Wheezing hen

smoon

Chirping
Apr 27, 2016
105
2
71
I have a poor sweet silkie hen who is sitting on some eggs to hatch. I have been taking good care of her...hand feeding her and bringing water to her. But today, I noticed she is wheezing when she breathes. It sounds terrible. I got her out to examine and she sneezed a bunch. It sounds like she is sick. But she is otherwise acting normal. What should I do for her? I've never had to doctor a chicken with medicine so I am not sure what to give her.
 
I have a poor sweet silkie hen who is sitting on some eggs to hatch. I have been taking good care of her...hand feeding her and bringing water to her. But today, I noticed she is wheezing when she breathes. It sounds terrible. I got her out to examine and she sneezed a bunch. It sounds like she is sick. But she is otherwise acting normal. What should I do for her? I've never had to doctor a chicken with medicine so I am not sure what to give her.
How much ventilation does she have?
Is her crop emptying overnight?

She could be sneezing from dry dusting bedding and not enough ventilation. Check her crop to see that it is emptying overnight.

Does she have any mucous from the beak or runny eyes?
It's possible she may have a respiratory illness - if you can take her to the vet or have some testing performed that would be a good idea. If she is ill, then IMHO you don't want to her to hatch eggs for you. Most respiratory illnesses are contagious and can be passed along. Baby chicks would be susceptible. You may want to have a backup plan for incubating the eggs in case she has a respiratory disease.

You can try improving ventilation and reducing dust to see if there is improvement. Also try something like VetRx. If she worsens then antibiotics may be needed to treat her if she develops more symptoms. Antibiotics won't cure and illness but will help treat any secondary infections.

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044
 
She does not have watery eyes or mucus. Her poop is normal and she is still eating a little and drinking a little. Her only symptom seems to be the loud wheezing and sneezing. I started her on tylan 50 orally today and plan to continue that for 3-5 days. I admit I don't really know what I am doing, but tylan was suggested to me by several people. I hope she will recover. She is my favorite hen. She has plenty of ventilation. She is in a dog crate for now. With wood chips in it. Should I break her from her eggs or continue to let her sit?
 
She does not have watery eyes or mucus. Her poop is normal and she is still eating a little and drinking a little. Her only symptom seems to be the loud wheezing and sneezing. I started her on tylan 50 orally today and plan to continue that for 3-5 days. I admit I don't really know what I am doing, but tylan was suggested to me by several people. I hope she will recover. She is my favorite hen. She has plenty of ventilation. She is in a dog crate for now. With wood chips in it. Should I break her from her eggs or continue to let her sit?

Try to encourage her to drink. Provide her with some poultry vitamins if you have them. Tylan50 can help with any secondary infections if the cause of her wheezing and sneezing is due to a respiratory illness.

I really can't say whether to break her from sitting or not. It depends on whether the cause of her symptoms is respiratory illness. Have you had any sick chicks or chickens in the last 30days?
This is something you need to determine - if you have a vet that can perform some testing, it may be helpful to know what she has.
 

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