[Helenaj]

Hi

I put my chooks in last evening and noticed my 20 week old Speckledy looked a bit off colour. She was already in the coop, whereas normally I'm chasing her over the compound trying to get her to go in. This morning everyone came out bar her and when I checked, she was in the corner, very hunched, with her tail feathers pointing down - a sorry sight. I've noticed that she seems to have a very light crusty discharge beneath her eyes, almost like dried tears and her comb is quite pale. She doesn't appear to be sneezing or wheezing, but her eyes look sore. She is drinking, but has not eaten.
The weather the last few days has been appalling, and although I have a very large coop (16'x8' for 15 birds), none of my girls will go inside out of the rain, preferring to stay under the trees. They've all been completely bedraggled when I've put them in at night. I'm wondering whether she has simply caught a cold. As a precaution, I have isolated her in my broody shed for now which is dry and warm. I've also put Citricidal in her water. Any ideas?

[jhub]

chickens hide illness so can be very unwell when they do show symptoms. She might need antibiotics so i suggest a visit to the vet.
I am sure someone with more experience and wisdom will come along soon.
jane

[Aunt Sally]

She has an infection of some kind.  Vet and antibiotics I'd say.

[Helenaj]

Just an update to everyone. Took her to the vets last night who diagnosed early stage Mycoplasma. She's been given Baytril and I've dosed the rest of the flock. Checking on her this morning, she has now developed the full symptoms - discharge from eyes and nostrils etc, but is much livelier than yesterday, especially since I have bathed her eyes with warm water.
Thanks for all of your quick responses yesterday.

[Aunt Sally]

Well done Helenaj.  Your quick questioning and taking her to the vet has prevented it from getting much worse and possible secondary infections.

Do be aware though that now mycoplasma has been diagnosed in your hens it can reoccur at times of stress e.g. moulting.

[Helenaj]

They are in the middle of a moult at the moment brought on by the very hot weather, plus the gentleman next door to me has been clearing his ground so there has been a lot of activity and noise that they are not used to, so I suspect that this may have been the trigger that set it off.
Some that are moulting are just losing a few feathers, others look as though they should be on the shelf in Tescos!
At least I'll know the early warning signs for any future outbreaks.

Thanks again everyone!

[compostqueen]

I hope she's continued to improve. How is she today?

[jhub]

hope she's feeling better.
Jane

[joyfull]

on the plus side at least they will have new feathers for winter unlike my lot who decided to moult whilst we had the snow last winter   

[Helenaj]

Well she seems a lot brighter today - rosey away and racing around her enclosure. The only problem I'm still pretty concerned about is one of her eyes. Its very sore (but not swollen) and covered in gunk that has hardened - it's shut the eye a few times. I bathe her eyes twice a day in a mixture of warm water and very diluted Savlon antiseptic to keep them open, but I'm not having much success with the eye covered in gunk. She really doesn't like me touching it, when I bathe the other one she just sits there quiet. I don't want to try and pull the crust off in case I make it bleed. Any ideas on what I can use to try and soften it a bit more?

[joyfull]

a visit to the vets is needed for swabs to be taken and cultures grown plus some eye ointment/drops will be needed.

[Aunt Sally]

I don't want to try and pull the crust off in case I make it bleed.

Definitly a vet's job if it won't bathe clean.  As Joy sugests you may need to get antibiotics right into the eye.

Chickens have a very delicate 3rd eye lid and you must be very careful not to damage it.

Good picture of it top right here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nictitating_membrane

[Sassy]

I know that you shouldn't use Dettol on animals - it's too strong - I don't know about savlon. I think the vets is a must. Cold tea is good for bathing eyes. Good luck - she's a lucky hen with you to care for her.

[Helenaj]

Hi

The Savlon for her eyes was on the vets recommendation - but very diluted. I have since taken her back and the vet has said that the eye problem is just another sympton of Mycoplasma, albeit a severe one. She has had another dose of Baytril and does seem brighter, but her eye is still a mess. I'll just have to hope that the Baytil does the trick.
I'll keep you posted.