New young hen has slightly runny nose

[kathyd]

Hi. I bought 2 young marans on Sunday, and noticed yesterday that they seemd to have wet nostrils. Today one of them has bubbles in one of her nostrils, but the other bird's nose seems drier. They both seem fine in themselves - a bit bonkers, obviously not been handled much, but generally perky and eating OK. They feel a bit thin to me, but that may just be my lack of experience because they certainly don't gorge themselves or appear hungry.

They are separate from the other birds at the moment and obviously I'll keep them separate until things are sorted out. I believe they're about 4 months old. I'm not sure what to do - I could return them I suppose, but it's a long drive away and I'd prefer not to if at all possible - I had a lot of problems finding 'pure breed' copper blacks for sale (whether they really are pure breed of course is anyone's guess!). I have some medication from the vet for use as an antibiotic, but I can't see an indication on it of a minimum age for use. What would your advice be in this situation? Stick it out and see if she / they get better? Take them back as soon as possible? Treat them both with the antibiotic?

I've not wormed them yet because I don't have any Flubenvet, but hopefully should get some shortly when my daughter visits.

Thx

[Scarlet]

It could be mycoplasma, so I would definitely keep them separate. Tylan is usually used to treat myco but it may just be the snuffles so I would keep an eye on them.
Personally I would take them back just in case it is myco as even if they recover they will be carriers for life.
Perhaps RH will be along soon with some better info!

[kathyd]

Thanks Scarlet, I do wonder if it could be myco. We already have myco carriers in the flock, but at least I don't intend to breed from them. Don't think we can get Tylan over here, our vet has only ever given me 2 things to try - one yellow powder which the birds refuse to take, and a clear liquid which the vets say isn't as good but better than nothing... Neither's ever done much good to be honest, but at least I've felt like I'm trying. I'll just keep them separate for now and see how it goes. Fingers crossed for 'just a snuffle'...

[RichmondHens]

Agree with Scarlet, it is probably myco tbh but as you already have myco carriers within your flock there is little point returning them. Minimise stress levels as any form of upset will exacerbate symptoms and keep separated until all obvious signs (runny nose, rattly breathing, bubbly eyes, sniffles etc) are completely gone. Just introducing them into your existing flock will probably bring on another "round" of problems anyway so be prepared. Given that they are so young you will need to keep a close eye on them, older hens tend to get over bouts of myco and develop some resistance over time.

[kathyd]

Hi RH - nice to see you back . I've still got them separated, although only using a temp debris netting 'fence' within the existing run, and in a separate house at night. So they've all seen each other, with the older ones strangely disinterested most of the time provided newbies stay in their own space. I realise there'll be trouble when I mix them up, but I'll do it really gradually to minimise problems. The newbies are so scatty at the moment I can't see it happening any time soon to be honest. The runny noses seem to have stopped, touch wood, and there's been no rattly breathing or bubbly eyes, so keeping my fingers crossed...

[RichmondHens]

Kathy I'm still finding it hard to get onto this site a lot of the time hence my lack of presence but am still trying to check in and catch up fairly regularly.

i've recently taken on a couple of rehomees who arrived without me seeing them first. Unfortunately when they were delivered one was very sneezy with a swollen eye. Tylan has sorted it but I am still watching her. After worming and quarantine they have gone in with a bunch of oldies who are tough as old boots and probably immune to every disease on the planet! I just hate taking on someone's birds and then culling them next day, seems mean somehow so try my best with them first.

[kathyd]

I find adverts a problem on lots of sites these days, including this one. My 'puter's old and slow (like its owner), and we have a rubbish internet connection here (rural area), and I get followed by often scrollin, image-heavy adverts which take ages to load and stop me viewing pages in the meantime, so I know exactly how you feel. I do think organisations need to strike a balance between income and customer experience though... there are loads of people who don't have the facilities to cope with resource-demanding pages - I used to work with 'disadvantaged' people in the UK whose technology was probably older than they were, and now I'm one of them, lol . It's very frustrating, you're right, and I think organisations need to be aware that they may be alienating some of their long-standing loyal customers if they get the balance wrong.

I knew you were a softie at heart you know - there are occasional give-away signs like your latest post! I hope your re-homers settle down OK, I'm sure they will . Mine had wet noses / beaks again yesterday, although they may just have been poking around in a wet area I suppose. It's so hard to catch them I only try to do it once a day, so I'm just getting a 'snap-shot each time'. However, they seem generally in good form and I'm not currently worried about them, touch wood. I've not given them any antibiotic yet, but am struggling to get some down my big maran with recurring problems (not triggered by the newbies).