[shrekfeet]

Yesterday one of my cocks died. He has started to sound snuffly a couple of days ago and went down hill quite quickly. Yesterday I noticed he could only breathe with his beak open and that his comb was blueish red. Last night when I put the birds to bed he was dead. I have no idea how old he was as I inherited him with the house six months ago.

What concerns me more is that this morning one of the girls did not move off her perch. I picked her up and noticed that one eye is completely closed and the other is very sticky, she has mucus coming from her nostrils. She does not appear to have problems breathing.

I have isolated her and searched the net for more information but not had any luck. I am rather concerned that there may be an infection that moves through the birds. Any ideas please!

[shetlandpaul]

pneumonia in the cock. could be any type of bug in the hen. it sounds like a trip to the vets.

[sheila]

Do try giving the hen a small asprin. I have had a lot of success with off colour hens by giving them a small dose.

[catomell]

Does your hen have a very swollen head that has affected her eyes? If so, it could be mycoplasma (found in pheasants and very infectious to turkeys, less so chickens). If it is, it is treatable with a powder called Tylan, which you add to the water! Don't know if this helps at all! Catherine.

[shrekfeet]

Thanks for advice. As for the vets, these are not pet birds, I simply can't justify the vet costs for a chicken. Sorry to be brutal.

Anyway, now for a full update. Started to administer Citracidal with a pipette yesterday, morning, lunch and afternoon. Also gave a small amount of aspirin dissolved in water. This morning you would never know the bird had been ill. Still keeping up the dose today and will reintroduce tomorrow. I have used Citracidal before and it seems to work wonders. I thoroughly recommend it

Phew!

[catomell]

Hi - glad your chickens are feeling better - what is Citracidal, and what does it do, and where does one get it from?

[shrekfeet]

Citracidal is a natural extrat of grapefruit and can be bought from health food shops. It is a natural antibiotic by all accounts and I think all chicken keepers should have it to hand as prompt treatment seems to be the key - no point in thinking you need to get out and buy some and then finding it's too late

[shetlandpaul]

if they are a commercial flock or a larger amateur venture. then the cost of a quick checkup is a heck of a lot cheaper than losing your flock and possibly others if it was something nasty. As a matter of point if you cant id the cause and the bird is suffering then you have no choice to either kill it or take it to the vet. have a read of the defra guides for either meat or laying chickens. This is not guidance its the law.

[doganjo]

http://www.nutriteam.com/citricidal.htm

[Maddox]

Hi - glad your chickens are feeling better - what is Citracidal, and what does it do, and where does one get it from?

All my girls were sneezing and looking a bit poorly a couple of weeks ago, I was advised to put a few drops of Citracidal in there water every day, so got some from ebay for £5 and hey presto, all fit as a fiddle within 3days :0)

Maddox x