3.6m Omlet Chicken Run for sale, Brand New in Boxes, Milton Keynes (MK19)

[Luvachicken]

Yesterday when my girls were out playing, one of them made sneeze noises every now and then. It was hard to tell who was doing it but this morning when I went to let them out only 3 of them came down the ladder. Myrtle was still huddled up inside, she came down eventually and pottered about. I did see her do a big sneezey sort of thing with a big shake. She hasn't done much so far and I checked her all over for anything, but there is no discharge from her eyes or her nose and nothing else like mites or anything.

I have put the tonic in their water this morning to see if that will help.

Do I need to separate her from the others or keep her warm indoors ? Or should I just wait and see how she does ?

 

Thanks for any help xx

Edited August 24, 2011 by Guest

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Citricidal is supposed to be good for sneezey hens .

[Luvachicken]

I decided she did sound really snuffly and took her to the vets at lunch time.

She said she sounded snuffly and listened to her chest but didn't say she had a chest infection.

She gave her some Baytril which I have to mix up in water and to make sure she is kept away from the others so she doesn't sneeze on them.

So far, she is in the garden in a rabbit run, but she looks so lost without her friends.

She hasn't touched the water, food and not even attempted the grass she is on.

How long do I leave it before I syringe any watery medicine down her ?

What else could I give her to make her feel better or to eat - dried mealworms didn't do it for her either .

[Redwing]

A bit of corn may tempt her

 

Some chooks are reluctant to drink water with Baytril in as its quite bitter

 

You could try adding a tiny drop of Ribena to the water, chooks seem to really like it and its great for encouraging a chook to drink. Failing that then gently drip some of the water in to her beak without tipping the head too far back and allow her to swallow it herself. If she hasnt drunk by this evening I'd probably give that a try but dont force her if you have problems, just leave her and she should drink in her own time

[Luvachicken]

Thanks for that Redwing, I had forgotten about the Ribena trick.

For the moment she has been an excellent patient she sits on hubby's lap while I gently touch her beak and then her dear little tongue laps it all up. I think I have only managed to give her 2mls of the water so far, but while we took our dog out and she was left unsupervised she had put the pellets on the grass so obviously must have had some food.

We will be putting her in our dog crate overnight in our dining room and hopefully she will perk up.

I can't believe what a brilliant patient she has been so far

Fingers crossed she will get better soon

[Luvachicken]

Well, as you may know Myrtle has a bad cold and the vet put her on watered down Baytril, but I am concerned because she has only really drank what I've syringed down her and she hasn't really eaten anything .

 

She does now seem to have a bit of discharge from her nose and a teeny tiny bit on her left eye.

She stands up a lot and breathes in by lifting her neck straight. She closes her eyes a lot too.

 

How can I get her to eat.....yesterday I cooked her pasta, potato, scrambled egg and gave her mealworms and corn.

She ate a bit of corn........today I made her baby rice ( is that ok ?) Could I make it really runny and put it in a syringe ?

I have some natural yoghurt in the fridge - can she have that ?

How do I like force feed her ?

 

She sounds so snotty, poor little thing What else can I do for her ?

[Mercedes55]

Well, as you may know Myrtle has a bad cold and the vet put her on watered down Baytril, but I am concerned because she has only really drank what I've syringed down her and she hasn't really eaten anything .

 

She does now seem to have a bit of discharge from her nose and a teeny tiny bit on her left eye.

She stands up a lot and breathes in by lifting her neck straight. She closes her eyes a lot too.

 

How can I get her to eat.....yesterday I cooked her pasta, potato, scrambled egg and gave her mealworms and corn.

She ate a bit of corn........today I made her baby rice ( is that ok ?) Could I make it really runny and put it in a syringe ?

I have some natural yoghurt in the fridge - can she have that ?

How do I like force feed her ?

 

She sounds so snotty, poor little thing What else can I do for her ?

 

Did your vet give you an actual diagnosis of what your girl has? Are they a vet with a good knowledge of chicken related illnesses as there are quite a lot of similar illnesses that chickens can get and sometimes it's best to take them to a chicken friendly vet rather than a regular one. The whole of our flock has had an upper respiratory illness this last week and they had the eye and nose problems plus some facial swelling too and a kind of rattly sound in some of them too. Baytril is a good medication, although we have ours on something else but not sure what the best one is as I'm no expert by any means.

 

We were told to try and give some sugared water to our girls using a syringe and I also used those Nutridrops, although didn't feel they did anything.

 

Did you talk to the vet about giving your girl the Baytril direct from the syringe rather than putting it in her water? I would think if she isn't drinking then it's important to make sure she gets the medication down her.

 

I'm sure someone with a lot more knowledge about hens will be able to give you some more expert advice, but hope she is better soon.

[Chucky Mama]

Poor thing I wouldn't give her any dairy as birds are not geared up to digest the milk protein. Baby food is fine and syringing something slightly thicker tends to be less easily inhaled by accident as they swallow more readily. You can get a product called Avian Electrolytes which is new and specifically for birds. Be careful that handling and syringe feeding is not causing her undue stress. The last thing that you want is for her to loose valuable energy up fighting you. Try to keep her warm, quiet, snot free and supported with either fluid or sloppy food as much as you can without exhausting her.

[Luvachicken]

Yeah, I have tried to keep her as snot free as possible.

She is still just kind of huddled, mostly with her eyes shut and one eye more than the other.

She still hasn't eaten anything, but maybe after speaking to the vet in a bit, I will see if I can get the baby rice in.

At least then she will have had something.

 

I will let you know what the vet says later.

Thanks everyone xx

[Redwing]

See if the vet will give her a Tylan injection, thats probably the best bet

[Luvachicken]

See if the vet will give her a Tylan injection, thats probably the best bet

 

 

When I saw the vet on Sunday she said she didn't like giving injections to chickens as it can affect their muscles ....but I will ask.

 

Just about to phone them, if I can get through.....

[Luvachicken]

Managed to phone but the vet was still busy so I had to speak to her via the nurse on the desk. Every time I asked a question she said " oo, hold on a minute I'll just find out " so in a way that was fine.

 

She told me that Myrtle could have the Baytril neat in 2 x 0.5ml, so we have just managed to give her some now and we should be able to fit the other one in later, and then start with more normal hours tomorrow.

 

I asked about the Tylan injection and she said they only had it in powder form, that it was just another antibiotic, and that it was mostly used in cows

 

As for the baby rice, I mixed some up and put in a syringe and managed to feed her that after the Baytril. I can feed the baby rice every 2hrs. Hopefully, with a nice bit of medicine and a bit of food she will start feeling better

[Luvachicken]

Well, Myrtle seems to have recovered well after just the 2 lots of medicine yesterday and this mornings bit.

She is eating and drinking and pottering nicely in a rabbit run on the grass in the sun - with her own personal sun umbrella.

She still sounds a bit snotty but hasn't sneezed or coughed like she was doing. I can't believe how quick those antibiotics started working.

Mind you, next time one of them needs the vet I will make sure they only get the neat medicine.

I don't think I could put my chickens or myself through that again.

 

Does anyone think she may be able to go back with her friends tomorrow ?

She is closer to them today and seems desperate to go back.

Whats the best way to do it ? Do I just pop her back in, or pop her back at night time so they remember her by morning ?

I've never has a separated girly before.

[Redwing]

Glad she is doing a bit better

 

She needs to stay separate for the course of her illness plus a good clear week afterwards and not go back with the others while there are any symptoms of her cold

[Luvachicken]

Oooer, thats longer than I thought. Never mind, I only work term time anyway so she can continue being in the rabbit run on nice days and indoors for the others.

One good thing is that at least I get the eggs from the others as they are not mixing together.