Over the last few days I have tried asking at local pet stores if any of them could get hold of denagard in a manageable amount. Nobody was able to help me. There seems nothing for it but to carry on with the current routine.
Throughout all of my research I haven’t found anyone who has used tylan for this long. I am having to trust my instincts here. I think if I stopped using it the girls may relapse. The daily tylan seems to be keeping them stable and doesn’t seem to be having any ill effects so I think I should just keep up with this regime even if I have to continue until spring.
I had expected to have had to make a horrible decision by now but the girls have remained stable so I think I must carry on as I am and keep hoping that they will eventually come through this.
Freckles and Dandelion remain the worse with occasional slight wheezing, occasional bubbles in their eyes and sneezing. Apricot and Cinnamon have occasional sneezing but other than that look okay. Emerald and Speckles seem to remain unaffected although they too sneeze occasionally. They are all eating well.
I am picking up loads of feathers from Freckles in the chicken shed in the mornings and she is looking quite tatty. Seramas are supposed to moult lightly all year round but Freckles is having the same sort of complete moult that the bigger girls have. I just hope the milder weather will help them.
I have had discussions with my vet today and we have run through all the options. Getting the denagard is proving to be very difficult and would be very costly. My vet has had talks with people who have farms as this was one of the leads I had been advised to follow up. The opinion was that the denagard may not make a difference and that when this situation has gone on so long the outcome may not be positive.
We decided that I would collect more tylan so that I have enough to last into the new year and that I would continue the current regime and we would assess the situation again in the new year. We talked about the difficult decision that may occur at a later date if it becomes obvious that there is no improvement. Our joint worry is that there may come a point where this has gone on so long that it is only being managed by the treatment and not being cured. There is also the possibility that the girls will become imune to the tylan if it is given long term.
My vet has spent time researching on my behalf and talking it through with me (twice today, morning and late afternoon) and I feel she is doing her absolute best for me but I know we are both agreed that we can only do so much and there will be a decision to be made in the new year, but we both agree that we don’t want to give up too soon.
It is so difficult to make a decision when there are moments when the girls seem really well in other ways. They were all dust bathing this morning. The next time I checked on them Freckles had lost her last remaining tail feather.
Oddly enough she was taking a real interest in the second grit box that is out in the run. With egg laying firmly a thing of the past at the moment, why the interest in the grit!
Freckles has lost her tail feathers today
The little girls gather together around Freckles
The little girls with Freckles firmly ensconced in the grit
Freckles at the grit
A tail less Freckles in the grit
What is this all about! Who knows what goes through their little chicken brains. They clearly haven’t given up yet and therefore neither can I.
I know that ultimately I have to make the decisions here but at the moment it is still too soon. Chickens usually very quickly get better or reach the point of no return but these girls seem to be defying that at the moment and while they are not giving in I can’t give in either. So for the moment it is a case of carry on with the routine, try to stay positive and hope for the best with everything crossed.
Click here to see the history of my flock.
They still look so good,Every one are wishing them well.
I know.
Have you had the chance/considered a full clean and disinfect of their coop and any drinkers and feeders they are using throughout the day? What is the ventilation like in your coop? Now we have some warmer (comparatively) evenings perhaps the door or a window or the hatch could be left open to circulate some air.
Keeping my fingers crossed they get through it. They certainly don’t look too bad from the photos so hopefully it can be dealt with!
I keep everything meticulously clean and I have good ventilation in the chicken shed. The problem is that with all the sneezing the girls are sneezing out droplets constantly. I was hand feeding them some spinach yesterday and a couple of the girls sneezed and I felt the wet droplets on my hand!
At times they look really good which is why it is so hard to give up on them. I guess time will tell on this one.
You seem to have a vet who cares enough to explore all avenues; it is good that Freckles is eating some grit – that’s normal behaviour for digestion, even when not egg laying. Has Cinnamon stopped altogether? I have a second marans started again today, so that’s 2 laying marans, 2 laying silkies – and 2 silkies still persistently broody. Will be keeping a close eye on your bog, for updates. Take care.
I have been lucky to find a caring vet. Cinnamon has also stopped laying now, it’s been eleven days since her last egg. Today I found a little heap of her feathers under the ladder where she had been perched so it seems she is now moulting too. So much for seramas not moulting! Why do they have to do this so late in the year!
Oh I do hope there is some improvement soon Carol! Maybe if the Tylan can get them through the cold weather and the moult then things will pick up – they certainly seem to be putting up a fight.
I know, I think it must be a myth about seramas not moulting. One of mine has been moulting for months and constantly has new pins sprouting through on her head. Another has just gone broody!! :-0
I keep hoping the same, that the tylan can get them through the cold weather. I am glad to know it’s not just my seramas that are moulting. What a time of year to go broody!
Keeping everything crossed for you and your girls.
Tx
Thank you x