[Daisycow]

Hello,

I am new here and will introduce myself, but I have a problem this morning with Miss Chicken one of our pekin bantams.

We have had her for 3 weeks and when we first got them (3 hens) they all seemed to be slightly sneezy/coughy. They all seem to have got over that and the other two are absolutely fine. Miss Chicken however now has foaming eyes with smollen eyelids. We have wiped away, but within 15  mins or so, they are bad again.
What's wrong with her? I have tried to look on the net, but there seems to be several possibilities, and I'm not sure what's wrong. Can you help please? Thank you

[poultrygeist]

Hi Daisycow,

There's been 2 or 3 threads regarding the possible causes recently.

I'll see if I can find them unless someone more experienced can help you out. I know a common cold is one, which ties in with the wheezing, etc.

Try a search on the forum using various relevant words.

Rob

[poultrygeist]

Found one....

http://www.chat.allotment-garden.org/viewtopic.php?t=14014&highlight=runny+eyes+wheezing

Is she still wheezy or any other symptoms ?

Rob

[poultrygeist]

Also, does she smell a bit 'off' ?

I've seen in a couple of threads that they can have a strange smell along with the foaming eyes.

Someone will be able to offer some better advice shortly but meantime, if there's anything else about her you can offer.

eg, has she been wormed recently ?
any other medication ?
what sort of bedding ?
etc

Rob

[Daisycow]

Thanks Rob,

She doesn't smell at all really. She doesn't seem to have a temp either, though she has lost weight since we got her. I hate to say, we have not wormed her yet, but we plan to do all of them together soon. No other medication apart from garlic in the water 2 weeks ago for a couple of days. They have dust extracted wood shavings as bedding.

She doesn't seem to be wheezy anymore, just shakes her head a bit, I assume she's trying to get rid of the foam in her eyes. One thing may be of interest...they all do ok poos, but every now and then there is a brown 'water' poo from one of them, I'd say about one a day of these ones, however, we're pretty sure its not from her, but then we've never seen the culprit do it..

[poultrygeist]

I wish I knew whether all that's a good sign or not.

I think the smell would have meant bad news or at least a visit to the vet.

I'll bump this back up and hopefully someone better informed will spot it and put you on the right track.
I wonder if it's just a left over symptom from the other infection.

Hope it sorts itself out soon.

Rob

[Foxy]

hello Daisycow.
Sounds like a respiratory infection of the upper tract -so the sinuses under the eyes  are infected causing the discharge. Also if you are able to see in her beak you might see evidence of cheesy discharge on the roof of her mouth. If her chest is wheezing or rattling, her mouth open slightly it could have spread to her lungs or could be a chronic respiratory problem.Not good. She may have had this when younger which is why she is struggling compared to your other hens so her problem may have become chronic now. The problem is they were unwell when you got them so its difficult to know how long they have been ill. It is likely to be infectious coryza due to the swollen eyes - or possibly mycoplasma. The treatment would be a course of Baytril or Tylan which you could only get on prescription from your vet.
As a boost you could pop a couple of crushed garlic cloves and some apple cider vinegar in their drinking water. (100ml per 4.5itres)
Hope this helps and good luck!

[Aunt Sally]

I agree with Foxy - and my bet would be on mycoplasma.  She does need some antibiotics from the vet.

[Daisycow]

Thank you for your help everyone, when I got home from work to take her to the vets this evening, her eyes were normal again!! Anyway took her to the vets to be on the safe side, he thinks its mycoplasma and they are all now on anti-biotics.  

[Aunt Sally]

Good decision I think Daisy  

[Foxy]

Good news Daisycow - hope they are all on the mend now - keep us posted would love pics of your chooks - we love pics here!!!

[mickwood]

OK, I know this is an old thread but is the recomended treatment to treat ALL hens at once or just the affected hen?

Cheers

Mick

[Aunt Sally]

If hens have mycoplasma then all of them should be treated and their accomodation thoroughly cleaned. 

[mickwood]

Thanks Aunt Sally, I've just used jeyes and pressure washed the coop and obviously replaced all the straw/shavings should I do it again after treating the birds??