker and this term is often commonly used for the condition in chickens too) and forwarded your info and photos to Peter >his reply is below and below that additional info I have on it. You should start treatment immediately. Please in addition to this review the info underneath... this is not a "diagnosis" per se and it really would be better to have the bird looked at by a vet if at all possible...

FROM PETER BROWN:
Hey Diana:

While it is hard to tell from the pictures this appears to be a possible case of Canker. It appears as a growth in the mouth and will eventually obstruct the air way and the esophagus as well.

Apply Iodine directly to the Canker and remove as much as possible and administer Metronidazole ( Canker Tablets ) 250 mg 2 x a day for 5 to 7 days and see where that takes you.

It may be hard for this bird to recover as it appears to be in the Nostrils as well.
___________________________________________________________ADDITIONAL INFO:

Re: TRICHOMONASIS ( sometimes called "canker")


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mainly called canker in pigeons but referred to as trichomoniasis in fowl (it is often reported in the poultry literature as being somewhat uncommon in chickens however the backyard flock will experience this more often and it is often confused with "sour crop" and needs to be differentiated also from vitamin A deficiency and Candidiasis (thrush/yeast) and wet pox ... :
www.canadianpoultry.ca/chapter_v.htm
"White plaques in the mouth, esophagus, or crop may be caused by capillaria worms, yeast infection (candidiasis, moniliasis), or possibly trichomoniasis or vitamin A deficiency, but most frequently by fowl pox (wet form). White plaques beside the tongue in the mouth are common in hens and turkey breeders and may be caused by mycotoxin or low humidity. Vomitoxin may produce similar lesions in young chickens and turkeys."

http://www.worldpoultry.net/avian_trichomoniasis/
(excerpt)
".....Clinical signs:
.... include lowered feed consumption, spitting up of feed, high mortality, listless, ruffled feathers and emaciation.... A large crop filled with fluid, difficulty in swallowing, stretching of neck, drooling greenish to yellowish fluid. Diarrhoea (yellow and watery) and a drop in egg production can occur.....
Treatment
Dimetridazole (0.05%), ipronidizole and nitrasone and effective treatments."

http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/agdex4444?opendocument
TRICHOMONIASIS (excerpt below)
How to Know When Birds are Infected
In acute cases, there may be little indication that the bird is infected, and death may occur quite suddenly. In other cases, infected pigeon squabs may stop feeding, lose weight, look ruffled and dull, and be unable to stand or maintain their balance.

Diarrhea may also occur. Death may occur within three weeks of infection. Greenish fluid or cheesy material may accumulate in the mouth and crop, and this material may exude from the beak. A pendulous crop may develop in turkey poults and chickens.

How to Know if Birds are Infected with T. gallinae
Characteristic yellowish-white nodules in the oral cavity, esophagus and crop strongly suggest trichomoniasis. The infection is confirmed by finding the organism during microscopic examination of the greenish fluids, cheesy material or the lesion

Here is what the MERCK had to say about it:
www.merckvetmanual.com/mv...201400.htm
Trichomoniasis in domestic fowl, pigeons, doves, and hawks is characterized, in most cases, by caseous accumulations in the throat and usually by weight loss. It has been termed “canker,” “roup,” and, in hawks, “frounce.”
Etiology:
The causative organism is Trichomonas gallinae , a flagellated protozoan that lives in the sinuses, mouth, throat, esophagus, and other organs. It is more prevalent among domestic pigeons and wild doves than among domestic fowl, although severe outbreaks have been reported in chickens and turkeys. Some strains of T gallinae cause high mortality in pigeons and doves. Hawks may become diseased after eating infected birds and commonly show liver lesions, with or without throat involvement. Pigeons and doves transmit the infection to their offspring in contaminated pigeon milk. Contaminated water is probably the most important source of infection for chickens and turkeys.
Clinical Findings:
Trichomoniasis, pigeon
The disease course is rapid. The first lesions appear as small, yellowish areas on the oral mucosa. They grow rapidly and coalesce to form masses that frequently completely block the esophagus and may prevent the bird from closing its mouth. Much fluid may accumulate in the mouth. There is a watery ocular discharge and, in more advanced stages, exudate about the eyes that may result in blindness. Birds lose weight rapidly, become weak and listless, and sometimes die within 8-10 days. In chronic infections, birds appear healthy, although trichomonads can usually be demonstrated in scrapings from the mucous membranes of the throat.
Lesions: The bird may be riddled with caseous, necrotic foci. The mouth and esophagus contain a mass of necrotic material that may extend into the skull and sometimes through the surrounding tissues of the neck to involve the skin. In the esophagus and crop, the lesions may be yellow, rounded, raised areas, with a central conical caseous spur, often referred to as “yellow buttons.” The crop may be covered by a yellowish, diphtheritic membrane that may extend to the proventriculus. The gizzard and intestine are not involved. Lesions of internal organs are most frequent in the liver; they vary from a few small, yellow areas of necrosis to almost complete replacement of liver tissue by caseous necrotic debris. Adhesions and involvement of other internal organs appear to be contact extensions of the liver lesions.

Diagnosis:
Lesions of T gallinae infection are characteristic but not pathognomonic; those of pox and other infections can be similar. Diagnosis should be confirmed by microscopic examination of a smear of mucus or fluid from the throat to demonstrate the presence of trichomonads. Trichomonads can be cultured easily in various artificial media such as 0.2% Loeffler’s dried blood serum in Ringer’s solution or a 2% solution of pigeon serum in isotonic salt solution. Good growth is obtained at 98.6°F (37°C). Antibiotics may be used to reduce bacterial contamination.

Control:
Because T gallinae infection in pigeons is so readily transmitted from parent to offspring in the normal feeding process, chronically infected birds should be separated from breeding birds. In pigeons, recovery from infection with a less virulent strain of T gallinae appears to provide some protection against subsequent attack by a more virulent strain. Successful treatments include metronidazole (60 mg/kg body wt) and dimetridazole (50 mg/kg body wt, PO; or in the drinking water at 0.05% for 5-6 days). Neither of these drugs is approved for use in birds in the USA."

http://compepid.tuskegee.edu/syllabi/pathobiology/pathology/parasitology/chapter13.html
Parasites of the Esophagus and Crop in Birds-CH 13

 

[marie_martin]

That is exactly what this is. She is trying to drink but it is hard. Am I to understand that I should try to scrape this canker out of the mouth? It is blocking her nose and she only breathes through her mouth. I am afraid to hurt her or make her bleed. Would I get the canker meds from the vet or someplace else? Should I be concerned about my other chickens? Should I check them all and get meds for everyone? Thanks.

Marie

 

[dlhunicorn]

Quote:
At the link I gave you for Peter Brown... (the store) ... will ship out that med overnight.... You can add an email and explain who you are and that you need it immediately....

Yes...take the q-tip as I explained in my first post and dip it in iodine and gently extract the gunk out of mouth (coats twhat does not let loose and repeat the procedure every day)
It wont all come out at once but it will slowly
Are you able to get to a vet to help?

please disinfect (bleach) all your waterers :
(quote from MERCK article above)
"... Contaminated water is probably the most important source of infection for chickens and turkeys. ..."