What do I do for hen with cold?

[bitsy101]

I noticed one of our buff orpington hens this morning has her eyes swollen and running and I believe she has some nasal discharge. Is this a cold and where do I start with treatment? I do have a bottle of Vet RX and just read the instructions and have the bottle in warm water warming it up. Would this be a good start for her treatment. I cleaned out one of our brooders and put fresh shavings and water and food in it so I can isolate her and keep her warm. How do I proceed with treatment this is my first sick chicken have had birds for almost a year now. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[speckledhen]

Well, first of all, chickens do not get colds. VetRx is only like Vicks Vaporub and is not a medication, really. Chickens tend to get things like Mycoplasma Galliseptum (MG) or Infectios Coryza, both of which make them carriers for life. If your hen has a virus, there is no cure for that. Some folks throw antibiotics at every little sneeze, which is completely inadvisable and won't kill a virus anyway. Firstly, separate her from all others. All you can do if you don't want to cull her is to wait, keep her warm, give some supportive therapy and hope her immune system kicks in. Most long time poultry keepers just don't usually treat respiratory illness in chickens due to the carrier nature of those diseases. Supportive therapy is giving her extra protein with chopped fresh garlic and putting some organic unfiltered apple cider vinegar with "the mother" (sediment) in it into her water, about 2 tablespoons to a gallon in a non-metal waterer.

 

[Julie_A]

I have three that are four that are doing something... We had flooding rains and ice cold temps. I've seen folks talking about shots, but I'm not too keen on that. I have them isolated. Vinegar sounds like a wonderful solution!

Two of the four have crusty eyes and sneezes. The other two are sneezing.

I hate it when the babies get sick!!!

 

[speckledhen]

The organic, unfiltered ACV with the mother in it has many benefits and may help cut congestion and encourage good gut pH, but it won't cure a virus. It's just one of the things to do when you have a bird who is going down, especially if they have crop issues, too.