Pro - Does anyone else's nest boxes get soaked in rain?

[GillC]

5 bantams, 2 medium hybrids. Crouched down watching & chatting to my hens just before shutting them up tonight, I spotted Amber's (amber star) cheeks were going concave each time she breathed in, and bulging out when she breathed out. There was a slight click between breaths, and occasionally, a few bubbles would appear in the inner corner of one or other eye.

 

I would suspect some sort of cold virus, but her nostrils are completely clear - no discharge or snot and she seems otherwise absolutely fine.

 

I have had hens for 8 years, and have had snotty chickens that have recovered after a few days. I've never noticed this cheek movement and bubbly eyes before.

 

Anybody seen anything like this?

[Dolly]

Could be mycoplasma from what you describe, I would definitely take her to the vets as they will need to prescribe antibiotics, I think it's Tylan she needs from my own experience. Also I would keep her away from the others if you can as these things tend to be contagious.

Let us know how you get on.

[GillC]

Thanks Dolly,

After some thought and research, I came to the same conclusion as you. Earlier this year I had a hen who was prescribed tylan for mycoplasma and I still have most of it left with an expiry date of 2016. The vet did say that this stock might be useful should I have any other hens with mycoplasma symptoms.

 

Amber shares an eglu cube with Maud (one sleeps on the roosting bars, the other in the nest box!). All my bantams share an eglu with WIR on their own so I'm hoping the only one who is at risk of catching it is Maud.

 

I'm fairly confident that if I took Amber to the vet, the first thing she'd do would be to start her on Tylan so I've started a 5-day course of Tylan and will keep all the hens separate for that period and watch closely to see if a) Amber improves and b) that none of the others get it. If it doesn't clear after the 5-day course I'll take her to the vet, but it doesn't seem worth putting her through the stress of a car journey at this stage.

 

I'll post what happens

[Dolly]

Sounds like a good plan and you've got it covered, my vet also gave me an extra amount of Tylan for the same reason.

Hope she gets better soon

[GillC]

I gave her and Maud who shares the same eglu cube a course lasting 7 days. Took about 3 days before I was sure there was any improvement, but then it cleared up completely. Really chuffed. Go Tylan! Very hard to accurately work out the dose though, but I managed it.

[PixieDust]

Really pleased this has worked. Hoping my girl recovers with her Tylan shot. See "Clear Mucus" thread.

[GillC]

I probably ought to start a new thread, but I wonder if this is related. Amber is now standing around lookin hunched and uncomfortable. She seems to be holding her legs wide apart and her bottom feathers are scant with some signs of having had runny poos, though not really at the moment. I thought it might be worms so they are just reaching the end of their 7 days of flubenvet. Amber has not laid an agg since May when I gabe her and Maud their own eglu cube to live in.i picked her up and felt her and her abdomen feels firm. She is definitely not losing weight, but I cannot be sure if her abdomen feels different to usual. She is one of my friendliest chickens so I pick her up a lot.

 

Any advice or suggestions would be very welcome.

[Beantree]

It sounds to me like it could be an abdominal infection GillC and unfortunately it may be peritonitis. You need to get a vet to look at her immediately I think.

 

Peritonitis can be a side effect of carrying the Mycoplasma virus. We lost two Leghorns this year so I read up about it.

[GillC]

Thanks beantree. I'll get her to the vet first thing on Monday. Reading up on it, it sounds like a strong possibility. Hope I've not left it too late

[GillC]

The vet removed 1ltr of fluid from Amber's abdomen. It was starting to impede her breathing (which was why her comb was showing a bluish tinge - something I wasn't aware of). She was immediately more perky! He said there was more there but he didn't want to risk removing too much.

 

He thought it was most likely peritonitis, although it could be tumour or cardiac but diff to tell without running expensive tests. He prescribed baytril twice daily and metacam once daily. I dosed her with both upon arriving home in the evening and by the next morning she looked so much better. I have to treat her for 10 days. So far so good. The vet said that her body should absorb any further liquid as she recovered. Once treated with Baytril I've been told that her eggs are no longer suitable for human consumption.The vet did say I could use tylan since I already had a stock, but when I specifically asked which was better to treat peritonitis if that was indeed what she had, he said Baytril. I'd rather have a healthy hen and throw away the eggs than risk using a less suitable antibiotic so I went with that. Also, I had treated her with Tylan in November for her suspected Myco, so I wasn't sure it would be good to go again with the same anti-biotic.

 

I do hope this clears it up completely.

[Beantree]

If it is peritonitis GillC, Amber will need hormone treatment to stop her laying as well. Otherwise it will continue repeating as partially formed eggs continually enter the abdomen through a tear in the oviduct. Hopefully it is some kind of mysterious infection that just clears up.