All of a sudden small egg & gasping

[FinleyMcChicken]

Helllooooo BYC'ers!

So, Dorothy my 1 year old Barred Rock with the respiratory issues is still hanging in there. If you remember I took her to doc who gave her a dose of antibiotics a month ago and he suspected it was pneumonia. Well, she still has the "cough" where she gasps for air. Other than that she had been eating, drinking and laying eggs and no drainage from nose or eyes. We introduced her back to the coop with the other 2 hens and they haven't had any symptoms. Well, now yesterday she lays this teeny tiny egg.

What. Is. The. Deal?

I used an Ameraucana's egg as an example of normal egg size since we've been throwing hers out due to the antibiotic usage. If it's helpful I can get a video of her cough/gasp too, just let me know!

Once again, thanks for all your help

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Is she still gasping like she was in your other thread?
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/wheezing-gasping-liquid-poop.1226818/
Is her crop emptying overnight?
When you took her to the vet, did they also perform any testing to rule out worms as a possibility?

The tiny egg is a "wind, fairy, fart, rooster, dwarf" egg-depends on who you are talking to. Usually it has just a white and you may find a little blood, meat spot or something similar inside. Generally this is released to "encapsulate" foreign matter that may be in the oviduct. An egg like that occasionally, I would not worry too much about, but would break it open to see what's inside.
http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/common-egg-quality-problems

I'm sorry to hear that she is not improving with the cough. Since she is under vet care, it may be a good idea to contact them to see if they recommend an alternative course of treatment or another antibiotic.

 

[FinleyMcChicken]

Her crop is empty! It's the weirdest thing. It's like a month long cough. Would the other birds get worms too or is it possible that just she could get it? We've been adding D-Earth to their food and their dust bath, but I could definitely get something else.

The fairy egg was clear with a teeny tiny yolk.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

We've been adding D-Earth to their food and their dust bath

How long have you been using the DE? Did her symptoms start after you started adding it to the feed and dust bath?

 

[FinleyMcChicken]

How long have you been using the DE? Did her symptoms start after you started adding it to the feed and dust bath?

Sorry I didn't see this! We've always had the DE in their dust bath, so they started after.

So she's not always gasping like this--she'll make normal purr noises and can breathe without gasping. It's almost like she does this when she's excited to see me or is out nosing around the garden.

Also, it's a been month since the antibiotics, would you eat her eggs with the cough??

 

[Wyorp Rock]

It's almost like she does this when she's excited to see me or is out nosing around the garden.

We've always had the DE in their dust bath, so they started after.

What antibiotic did you use?
I notice you had separated her for treatment - did she still have access to DE and the garden - especially those wood chips?

The poor thing is struggling isn't she. Did you talk with your vet about her not improving. Infectious Bronchitis can linger for quite a while if this is the cause of her distress.
You mention the symptoms worsen when she is in the garden - do you think this is because of activity level or is she possibly disturbing something there that is irritating her respiratory system.

A for whether to eat the eggs - that really depends on the type of antibiotics used. We each have our "comfort level" of drug residues that could be in eggs - usually there is a waiting period - 30days is usually sufficient, but extra care should be taken if you or anyone in your family is allergic to the antibiotic she was given.

 

[FinleyMcChicken]

They prescribed Sulfatrim/Bactrim for 10 days. She did NOT have access to the DE or the garden when we confined her. It was March and abnormally cold here so she enjoyed her private room and food in the heated garage The mulch is new, we just had that laid last week. I think it's activity level that makes her worse. She's pretty quiet when she's on her perch or in the run, but if I handle her or she's out chasing worms she's Darth Vadar-ing much louder.

Haven't called the vet back because for one, he was quite pricey and two he said if the symptoms persist she'll probably die--lol which makes me think he's not really sure what's going on because she's obviously still with us. He did an Ultrasound and XRay and suggested possibly peritonitis but couldn't be certain, as she kept moving around. From my knowledge of that she'd be dead by now and she's laying eggs and has no other symptoms.

I have a petting farm in town that has lots of chickens I was thinking of going there and asking to see their Chicken Wrangler and get their input too. It's just so strange, she has no real symptoms other than the gasp and sounding like Darth Vadar.

Eggs--It was 30 days on April 12th so we're in the clear for ABX, just didn't know if because she's still symptomatic I should refrain from consuming hers. Our other 2 girls lay green eggs so hers are the only brown ones and easy to separate. We ended up getting 4 new Golden Comets beginning of April and I just want to be 1000% certain Dorothy is healthy before I even think about introducing the new ones, which I know is way down the road, but if I need to do more ABX I should get that started so when they're ready, she's healthy.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She's pretty quiet when she's on her perch or in the run, but if I handle her or she's out chasing worms she's Darth Vadar-ing much louder.

Thanks for clarifying about her separation - there is a method to all my madness of questions - LOL I was trying to rule out respiratory irritation from DE or possible mold/fungus from the wood chips (Aspergillosis).

She may have something like Infectious Bronchitis (IB), Air Sacculitis or similar. I don't think it would be Gapeworm, since the symptoms come/go-she would be gaping and coughing all the time, but I'm not an expert nor a vet.

If she were mine, I would think about trying an antibiotic like Tylan50 just to see if that makes a difference. Dosage is 10-40mg/kg given 2-3 times per day for 5days. I would give mid range dose (20mg/kg) - so that translates to .10ml per pound of weight. Give 3 times a day if possible. You can give this orally or by injection. Tylan has a 1 day throw away period on eggs.

As far as I know, eggs from chickens that have respiratory illness like Mycoplasma and Infectious Bronchitis are safe to eat as long as you follow safe handling and cooking methods.

 

[FinleyMcChicken]

Yeah, I didn't think worms either because it's sporadic. Thank you so much for you help, I really appreciate it as she's my favorite girl--I mean whaaaat? I don't pick favorites.

I'll let you know how it goes!

 

[FinleyMcChicken]

Already with a question--if she's back in the run with the other 2 should I go with the injectable Tylan50 3x a day or can I add the Tylan Soluble to the water and the other 2 can drink it?


Kind of scared of the injectable, but I could watch some YouTube videos and mentally prepare