introducing new bird....with a cold :(

[monkfish]

so, just been given a black brahma by my friend who is going on holiday for a few months. shes 4 1/2 months old and sneezing and has a watery eye. i know i need to indroduce her slowly to my other birds (they are of similar age) but do i need to treat her 'cold' first, and the introduce her? is she infectious to my birds? and how do i need to treat her? pheew, a lot of questions!

thanks!

 

[Bertie & The Chooks]

I always keep new birds in quarantine, most certainly if they are showing any signs of sickness. They usually stay there for two weeks depending on the temperament or the health of the bird.

Quarantine entails: Pen/coop away from others not touching and depending on if respiratory out of sight and in warmer environment, stainless steel bowls and containers separate to the others and not used on the others until sterilised. Fresh water daily, food they are used to from previous home if possible. if not slowly introducing food I use in small frequent meals in the day with poultry spice if they are underweight or under the weather.

If the cold or illness persists for more than a week I tend to speak to a vet to rule out anything sinister. Observe stools and habits and usually worm before introducing to the group. Ensuring any stools dropped during worming period have passed and are disposed of safely.

I don't think I would add anything too new to their diet that they might not be used to and I don't think I would 'treat' the illness unless I knew what it was for sure. Be sure you use something like Safe4 or Trigine to clean up and not pass infection on to your other birds. always feed and deal with your birds first and then the new one so you are less likely to cross contaminate.

 

[E3lx]

Quarantine is best, may not be a 'cold', could be mild symptoms mycoplasma gallisepticum or infectious coryza etc

 

[Chuck]

Good description and advice on isolation/quarantine and the routine to be carried out Bertie & the Chooks.

 

[monkfish]

thanks steph, thats very good advice. shes in our boot room because its warm in there. was checking her droppings, and some of them have blood in them. should i make an appointment with the vet? thanks

 

[Bertie & The Chooks]

thanks steph, thats very good advice. shes in our boot room because its warm in there. was checking her droppings, and some of them have blood in them. should i make an appointment with the vet? thanks

hi monkfish, sounds like something sinister. has she been vaccinated(do you have documentation?) if not I would speak to a vet asap and be very vigilant with your boot changing and cleaning before sorting your chooks out. blood can be Coccidiosis or worms in some cases, sounds to me a call to a vet for advice should be first call, depending on how much you want to spend on one chook be prepared to do the deed 06 doesn't sound very nice.

 

[monkfish]

took her to the vet. and he didnt seem that worried....she even did a slighty bloody poo there. he just gave baytril, and said to keep an eye on her for a couple of weeks. shes eating now, which is good.

all i know is that she was wormed a couple of months ago.

theres only a light speckle of blood in her droppings, and apart from that, she actually looks quite well, just sounds a bit rubbish. it was my bf who took her 2day, so didnt chat to the vet personally. but from what he said, shes ok for weight etc, just a bit sniffy. im a bit :S wen it comes to vets for advice (for chickens), where i live (rural) they dont care for chickens that much, and expect u to 'do the deed' as you said. i always book my appointments as 'dr' (even though im phd) because they always seem to listen a bit more, esp when it comes to unlicesned drugs/antibiotics. im a bit sceptical when it comes to baytril, so we'll just see how it goes.....and let you know!

 

[chrismahon]

Sounds like ILT -all of ours have had it and it is highly infectious getting more aggressive with every transference. The bird may have been innoculated and it is just having a relapse due to stress, but still highly infectious. Some of ours do when they moult -like now. Runny nose, sneezing and watery eyes with swollen eyelids, difficulty swallowing so empty crop. Poos may be green. Definately keep it isolated and down wind of the other birds as each sneeze contains the virus.
Blood in poo sounds like coccidiosis or it may not be blood but tapeworm, which sheds segments of itself and looks like small pieces of flesh.

 

[monkfish]

hey steph, well, shes picking up and started eat/drink more. she likes to b hand fed
shes sneezing a little, but not got a chest rattle. shes still in our boot room, which we disinfect every day. shes been wormed, a few months ago...but theres no harm in worming her again when shes better, right? thanks so much for ur great advice!

 

[Bertie & The Chooks]

hey steph, well, shes picking up and started eat/drink more. she likes to b hand fed
shes sneezing a little, but not got a chest rattle. shes still in our boot room, which we disinfect every day. shes been wormed, a few months ago...but theres no harm in worming her again when shes better, right? thanks so much for ur great advice!

Oh i'm so pleased she's picking up! I would worm her again for sure. I would do it now personally as the worms are only going to keep her body from working on that sniffle! Cheers for keepin me posted and it's my pleasure glad it helped. xx

 

[monkfish]

hi steph, thanks for being a god send to us at the moment! i think i have a precious chicken - shes only eating and DRINKING out of my hand, or when i play with food :/the sneezing has almost stopped, though still a bit of a chest rattle. baytil has nearly finished. im on call this weekend, so havent really seen her, but my bf thinkher comb is a little pale. do u think she has lung worm? poos are ok but a little dry, but no blood. and will worming her get rid of lung worm? x

 

[Bertie & The Chooks]

hi steph, thanks for being a god send to us at the moment! i think i have a precious chicken - shes only eating and DRINKING out of my hand, or when i play with food :/the sneezing has almost stopped, though still a bit of a chest rattle. baytil has nearly finished. im on call this weekend, so havent really seen her, but my bf thinkher comb is a little pale. do u think she has lung worm? poos are ok but a little dry, but no blood. and will worming her get rid of lung worm? x

Lung worm(Gape worm) are one in the same in poultry. So yes, the Flubenvet should treat for them. I imagine since she's on her own she's a bit lonely so enjoys your company. Try not to let her get too attached though as this could make it difficult for her to join the rest of the flock. try to encourage ground feeding, so put your hand on the ground and slowly move the food off it to the floor and peck at it with your fingers.