Real Life Homestead Treatment: Respiratory Infection In A Chicken
When you farm or homestead with animals, you take on the responsibility of shepherding a lot of lives beyond just the humans in your care. It means waking up in the middle of the night worrying, running feed and/or water at inconvenient times... and it means having to be the calm and steady one when a child's favorite animal is seriously ill or injured.
Just An Average Day
This morning started out normally, but took a turn when Aidan came in from morning chores. "You'd better go take a look at Amelia mom." My heart dropped as I locked eyes with Jacy at the sink. Amelia is Jacy's favorite show bantam. She spends time with her and her mate Charles every day. The bond between girl and bird is undeniable.
So I followed Jacy out to the fancy pen to find Amelia standing all alone, beak open, gasping for breath. She is struggling so hard for each breath that she's having to extend both her neck and flare her tail feathers with each inhale and exhale. Between gasps, her tail is tucked down. When I lift her, her chest crackles.
My kids CONSTANTLY bring me animals that are half-dead, injured, ill... and even once already dead (ever do CPR to a quail? I have... and it lived to tell the tale!). They run to me with the belief that I can do something about it. The pressure is immense!
Amelia didn't look good, sound good... and I had the thought I've had so many times before. "Lord, I don't know that I can do anything this time...please help me, show me what to do".
The Plan
I decided the best thing was to get her inside. We prepared a box with a heating pad in the bottom, and covered the pad with old rags. I sent the kids for the things that began coming to my mind for treatment:
Respiratory 911- a tincture I make for serious respiratory illnesses in our household. In the formula are osha, pleurisy root and elecampane. Poultry don't have the ability to "cough" up mucus. They are particularly challenging to help when congestion gets established because there is simply not a great way to clear their airways. Nonetheless, I needed something with proven respiratory activity. I drew up about 1/4 of a dropperful and added it to a small glass cup.
Fire Cider- this is a classic oxymel (combination of honey, vinegar and aromatic herbs) that we use in our household for its antibacterial, antibiotic qualities for respiratory issues. It features garlic, onions, ginger, citrus and hot peppers... all are useful here. If we took a bird to an emergency vet, they would likely put it into an enclosure with oxygen and give it antibiotics. This is my version of that treatment minus the oxygen. I pulled up about a full dropperful of fire cider and added it to the small glass cup.
Rescue Remedy- this is a flower essence combination that acts on the emotional body. I have used it in both humans and animals for shock and to help calm in the case of panic and fear. Amelia is domesticated and trusts us, but she's still an animal. I can't reason with her to help her to stay calm. When a bird can't breathe, it breathes harder and faster... making the situation worse. I needed to calm her down. I added 4 drops to the small glass cup.
Electrolyte- I asked Jacy to make an electrolyte blend we use for stressed chicks after they've hatched or been shipped. It includes molasses, baking soda, salt and warm water. Amelia is working hard to get her breath... she needs energy or she will wear out and die before I can get enough of anything into her body to help it fight.
Because Amelia is straining with her beak wide open, I don't have to work too hard to get anything into her "mouth". The most important thing is to be CERTAIN that I don't get liquid into her lungs.
I add a few droppers full of water to my small glass cup to dilute what I've place in there. I then draw up a dropper full of the mixture. Dropping one or two drops at a time, I place the mix on her tongue and wait for her to swallow- It is important to NOT place the liquid into her throat where she can inhale it. I wanted to get at least three droppers full into her right away. Next I draw up a dropper full of the electrolyte mix and drop by drop place it on her tongue and wait for her to swallow.
For the first hour she continued to make horrible rattling noises from inside her box on the counter. At the end of the hour I added one dropper of the tincture and cider mix and one dropper of the electrolyte.
Between hour 1 and 2, it got suddenly quiet. I feared the worst and went to check. Amelia was now sitting quietly in her heated box, beak closed, no longer straining and only making the faintest of rattles. Her tail was now back up like a proud shark fin behind her. I repeated the dropper of each mix.
After 3 hours, she started to eat and try to fly out of the box. I am more than a little surprised honestly... as I was pretty sure we were going to lose her this morning. I repeated the doses and we added a barrier at the top of the box to keep her penned in and quiet. Giving the droppers becomes more of a challenge... now that she has her beak closed I need assistance to hold her and gently pry open her stubborn beak!
In The Coming Days
I will continue to give her the same support every 1-2 hours throughout the day today. We will keep her inside and quiet until I no longer hear any rattle. I will also be checking for the feeling of a rattle when holding her chest in my hand. After today I will likely drop the dosing to three times a day. I would expect to keep her in my bathroom for most of the week. When she is in the clear we'll put her outside with her flock... we have added fire cider rations to their water and we're monitoring closely for any other patients.
And.... this folks is why I don't ever have a plan for my days that is ever carved in stone.
