vets and chickens

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I rang my vet this morning regarding my poorly partridge silkie. I was told that he didnt know anything about chickens and if i wanted it put to sleep it would cost me £30. The vet is companion care which is in the Pets at home chain. I didnt take it to the vet in the end i will try some others in the morning.
One minute she cant get up and ha sbeen laying sbout most of the day not moving and then when i let them out into the garden she wandered about quite happily.
I really am in a muddle as what to do. One thing i have noticed when picking her up is she really smells, but as i cant get to hold the others i dont know if they smell also, or do chickens smell anyway.
:roll:
I feel really sorry for her, as i dont want her to suffer. She is still eating and drinking. but there is absolutely nothing of her..
 
Hi BB-----smell can be caused by a number of things including infection and dehydration---either of these could be the cause of her being unwell or as a result of another illness. In view of age,breed and symptoms I would be concerned re Mareks disease.Many illnesses and treatments are pretty much the same for any species and so any vet should be happy to treat. For more specialised poultry problems they may need a vet with further training in the subject,if your vet is not happy to deal with the problem he should be able to recommend / refer you to a vet specialising in avian problems.Good luck, don't give up on her till you know what's going on.Ros
 
good luck, sorry im nowhere near you
i just read on the omlet site that these are in kent but i don't know how near any of them are
Kent
Dan O'Neill & Associates
Allpets Veterinary Clinic
10 Station Square,
Petts Wood
Kent
Tel: 01689 843109.

Margetts & Luck (Louise is the poultry expert)
10 Egremont Road
Bearsted
Maidstone,
Kent
01622 736677
http://www.any-uk-vet.co.uk/margetts-bearsted/index.htm

The Shrubbery Veterinary Centre
5, The Link,
New Ash Green,
Longfield,
Kent.
Tel 0174 873370

Abbey Lodge
118 Sea St
Herne Bay
Kent
CT6 8QZ
01227 364084 - Miss Stark

Sandhole Veterinary Centre
Sandhole Farmhouse
Sandy Lane
Snodland
Kent
ME6 5LG
01634 242502

Chicken vet = Mark
Trinity Veterinary Centre
Hermitage Walk
Hermitage Lane
Maidstone
Kent
ME16 9NZ
Tel: 01622 726730
Fax: 01622 727835
Email: [email protected]

Barrow Hill Vets,
2 Fort Road,
Hythe,
Kent
CT21 6JS
Tel: 01303 269000

Animed Veterinary Centre (chicken vet = Mark)
24 Oxford St
Whitstable
Kent
CT5 1DD
Tel: 01227 273005

Mr A Garton
9 South Croft Avenue
West Wickham
Kent
BR4
Tel: 020 8777

Cinque Ports Veterinary Associates
Kingsnorth Veterinary Centre
Kingsnorth
Ashford
Kent
TN23 3EA
Tel: 01233 640022
http://www.cinqueportsvets.co.uk/index.htm

Cinque Ports Veterinary Associates
The Veterinary Surgery
Station Road
Lydd
Kent
TN29 9ED
Tel: 01797 321771
http://www.cinqueportsvets.co.uk/index.htm

Cinque Ports Veterinary Associates
Springfield Surgery
Cranbrook Road
Hawkhurst
Kent
TN18 5EE
Tel: 01580 752187
http://www.cinqueportsvets.co.uk/index.htm
 
I couldnt find a vet that really knew anything about chickens but i decided that she wasnt happy and my local vet Put her to sleep this morning. I was very sad but it was not fair watching her get blown over by the wind and not being able to get up.
I hope that it wasnt Mareks disease as the other poster suggested but i suppose i will never know unless the marsh daisy or the cockeril silkie come down with it.
Although the sypmptoms were like those for Mareks i think that she just wasnt a very healthy chickento start with.
I have e mailed the breeder and she said that her chickens have not been vaccinated but she has not had any illness in her flocks and she runs a farm that uses her eggs for her Cafe.
Hope things are going to be ok with my others, i will post if anything else happens.
Thanks for your help
:cry:
 
Hi there,

For the future, there is also a Poultry friendly vets list here on the site - these have not been copy / pasted from other sources but recommended by people who have used them and many I have called personally to check they have specialists.

Unfortunately we don't have any listed in Kent yet :oops:

Tim
 
Sorry BB but sounds like it was best for her. Ros P.S. I dont think you need to worry about the others. IF they have been exposed to a herpes virus that causes later Mareks---- they may well not be immunologically susceptible in the way your girl was and so may not be at risk. Its thought that the culprit Herpes viruses are so widespread in chickens that most will be exposed in the first 3 weeks of life anyway but ONLY SOME if susceptible will later go on to develop Mareks. I would not regard your others as more risk IF IT WAS Mareks than other birds, and we dont even know if it was! __hope that helps. Ros
 
I had a young Silkie chick (3 months) die last week :cry: , and had similar symptoms. Seemed a bit slow at getting up and about, and smelled funny (cheesy feet kind of smell) and runny poo!. Had only been like this a day or two before she came out sat down, and then just fell over dead. I had a similar problem at vets with them not knowing about chickens, but located a chicken and exotics vet, and am still waiting for the results of some poo samples!!!! I have 5 other chickens that I am desperately hoping will not go the same way, but are all a little dull looking, with runny poo.
The main thing they were testing for was coccidiosis. The first vet I saw prescribed baycox straight away, but once administered you can apparently never eat the eggs again, so I haven't given it to them until I have the results. The chicken vet gave me some wormer to give them while waiting for the results, and I have also been putting apple cider vinegar in their water.
I have also disinfected the coop, although as I have a hen sitting, haven't been as thorough as I would like, and once it stops raining, I am thinking I might water the run (they are on bark) with Jeyes fluid - although am not sure about this. :?
Good luck with your other chooks - I will post when I have the results back to let you know whats up with mine.
 
Hi Silkiesocks----- before you write off any chicken or eggs , I would check that thing re the Baycox! Ros
 
I haven't given it to them yet, as it makes the whole keeping chickens thing a bit pointless. I did double check with the vet, and they said that it was the only licenced product, and the manufacturers advice was to noto use in birds for egg production. Although she did go on to say it was only an anti-b, and it was only advice, but they had to cover themselves if the eggs were eaten say after 2 months and somebody had a reaction!
Not really helpful, but all the same, I think i'll wait until the results confirm! I don't suppose anyone has used coxoid have they? According to the vet its not licensed, but everything i've found on the internet suggests it, and it has a withdrawal period of 28 days....
 
I did a quick bit of reading re Baycox (google is my friend) and it does seem that its only used in birds for slaughter, not egg laying.

You can use Coxoid just fine. Just ensure you get the correct dosage as its sold for pigeons. Its about £5 a bottle from most feed merchants or pet stores.

I'd not delay treating them with Coxoid as cooci is a quick killer and if it is this they may not be around long enough for you to wait for test results.

Re Jayes fluid. Don't use it in the run on bark or soft ground. Its nasty stuff and should never be put down where animals are going to peck around. You need to use it diluted on things like paving, concrete and so on and then rinse it away throughly and allow to dry before putting birds back. Using it on chippings or something could well cause your hens more illness (and worse).
 
That is interesting! I wonder how many people know that ? I would have thought that if eggs are not ok to eat for the rest of its life then the meat must a good chance of being affected and it shouldnt be used in birds for slaughter . ? There must be many eggs sold 'at the gate ' that have a hen responsible that has had Baycox at some time in its life ! Ros
 
Apparently birds for meat can be used after either 14 or 28 days (can't remember), either way, i'm not going to eat my chickens - my littlun wouldn't let me anyway!
Just got to find somewhere that sells coxoid now, am still waiting for results which were sent last Fri/sat - I was hoping to have heard by today at the latest.
Anyone know of anywhere in Cambs, Hunts, Beds. Anywhere between Bedford, Sandy and Huntingdon would be good!?
 
Although reading other sites/forums and so on its said there is a 6 week withdrawal for laying hens. Its not licensed for laying hens according to some stuff I've read. Hence it being for broilers not layers.
 
You should find it at most decent pet stores or feed supply merchants. If it is cocci then don't delay. You really need to get a move on and start treatment as it can be fatal quickly and spread in the flock.

It really is worth keeping a bottle of Coxoid in stock as a just in case thing. I always had a bottle handy and if it meant it got ditched after 2 years unused then it was a fiver not wasted in my book. Beats vets bills and all that faff.
 
SS----even our tiny local feed store has it amongst the pigeon stuff. -its no use for this episode but you can get it for standby ,as Snifter suggests,from the internet poultry suppliers and e bay.
 
I tried a number of pet shops and they hadn't even heard of it - but I did find some today, so have some to hand from now on! Still haven't heard back from the vets though - a whole week to get test results back!!!! I have started treating with the coxoid now though as Mr Spikes is looking decidedly dull and has lost most of his tail, and they're all still runny. Hopefully it will cure!
 
Coxoid isn't licenced for Chickens - this often means that it is too expensive for the company to go through all of the tests they are required to do to test for residue levels left in eggs and meat and so on.

If there is no licensed alternative (which to my current knowledge there isn't) then vets can use their clinical judgement to give it 'off licence'.

If you contact the manufacturers, they will tell you it is marketed in accordance with the Small Animal Exemption Scheme (covering small domestic pets/birds not intended for food use).

Unless I were a vet, technically I am unable to advise on it's use for chickens. To do so breaches of VMD rules... So I advise speaking to a qualified vet before using it on poultry, however I can say that Coxoid is used by quite a few poultry keepers successfully, and I know of vets that have prescribed it. I put a page up for it on the site with the manufacturers information and similar sort of 'disclaimers' that your vet should prescribe it etc.

http://poultrykeeper.com/poultry-medication/poultry-medication/coxoid-coccidiosis.html

I would agree with Ros on the meat / egg withdrawal thing, the withdrawal periods are usually far longer for meat than for eggs..

Hope this helps.
 
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