The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: Badger on March 01, 2011, 11:36:55 am
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One of our hens seems to be under the weather. She is being very solitary at the moment. She seems to be coughing (or maybe a sneeze) and a kind of gurgling when she breathes.....has anybody got any ideas what this might be ?.
Badger
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has she been exposed to draught?
sometimes mine have these symptoms too and before I give out antibiotics I try adding probiotic yoghurt to their food and/or citrocidal (grapefruit extract) to boost their immunity.
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A cold by the sound of things!! It does happen. Mine have had colds in the past. Thing is there's not much you can do really. The vet can prescribe some anti-biotics just in case of an infection, which is usually not expensive. Keep an eye on her though, they can go downhill very quickly. Might be an idea to quarantine her if you can. Good luck!
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Thanks to you both. Yes we will try the yogurt idea, someone else suggested beef catfood to boost protein levels. Not sure about quarantine though, we have read that this can add to the stress.
Badger
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Badger, you need to quarantine her to protect the rest of your flock.
When they are sick they usually want isolation anyway and will stay away from the other hens.
Being kept apart from them should not distress her.
Is she ok apart from the 'snuffles'? Have you checked her crop? It's the 'gurgling' that's making me wonder if she has an impacted crop?
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Mycoplasma? Try http://www.practicalpoultry.co.uk/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl (http://www.practicalpoultry.co.uk/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl) - there are some very knowledgeable folk there.
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Hi All, Just to let you know, that Henpen seems to be on the mend, after spending much of yesterday in the coop. Today she is out, feeding and looking much better,and no coughing. So heres hoping she is OK. Thanks to all for your help.
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Good news Badger :)