Sinus infection?

[Sisterhood]

Hello - any advice gratefully received as we are new to hen keeping!

About a week ago one of our hens (c. 15 week Speckledy) got a runny nose and seemed under the weather for about a day or so. We treated with Citricidal in one drinking water and apple cider vinegar and crushed garlic in the other drinker. She picked up after a day or so, although she still had a runny nose. After a couple of days two or three of the other birds started getting runny noses too, but none seemed subdued and we just kept up the same treatments.

Today one of these (c.16 week old Bluebelle) has gone under the weather very quickly from having been fine this morning. She now has a runny eye as well as nose, is very lethargic. We have picked her up and had a look at her - she was closing the runny eye and we noticed that, as she breathes, the tissue under the other eye was going in and out like a bellows (never noticed this before on any of the hens, is it normal??) - but this not happening on the side with the discharge.

Have read somewhere that you can treat with Citricidal straight down the throat - but the bottle says never to use undiluted!

Please if you see this - what would you advise? We haven't isolated her, as we figure that they've all been exposed to whatever it is for about a week now, and she's not being picked on.

Thanks
Sophie and Steve

 

[foxy]

Hello Sophie and Steve and welcome to the forum! 08 99

Sorry to hear that you have a few poorly hens, the symptoms do not sound too serious however it is obvious that some are dealing with the problem better than others.

It does appear that they have an upper respiratory infection, and there are few usual suspects that poultry are susceptible too, they are also highly infectious. Most of them are viral and embed themselves in the upper respiratory tract and typically cause the symptoms you describe. A combination of other factors, stress, extreme changes in temperature, age can bring these symptoms on, when they are symptomatic they are more infectious and so the cycle starts again.

Treatment: In the first instance, check their bedding is very good quality, dust extracted bedding. ACV in the water is good too, good quality feed if you can switch to a "breeders" pellet which are slightly higher in digestible protein. Cut out treats and stick to the pellets. Make sure at night they have a little more ventilation that usual, and let them out earlier in the morning. The cilia in their throats are very sensitive, and need to work effectively in order to keep their lungs clear.

A good probiotic designed for chickens, I use Beryls,(from www. chickenvet.com) this simply reduces the bad bacteria which can occupy a chickens gut in times of illness. Citricidal is fine in mild cases, but doesn't actually do anything.

A vet will prescribe antibiotics, these help the chicken fight against any opportunistic infections that can complicate simple respiratory infections and cause what is normally referred to as "CRD" chronic respiratory disease.

Hope this helps!

Here is link to more information:

http://poultrykeeper.com/respiratory-problems/

 

[Sisterhood]

Thanks - so nice to hear that it's highly treatable - you read a lot of comments that seem to advise culling at the merest sniffle!

She is now a bit perkier, and no bubbly eyes this morning, but still laboured breathing - and is also 'gaping' a bit - in fact she did this a little last week as well - should I be wary of gapeworm? or would she be doing this non-stop if it was that? She's still feeding and drinking, but maybe a bit less than usual.

They are out of their coup a lot (an Eglu Cube) and from about 06:30 during the week, 07:00 at weekends - we've been using shredded paper in the nest box - is that bad for dust?

Thanks
SOphie

 

[chrismahon]

Hi Sisterhood. This could just be a flare-up of the live immunisation strains of ILT and IB they have been given, caused by heat stress. In which case it will clear up when the weather changes. They are getting close to worming with Flubenvet, but don't worry about gapeworm as I have yet to encounter a confirmed case.

Shredded paper can be dusty and sharp. I don't use it. We use hay or wood shavings over paper -they prefer hay and make lovely little nests in it. Avoid straw.

 

[foxy]

Chris is referring to the fact that as you have hybrids, it is likely they are vaccinated against a myriad of illnesses which are common to poultry.You will be able to determine this from your supplier. There are instances in vaccinated birds of "breakthrough" symptoms which in simple terms is where the virus "challenge" outweighs the ability of the hen immune system to counteract. When we start to talk in terms of vaccination and immune response it kinda gets a bit complicated!

At this point in time it is best to monitor any change, decrease or increase in symptoms, eating and behaviour carefully,if they do not improve then it may be time to consult a poultry specialist vet who will be able to advise a course of treatment which will probably mean antibiotics.

I agree with Chris, that gapeworm is actually quite rare, and very unlikely in your case, worms it depends where you got your birds from and had they been wormed. On an area of heavy bird usage and this time of year, then the risk of a high worm load is greater. Worms will bring an already ill bird down but will not be the causative agent. You can get your chickens tested for wormload, and this is around £10 from a good vet.

Bedding, I think for now fresh newspaper changed regularly is just fine!

How long have you had your birds now Sophie?

 

[Marigold]

Yes, my neighbour has an Eglu Cube and he finds that the tabloids fit the trays at the bottom better than the Guardian! Then you can just make a nice neat parcel of the poo every day for the compost heap. As they are only just approaching POL, no need for a lot of bedding in the nestboxes, a layer of soft paper shredded into strips will be fine for when they get to the stage where they begin to explore in there. Are any of them sleeping in the nestboxes? If so, try to train them out of this by putting large plastic flowerpots inside the boxes overnight. When they begin to lay, you'll want them to come into a clean box without last night's poo all over the floor to make the eggs dirty, and also the ventilation is better in the main part of the coop.
I'm not terribly impressed with the ventilation in my friends Cube. It seems to consist of a few holes here and there in the sides, rather than larger spaces you can leave open. Assuming you have the version where there is a secure attached run, it would be best to leave the pop hole open all the time and not shut them up at all at night, ever. They won't get cold even in winter so long as they are dry, and inadequate ventilation overnight is a very common cause of respiratory diseases. It causes condensation, so the chickens are breathing damp air and possibly passing infectious germs around, and also any dust is confined within the coop and gets breathed in. If you leave the pop hole open they can get up when they are ready, which will be much earlier than 6.30 in summer thus decreasing the time they spend in there.

 

[Sisterhood]

Wow - thankyou all for such a lot of advice!

We have had the hens for nearly six weeks, and they were (mostly) 10 weeks old when we got them. In fact it turned out one was 17 weeks when she arrived, which we discovered when she started laying a week later! Hence keeping bedding in the nest box. The others are all a few weeks off laying yet - although we have our money on poorly hen, Betty, to be the next, as her comb and wattles are growing now.

They were all vaccinated and wormed before we got them - and yes the wild changes in weather would seem an excellent reason for her symptoms - I don't think they knew what to make of the thunder and lightening storms, not that they got particularly caught in the rain.

They have all slept in the nest box from time to time, particularly on the really hot nights - but I couldn't see that it was any cooler in there. Betty certainly slept in there last night. Mainly they are in the roosting area.

I will suggest keeping the pop hole open as we have built our own impregnable (hopefully) walk-in run - but Steve is more worried about predators, and me more worried about illnesses (could be a Mars and Venus thing?).

I've also phoned the suppliers and they suggested some high-protein food like tuna, just for her, to give her a boost. Has anyone tried this?

Thanks
Sophie

 

[foxy]

Regarding feeding tuna, there are differing opinions on sources of additional protein. Personally I think that in pelleted form is preferable to keep things as simple as possible. A good way to increase their protein levels, and just slightly is to sprinkle a few dried mealworms onto their regular pellets. You can get hold of these from most pet/agricultural stores.

Marigold is our resident "plastics" expert so would defer to her excellent advice on cube management!