Hi VPAers!
I am wondering if any of you have suggestions for Billie Jean, my silver laced wyandotte. I came back from holiday vacation and her face and head are super swollen, so much so that she's nearly blind at this point. I put her on tetracycline for the past week hoping that would help but it doesn't seem to be doing much. Any suggestions you have would be great as I'm hoping to avoid the high costs of the vet. Pics attached.
Thanks,
Holly
Replies
How is your chicken doing?
Billie Jean is surviving, but I'm not sure how well she's doing quite yet. I went to see Dr. McCready at Camelback West - she is great, by the way; doesn't see a lot of chickens but has really gone the extra mile to help me figure out what's going on and try medication at the lowest cost possible.
We are still not sure what Billie Jean is suffering from. She does, apparently, have a heart murmur, but she doesn't have any respiratory issues or abdominal swelling so they don't think it is a virus of any sort or an issue related to her heart problems. Dr. McCready took pictures and posted the symptoms to her worldwide network of vets to get additional suggestions, and had some responses from well-known avian experts, both in the U.S. and in Australia. They suggested treating her with a really high dose of an anti-inflammatory (I don't have the name of it with me but it's not available in feed stores). So I am giving her 1.5ml 2x/day with a syringe. I am also giving her amoxycillin 2x/day just in case - I just break open the capsule and poor it in her mouth.
We have only been on this routine for a few days so it's hard to say yet whether she is improving, although I can see her eyes again (partially), and they were completely swollen shut last week. She still seems to be moving around ok but her depth perception is very off, which is giving her some troubles when she tries to eat.
I will update again in a few more days. At least it doesn't appear to be contagious! Phew.
Do you think this could be from a nasty bug bite? If yes, Benadryl would bring inflammation down pretty quickly. There are a lot of internet sites that have Benadryl dosing recommendations for chickens.
I will try that in hopes that it works. The antibiotic doesn't seem to have any effect so I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try.
Good luck Holly. I don't know how you were planning on giving the bird the Benadryl. When I had to give Amoxicillin to one of my chickens, I broke open the capsule, and mushed the dose in a little bit of sardines.
And here is another link to an article on Fowl Plague:
http://www.urban-chickens.com/index.php?/topic/760-very-badly-swoll...
Also found this:
Mycoplasma
Mycoplasma gallisepticum is a common, highly infectious disease that causes severe breathing difficulties in chickens and can take weeks of antibiotics to resolve. Mycoplasma species are, however, notoriously difficult to completely eradicate and may recrudesce later in time. Classical signs of a chicken suffering from this malady include a clear discharge from the nose and eyes; sneezing may or may not accompany other signs. The eyes become very puffy, and the whole head may look swollen – this is because the sinuses are all full. If you have ever had sinusitis, you will understand just how unpleasant the sensation can be! Unfortunately, this sensation is magnified with Mycoplasma because all of the sinuses are usually involved. Affected chickens are therefore also very lethargic, often anorexic, and may seem mentally depressed. Frequently the comb might fall to one side, which is a result of dehydration, and may also become much paler than usual. Sadly, many cases are not picked up until the chicken exhibits all of the above signs, at which point the bird might be too weak to be able to respond to treatment, and euthanasia is advisable at this stage for welfare reasons. However, if caught early, this disease can be effectively treated with an appropriate antibiotic. This antibiotic will need to be provided for the whole flock because all of your birds will have been exposed to the pathogen, and will last for several weeks. However, individual medication is usually only necessary in the affected birds: the remainder of the flock can frequently have their water medicated instead. It is very important to finish the course of antibiotics even if your pets seem to have made a full recovery: Mycoplasma lives inside cells so can hide away very effectively, and unless the antibiotic course is finished, the infection can come back very quickly.
I found this online, but havent researched fully.
nfectious Coryza:
Symptoms: Swollen heads, combs, and wattles; eyes swollen shut; sticky discharge from nose and eyes; moist area under wings; laying stops.
How contracted: Bacterial disease; transmitted through carrier birds, contaminated surfaces, and drinking water.
Treatment: Birds should be destroyed as they remain carriers for life.
Vaccine available: None.
No discharge from the nose and I don't think she's got any moisture under her wings, but the other symptoms fit. I hope there's something else I can do because I really don't want to "destroy" her! She's a very pretty, sweet hen :(