[Littley]

Hi

I'm hoping someone may be able to give me some advice.

Two of my chickens have had a cough and runny beak for just over a week now.  I took them to the vet last Tuesday and they have just finished a course of antibiotics (Baytril).  However, they are still coughing as badly.  In every other way, they seem fine, and very strong (I found that out when trying to give them their medicine!   )
A couple of days ago, when giving their medicine, I noticed that the ends of their tongues seem to have taken on a brown tinge!!  Could this be a symptom of something else?  I have phoned the vet to find out the results of a nasty poo sample that Dorothy deposited at the vets (mustard colour, runny  and foamy) and someone is due to call me back.

Has anyone heard of this before??

Also, someone (not sure which one) in my flock has just started laying (Hallelujah!!).  As I have treated them with Antibiotics, is it right that we shouldn't eat the eggs until a week after the last dose?  I thought I read it somewhere, but am not sure if it's right and why!!! :?

Looking forward to hearing from you.  

Sue

[Aunt Sally]

There are a few disease which cause chooks to cough the most common of which is Infectious Bronchitis.  IB is a viral disease and will be treated with antibiotics to prevent secondary infections.

Do your chooks have any other symptoms other than coughing ?  Are they eating and active, do they have diarrhoea or drink a LOT ?

The poo may have been quite normal. It sounds like a caecal poo expelled while stressed :shock:

[Littley]

Hi Aunt Sally

When the vet checked them over, she said the lungs were clear and she thought it was just an upper respiratory infection.  Would IB cause the lungs to be noisy or anything?  They both had a week of Baytril: I thought it would have done some good.  The only other symptom is that after a cough they stand for a second with their beak open, then go back to normal - the only way to describe it would be that they look a little surprised!  :o

They seem to be eating fine, the layers pellets are being eaten (if a bit slowly) and they go mad for the maize I give them in the evening.  

They do seem to be drinking a lot, my boyfriend filled up the water last night and it was dry when he got home at 5.30, but I assumed that they were thirsty because it is so hot here.

At least one of them is doing a lot of poo, I only noticed this because one place under the roosting perch is quite messy, one night after being cleaned out.

I have seen a couple more yellow Dijon mustard coloured poos in the run, though I am unsure who did them! (sorry if you are eating :puker: )  I have not heard of caecal poos, I will have to do a search!

If you can think of anything that will help, please let me know.

Once I can work out how to do it, I will post some pics of my lovely girls!  

Thanks again,

Sue

[Aunt Sally]

Have you wormed them.  A cough and gaping beak is a symptom of gape worm (lung worm)

If they have been wormed what did you use ?

[Littley]

Aha - no, I haven't yet wormed them.  I was thinking about that today - I was browsing the foum and found a link about verm-x.  What do you think would be best?

The vet had ruled out lungworm, but I hadn't mentioned the gaping beak!

Thanks!

Sue

[Aunt Sally]

How old are the chooks who are coughing and how many do you have ?

Do they free range and eat worms, slugs, snails ?

In my opinion verm-x is not proven effective against gape worm.  The only wormer I would recomend is flubenvet.

But if the vet has ruled gape worm out it could just be a cough left over from a virus and will get better with time.

[Littley]

I have 4 chickens altogether.  I got Dorothy and Dave (the coughing ones) from a lady in Borough Green, and three days later I got Daffodil and Bluebell from a farm near Battle.  They were "point of lay" when I got them, which was about a month ago.  So I am guessing they are somewhere between 22 and 26 weeks old, if what I was told was correct!

I am wondering if Dorothy and Dave were harbouring something when I got them.  Daffodil was under the weather just over a week ago but got better very quickly the day after I started her on Baytril from the vet.

Bluebell has avoided everything so far, but she keeps away from the others and me; she seems a shy girl!  :oops:

[Aunt Sally]

I'd just keep an eye (or ear) on them.  But if they seem to have any "problem" breathing then go back to the vets.  They may have had a virus and coul be on the mend.

[Littley]

thanks for all your caring advice!  

I will continue to keep a close eye on them all!  I'll have a chat with the vet when she phones me about the poo sample results tomorrow.

I have ordered some flubenvet and will worm them as a preventative anyway.

Thanks again

Sue

[muntjac]

worm them anyways  

[Littley]

I spoke to the vet today and she surprised me by saying that the poo sample came back showing positive for camplyobacter!  :shock:

So now I have a week's worth of Baytril again for all 4 chooks.  

Good news is that the cough seems to be much less, although Dorothy and Dave still have snotty beaks!!

The other two are fine but we are having to treat them as a precaution.

Sue

[Aunt Sally]

Well that's very good news.  Let's hope the baytril does the trick  

Can you give us a description of the poo the vet had checked please Littley !


Sorry folks  :oops:

[Littley]

Hi Aunt Sally

The poo was sort of Dijon mustard colour and firm but a bit foamy!!

She had done a normal poo under the vet's chair just before this!!  

Littley

[Aunt Sally]

Mustard poo is OK but foamy can often meas worms, so they may have a few gut worms.  I think I would give them a course of flubenvert when you have finished the baytril.

[Littley]

Thanks for the tip; I will wait until we have finished the week of Baytril before worming them.

Do you have to avoid eating the eggs after worming?  The vet said not to eat the eggs until a couple of days after the antibiotics course.

I was going to follow a tip I saw about giving the flubenvet in a grape so you know that each chicken has had her dose.  Would you recommend this?

Best wishes,

Littley