HELP NEEDED PLEASE

M

Mad Maggie

New member
Joined
Sep 1, 2010
Messages
55
Reaction score
0
I have three little silkie bantams which I purchased earlier this year. They have a hen house with nest box and a good sized run. I noticed the other day that my little black girl was sneezing a little but she seemed okay and was eating. The other two are fine. Today she has been very lethargic when out in the garden and when I went to close the coop luckily I checked them and she was on her own and very cold.

I have brought her into the house and put her in a box with plenty of straw to keep her warm. She is lethargic, seems to be having trouble breathing and 'coughing' a lot. It almost sounds as though her lungs are congested too. She wants to eat but doesn't seem able to and I don't know what to do. I have mixed a bit of layers mash with a lot of water and syringed a little for her to swallow and although she is trying to take it, she coughs as soon as it goes down.

Any help greatly appreciated. I am just hoping she survives the night so I can get her to a vet in the morning.
 
apart from keeping her warm and calm i dont know what esle to suggest really but someone else will be along soon to offer more advice, i have my fingers crossed you get her to the vet as it sounds like she really needs some antiboitics good luck .
 
Hi
Thanks - yes I think she needs antibiotics asap unless anyone has any better ideas
 
I do hope she makes it through the night, and you can get her to the vet tomorrow. Keep a careful eye on the other two as it may be infectious. Maybe have an extra-thorough cleanup in the run, especially feeder and drinker?
 
Agree with the others, she needs antibiotics so i'd get her to a vet first thing tomorrow. These colds/infections don't clear up on their own, they just generally get worse so get her the meds asap.
Em
 
Needs antibiotics but difficult to say whether it is a chest infection or Bronchitus virus. Baytril for an infection but Synulox for a virus. As you have had them a while I would stab at dusty bedding and an infection. Hope she has made it overnight and the vet has treated her. Give the coop a good clean out as a precaution and avoid hay as bedding. Stick with good quality wood shavings (some is too coarse and can damage their feet).
 
chrismahon said:
Needs antibiotics but difficult to say whether it is a chest infection or Bronchitus virus. Baytril for an infection but Synulox for a virus.
Click to expand...


Sorry I don't follow... Baytril and Synulox are both broad spec anti-biotics. They treat bacterial infections ONLY. They can offer support to the immune system when the immunity is low because of a virus to prevent bacterial infection in the cells affected by the virus OR prevent bacteria in the body forming and weakening the immune system which helps the virus infect more cells. A virus injects its DNA into a living cell and has that cell reproduce more of the viral DNA. With a virus there is nothing to "kill," so antibiotics don't work on it.

Viruses are not living and antibacterial treatments only work on living bacterium.
 
Just to qualify about Baytril and Synulox. Baytril is your bog-standard stuff and will successfully treat basic infections. It's particularly good at treating respiratory infections. Synulox is a broader spectrum and not so good at respiratory infections but has a good track record of blocking infections resulting from viruses therefore speeding recovery (and is far more expensive at 5x the price of Baytril). This is exactly what the vet told us when she prescribed Synulox for an ILT and IB eperdemic (didn't lose any birds but cost £250!) and a Baytril double dose for a severe chest infection (after it hadn't responded to Synulox anyway).
 
Hi

Just an update on Sooty!

She made it through the night bless her and went to the vets first thing this morning. He says she definitely has a chest infection and possibly 'flu'!!!! He has given her an antibiotic injection and some tylan soluble to give her by syringe as she is not eating at the moment. She does seem a bit brighter after the injection so lets hope it does the trick.

I am mystified why she is poorly. I don't give them hay, they have easibed and they all snuggle together. I have tried straw in their coop but all they do is pull it all out into the run. They have fresh food and water everyday and are cleaned out everyday (ie. poop scooped) and then cleaned about once a week. They free range in the garden for about an 1 or 2 hrs a day (weather dependant) and have a good coop which as far as I can make out is draft free.
 
I find it difficult to balance 'draught free' and 'well ventilated' to be honest. If our Buff Orpingtons have the pop-hole shut they get chesty, but they have huge air holes under the eaves so it is definately well ventilated (and draughty) so they need it (more) draughty as well. They are a funny lot really -eating disorders abound. Perhaps inadiquate ventillation is the problem with Sooty?
 
chrismahon said:
Just to qualify about Baytril and Synulox. Baytril is your bog-standard stuff and will successfully treat basic infections. It's particularly good at treating respiratory infections. Synulox is a broader spectrum and not so good at respiratory infections but has a good track record of blocking infections resulting from viruses therefore speeding recovery (and is far more expensive at 5x the price of Baytril). This is exactly what the vet told us when she prescribed Synulox for an ILT and IB eperdemic (didn't lose any birds but cost £250!) and a Baytril double dose for a severe chest infection (after it hadn't responded to Synulox anyway).
Click to expand...

Baytril & Synulox are both bog standard(penicillin is about a bog as you can get) and broad spec, the difference between the two is Synulox is penicillin with clavulanate, this counteracts the defense mechanism of beta-lactamase enzymes destroying the antibiotic before it can act on the bacteria by inactivating the beta-lactamases(causing 'resistance', thus rendering the organisms sensitive to amoxicillin's rapid bactericidal effect, at concentrations readily attainable in the body. Thus it being more expensive.

Depends on how you look at it really you can pay for two antibiotics if the first one doesn't work or you can use the stronger more expensive one and be likely to solve the problem and only pay for one. but there will always be a case or two where the cheaper of the two will do the job with no problem or neither will work and you're out of pocket. I'm sure the vets will always suggest the more profitable option as selling two drugs to you surely will make them more money!(i use to work in a vets so i should know! lol). However, some feel less is more. The more antibiotics you use the longer you have to wait to use the meat or eggs and the more damage you do to the animals natural immunity functions and natural bacteria for digestion. Many vets won't use Baytril because a lot of animals have allergies to it or are unresponsive to the treatment. But it's all in what works for you in the end.

and to add, Synulox IM is very thick! and can be painful when administering in some animals which can cause distress so some vets prefer to use other IM solutions. Baytril is oral admin and can be easily administered in most animals. Oral Synulox can be crushed but quantities can be mystifying for some for proper admin...
 
Mad Maggie said:
Hi

Just an update on Sooty!

She made it through the night bless her and went to the vets first thing this morning. He says she definitely has a chest infection and possibly 'flu'!!!! He has given her an antibiotic injection and some tylan soluble to give her by syringe as she is not eating at the moment. She does seem a bit brighter after the injection so lets hope it does the trick.

I am mystified why she is poorly. I don't give them hay, they have easibed and they all snuggle together. I have tried straw in their coop but all they do is pull it all out into the run. They have fresh food and water everyday and are cleaned out everyday (ie. poop scooped) and then cleaned about once a week. They free range in the garden for about an 1 or 2 hrs a day (weather dependant) and have a good coop which as far as I can make out is draft free.
Click to expand...

aww bless her feather socks.
 
chrismahon said:
I find it difficult to balance 'draught free' and 'well ventilated' to be honest. If our Buff Orpingtons have the pop-hole shut they get chesty, but they have huge air holes under the eaves so it is definately well ventilated (and draughty) so they need it (more) draughty as well. They are a funny lot really -eating disorders abound. Perhaps inadiquate ventillation is the problem with Sooty?
Click to expand...

I try to think draft comes from the sides and bottom and venting is at the top. So there is still circulation of the air but not total loss of temp or gusts of cool air as the warm air rises and keeps the pressure of the cool air out naturally.
 
glad she suvived the night and you got her to the vets :D love the name i have a little bantam called sooty asshes all black and loves to sing to you hehehe so wish i could get it as a ring tone .
 
I hope that they have adequate ventilation as they have an onduline roof on their coop which lets the air circulate but hopefully without a draft down below where they sleep. They are normally all curled up together and warm, bless them. The other two seem fine today so I can only assume she is a little more delicate. She is younger than the others, slightly and was extremely stressed when she first came as she had survived a fox eating most of her friends and relatives. Then this horrible woman :-)17 came along with about 4 others and chased her around a field until we caught her (more stress), then a fairly long ride home and introduced to two other bantams who didn't like her for the first week. :roll: I would guess her little immune system is possibly a bit weak.

Fingers crossed she will survive this - having just fed her again by syringe, she is fighting a bit more which seems a good sign.

Thanks for all the good wishes - will update tomorrow.
 
Hi Steph,
Our Synulox is added to water and administered orally twice a day. Our vets usually try Baytril first as it's cheaper. Just that with ILT and IB causing so much of a problem with the risk of imminent loss of birds, incliuding our pet Bottom, they had no time to experiment.
 
poor little girl seems like shess find a true good home :D with a mum who loves her
 
Mad Maggie, I hope she gets better soon, glad to hear she has perked up a bit :-)17

Keep a close eye on the others for signs of infection.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top