Double Trouble!!

Hello All! Have two not so healthy hens... wondering if there is anything more I can do?

First girl is a Silver Wyandotte(about 5 mos) yesterday I noticed one eye was shut, at first I thought she had been pecked. Wiped it down and isolated her just to make sure she was able to get enough food/water and a bit of time to heal. When I went to see her this morning she was gurgling and raspy. Respiratory issues I assumed as I have not yet had to deal with something like this. I use collidal silver and reading a previous post, put a bit in her water. Not sure how much to give her or if it will help something like this? I know respiratory issues can be very serious. Should I try something else? And how long do I have to deal with it before she is in real trouble? Should I remove her from the coop for safety of my other birds? What might it be or how she got sick to start with? I am so lost??

The second is a White Leghorn(1 year) she was in the corner sleeping all day! No running nose or eyes, no raspiness nothing like the other one. I picked her up and moved her to the feed and water a couple times. She physically appeared fine but would not eat and only took one little drink. Oh! One thing I noticed was her comb seemed to look a bit purple? I do not believe she is cold the weather here has been warm. Somethings just not right?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
KlassyChic

Oh rats. I wish I could help more, but will help with one thing. I have used colloidal silver water for years and years and in my medicine cabinet for the livestock as well. If you are giving the water internally, you should give them full strength silver water, not just a drop in the water. I know it may seem like an expensive thing, especially if you buy it (pennies if you make it yourself). But a few drops in the water is not going to do much good at all. When I give CS water for medication purposes, I always put it in a glass bowl as well. I do not trust plastic with the water, and absolutely never put it in sunlight or metal, shaded or in a dark place, like inside. Plastic is probably fine, I just have an aversion to liquids in plastic. Food grade plastic with silver water is fine, food grade....I hope that you can resolve the problem, there will be others that may chime in to help you out. Keep us posted on how things go. Still, have a great day, CynthiaM.

It sounds like two separate things going on to me. I think you may be able to just watch the leghorn to see if any other sypmtoms develop. Maybe some apple cider vinegar int he water or a boost of vitamins may help.

But have a careful look at the Wyandotte hen, and inspect her eyes for tiny little bubbles like the foam from dish soap. If you see that, you are probably dealing with Mycoplasma.
In that case, don't waste any time getting her started on antibiotics to give her the best chance of recovery. You can ask your vet for Tylan, Baytril, or Gallimycin. Tylan 200 injected into the breast muscle is usually the most effective.

Keep in mind that if this does turn out to be Mycoplasma, once a chicken has been infected, she will become a carrier and remain infectious for life. So that requires another decision...to nurse her back to health or cull.
Sorry you are dealing with these illnesses, I hope it all turns out OK.


Oh, and yes, definitely separate the sick chickens from your flock immediately!

Thank you both for the input! I went out this morning and moved them to my garage. The Leghorn seems to be a bit more active but I do not want to take any chances. The Wyandotte has not had any bubbles in her eye (hoping that is a good sign) it just keeps swelling shut on her and I wipe it open two or threee times a day. The first time it opened up she had a bit of milky goo for lack of better words. Now its just crusting on the eyelid. Not so raspy sounding today! Sad to say I have a completly different hen whose eye is shut this morning. Could it be they have caught a cold? They do not seem to be any less active and are still eating and drinking. I have had my flock since February and have fallen in love with them. It is very sad to see them this way Over the last bit I have been battling a real nasty mite problem... finally got it under control, everyone seemed to be doing so much better and now this. I am unsure what has caused any of this and am starting to feel I am failing my flock.
Is it normal to have this many issues? The coop I have them in was here when we moved to the acreage, I cleaned it well but wonder if putting them into a previously used coop has caused some of this? On my way to town now going to try the Apple Cider Vinegar(with the mother on it) for the whole flock and will give the sick gals a good shot of strait CS. If things are not improving by Monday I will give the vet a shout.
I would still love to hear any other opinions!

Thanks again,
KlassyChic

Well that sounds like things are much improved...you can breathe a sigh of relief that your hens are on the mend. You can use polysporin eyedrops or ointment in her eye to help the infection clear up.
It seems that there are always some little issues that need attention. It is good you noticed right away something wasn't right and did some investigating. It is good to keep a close eye on your flock so that things can be dealt with early before they have a chance to turn into something worse.

Thanks for checking up on me again Kathy S! I had no need to call the vet, the CS and Apple Cider Vinegar worked wonders! All happy birds again