jenjins1 Posted November 21, 2009 Share Posted November 21, 2009 I started keeping chickens in february of this year. This is our first winter with them and have done lots of reading on how to keep them. Nearly two weeks ago one of our hens had lots of mucus from nose, swollen face, and bubbly eyes. Within the next few days they all had symptoms and were treated with aureomycin for suspected mycoplasma and they all improved apart from one who obviously had it worse, which was not the one that i noticed first to be sick. she has had a course of the above anti b and tylan. she is eating and drinking but you can clearly see she is a sick bird. Sleeps often and randomly and not as lively as she used to be. The rattles have stopped and i get the impression that she is either going to carry on like this and possibly eventually die or is it a matter of time to get better. i have recently wormed them and given then a vitamin powder. with the sick hen in particular, i have given her a pipette directly into her mouth of vitamins. One of my younger hens that only 22 weeks has a runny nose this morning again but not showing signs of illness yet. how often can you treat them with anti b and is it ok just for them to have runny noses in the winter. surely the dont need anti b just for runny nose. if they have all the other symptoms i presume you can give again. am new to this and dont seem to have any vets near enough to give me the advice as the situation always seems to be changing! if they have had mycoplasma will they always suffer from these symptoms from time to time, especially in the winter. Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated as i am having to work most of it out myself and by reading articles on the internet. Thanks........... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea Posted November 21, 2009 Share Posted November 21, 2009 Hi and welcome to the forum Sorry to hear your hen is still poorly. I have had no experience of Myco but if your hen is still poorly I would recommend a trip to the vets to be honest. I have used the antibiotics Baytril & Tylan in the past for sneezes/respiratory problems and even an eye infection and found Baytril was the better of the two so maybe you could ask for that instead? Did you worm with Flubenvet? Hope she improves soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saronne Posted November 21, 2009 Share Posted November 21, 2009 Hi, Sorry you're having worries about your hens. It's not fun, I know. At the end of September, a couple of mine came down with the 'rattles' and sneezing. To be honest, the vet didn't have a clue what was wrong, but suggested a course of Baytril for all 15 of my hens. I had to syringe a dose into their beaks twice a day for a week (not fun), but it seemed to sort them out... After that, I bought some Avipro probiotic and mixed it in into their water (to make sure their gut flora was okay). For the past couple of weeks I've also been adding a few drops of citricidal to their water (most days). It's a natural product and claims to keep respiratory problems at bay. Touch wood, they all seem fine now. If there is one that seems quite poorly, I'd be inclined to take it to the vet for another look. Sometimes it takes another course of Anti Bs to sort out a bad case. The one thing I have learned is how important it is to quarantine any new birds you bring home. Best of luck. Saronne xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandyhas3chucks Posted November 21, 2009 Share Posted November 21, 2009 Not the same illness but I recently had 2 very poorly girls, both 2 different things . one was on Baytril for a month before making a complete recovery for over a month then needing another week (This is now and she is def on the mend again today) The other had 2 weeks of Erythromycin, 3 days off and a week of Baytril, to which she responded to after day 2 and made a fantastic come back. The PROBLEM with antibiotics is that they kill off ALL the bacteria good and bad, and can make you feel ill(just like us) then due to both things they/we are more susceptible to picking up something else or indeed the same thing. Soo I recommend as Saroone, If it wsan't your vet but Retfords (you can call Libby and explain and expect she will sort you out again, IN the meantime as it is Sunday I had Brill help with "feed um" which is a high calorie paste , pets at home sell it and have seen in a pet shop. 2nd girl I told you about was soooo soo sad and feeble and she loved it. (you only need a tiny blob 3 or 4 times a day which was about all she could face, and I am sure it kept her strength up while the antibiots were working. good luck with her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenjins1 Posted November 23, 2009 Author Share Posted November 23, 2009 Thanks to you all for your advice and concern I did actually give her some poultry drops in her beak and am continuing to do so and she seems to have picked up white a bit. she still looks slightly pale around her eyes but is certainly not the slow hen that she was a few days ago. i have been out with them today in the garden cleaning them out and putting the red mite powder on them and noticed that she didnt stop once to sleep or puff herself up. she is clearly on the mend and maybe the myco just effected her more than the others. i could not get anymore mucus out her nostrils today either, so hopefully it has dried up. she should start to lay again soon. I heard that Baytril was very good and will get some next time its needed. Lets hope not though!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
