| I'm not talking about the
need for psychotherapy (although if you're talking about
my birds, it's debatable); I'm talking about SUPPORTIVE
THERAPY.
Supportive therapy is what
you administer to a sick bird to increase its chances for
recovery. I realize that there are some cases where a
Fancier may decide to 'let the strong survive', and some
cases where the flock is just too large for supportive
therapy to be practical. I am recommending that you help
the bird that is valuable and warrants the extra effort.
Perhaps the bird is the last of a bloodline, or the bird
is a pet, or you just can't stand by and watch the bird
suffer without doing something more than the routine
treatment.
The first thing to do is
obtain a fairly certain diagnosis of the illness, and
begin the necessary medical treatment. Supportive therapy
will simply increase your chances of success. It's not
meant to replace the actual treatment with medication,
etc. Next, determine whether the bird is contagious. If
so, remove it from the flock immediately and quarantine
it. If there is more than one bird affected and they're
accustomed to being together, don't separate them. It
creates more stress and works against you. It's better to
treat them together and allow them to have each other for
company. If the weather is harsh, bring the bird indoors
or provide the necessary temperature control. A sick bird
will not survive in extreme temperatures. Once the bird
is quarantined, work with the sick bird last, after
working with your healthy flock. It reduces the risk of
spreading disease. If you think it's an airborne virus,
keep the sick bird farther away and down-wind.
Keep their environment and
routine as normal as possible. Every deviation from what
they're use to creates more stress. For example, if the
bird was caged, try to keep it in the same cage. If the
bird is valuable and you've got a 'cull' you can afford
to lose that the valuable bird is used to being around,
put the birds together. This alleviates stress if the
sick bird is not used to being alone.
Start your bird on a good
probiotic in the drinking water. A sick bird must drink
and eat to survive. A liquid probiotic in the water will
encourage them to drink more often. I recommend using the
flavored liquid Lactobacillus Acidophilus found at any
GNC store in most shopping malls. In addition to
encouraging the bird to drink more, you'll be replacing
some of the good gut bacteria they'll lose during
treatment. An antibiotic will kill all of the bacteria in
the gut - good and bad. Also, there are certain changes
that take place in the intestinal tract during illness
that make it difficult for the bird to absorb the very
vitamins and minerals that are necessary for the bird's
recovery. Even if the bird is not on an antibiotic, the
addition of probiotics remains beneficial because their
use can prevent salmonella enteritis, which commonly
occurs as a secondary infection in sick birds.
Also use a vitamin and
mineral supplement in the drinking water, and make sure
the older hens have access to ground oyster shell. Don't
give it to young pullets before first egg though because
it can cause kidney damage.
Provide a high protein
feed. Cell structure is vital for recovery from disease
and cell structure is dependent on both the vitamin
supplement and extra protein. (You don't want to continue
the high protein diet after recovery because it could
cause other problems, but during therapy it's vital.) I
suggest you find a high protein game bird or pheasant
starter. They usually carry a higher protein than the
average feed. I like a 30% for this purpose. I have also
found that Purina Kitten Chow is 40% protein and they
love it. Getting the bird to eat what you give them is
key and you may have to be creative here. Try a little
creamed corn - it's sweet and you can mix some pheasant
or kitten chow into it. If the bird is taking in the
kitten chow in whole pieces, add a piece of grit now and
then.
If your bird won't eat,
you'll have to hand feed. This is where you decide how
valuable the bird is - it takes a lot of patience. Use a
syringe without a needle for the twice-daily intake of
water, but give it slowly so the bird has a chance to
swallow between squirts. Add the vitamins, minerals, and
probiotics right into this water. For the mash, I
recommend mixing the pheasant chow crumbles into some
room temperature milk. If you open their mouth and place
a small amount on their tongue and let go of their mouth,
they'll work it down into their crop. I found the use of
a 1/4 or 1/8th teaspoon metal measuring spoon works real
well for this.
Keep their bedding clean
and dust-free. They can't handle the additional bacteria
while trying to fight off something else, and breathing
the dust draws bacteria into the lungs. You might have to
buy litter that's very small and completely filtered to
accomplish this. The large bag of pine pet litter sold at
Wal-Mart is pretty good for this. John Lyons also puts
out a good horse stall pine bedding by the 8 cubic foot
bag that has small particles and little dust.
If you use Oxine, fog the
bird once a day. If you know the bird has an upper
respiratory illness, fog them 3 times a day for at least
5 days. In this case, the Oxine actually becomes part of
the treatment. You can also use Oxine to fog your entire
coop when you think you have an airborne virus or fungus.
For routine prevention, I fog my coop once a week. If I
hear coughing, sneezing, or chirping, I fog more often.
Handle your bird as little
as possible. Even if they're hand-reared as pets,
handling them causes additional stress. When a bird is
stressed, a hormone change takes place that lowers the pH
in their gut and creates a bacteria-friendly environment
for bad bacteria.
Provide daily exercise if
the bird is mobile. Take them out of their cage once a
day to allow them to stretch their wings and legs. If you
don't, you'll be increasing the risk of cage fatigue,
which can be a life-threatening illness. To encourage
wing flap, simply hold the bird in your hand facing you
with legs secure and move slowly up and down. On the down
stroke, they'll probably open their wings. Don't get fast
or rough here - the purpose is to get them to open their
wings, not scare them into thinking they're going to
fall. And don't hold them upside down to get them to open
their wings - it risks their health further.
Encourage walking to
stretch the legs by offering them a tidbit they love. I
use white bread. Offer tiny pieces in your fingers just
in front of them. Make them either stretch or walk
forward in order to get it. Once the bird begins recovery
and gets stronger, offer the tidbits just above their
head to encourage a small jump. Gradually move the small
jumps up to flying up to your knee or shoulder to get the
treat. This progression should take place slowly over
time so you don't exhaust the bird in the beginning of
their recovery. But limit the treats because the bird
will fill up on them and won't eat the high protein feed
they need to recover.
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