Old chicken gasping - help!

[RiccardoR]

Dear all,

I have always been around but now I come for help.

I have an old chicken (5+) that has started gasping and coughing heavily. Since yesterday she struggles eating.

She has been having similar problems since last summer since she has got a respiratory disease. Right after she has been struggling with gapeworms regularly. I have been using Levamisole and it helped even if worms came back.

This time I thought it was the same story but Levamisole did not help. I have given her 60 mg orally but it seems things got worse.

She does not seem to have swollen eyes and the rest of the flock is doing great, even if younger.

I post a movie and a picture below. Thanks for your help!

 

[JaneBrook]

Oh gosh I wish I had some good advice but I am praying for you - best of luck

 

[Eggcessive]

What is your general location in the world? Have you had a vet examine a fecal specimen to confirm gapeworms? Gapeworms are not very common, but chronic respiratory diseases are common. Her crop looks large in the pictures? Can you feel of her crop and tell us if it is full, firm, puffy, or very enlarged? Check it early each morning when the crop should be empty. If not and the crop is hanging low, it could be a pendulous crop, a long standing problem. Crop bras can sometimes be helpful to keep the crop from overfilling. Impacted or sour crop treatment could help, but it takes time. Crops sometimes do not empty normally if they have something else going on, such as internal laying or water belly. Can you check her belly belly her vent to see if it seems enlarged or full of fluid? What do you feed? Does she still lay eggs? Poop pictures can be helpful. If you are in the US, Valbazen is a much better and safer wormer. SafeGuard/fenbendazole is also very good. Here is a good article about impacted, sour or pendulous crop:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

 

[JaneBrook]

What is your general location in the world? Have you had a vet examine a fecal specimen to confirm gapeworms? Gapeworms are not very common, but chronic respiratory diseases are common. Her crop looks large in the pictures? Can you feel of her crop and tell us if it is full, firm, puffy, or very enlarged? Check it early each morning when the crop should be empty. If not and the crop is hanging low, it could be a pendulous crop, a long standing problem. Crop bras can sometimes be helpful to keep the crop from overfilling. Impacted or sour crop treatment could help, but it takes time. Crops sometimes do not empty normally if they have something else going on, such as internal laying or water belly. Can you check her belly belly her vent to see if it seems enlarged or full of fluid? What do you feed? Does she still lay eggs? Poop pictures can be helpful. If you are in the US, Valbazen is a much better and safer wormer. SafeGuard/fenbendazole is also very good. Here is a good article about impacted, sour or pendulous crop:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/i

What is your general location in the world? Have you had a vet examine a fecal specimen to confirm gapeworms? Gapeworms are not very common, but chronic respiratory diseases are common. Her crop looks large in the pictures? Can you feel of her crop and tell us if it is full, firm, puffy, or very enlarged? Check it early each morning when the crop should be empty. If not and the crop is hanging low, it could be a pendulous crop, a long standing problem. Crop bras can sometimes be helpful to keep the crop from overfilling. Impacted or sour crop treatment could help, but it takes time. Crops sometimes do not empty normally if they have something else going on, such as internal laying or water belly. Can you check her belly belly her vent to see if it seems enlarged or full of fluid? What do you feed? Does she still lay eggs? Poop pictures can be helpful. If you are in the US, Valbazen is a much better and safer wormer. SafeGuard/fenbendazole is also very good. Here is a good article about impacted, sour or pendulous crop:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

incredibly informative

 

[RiccardoR]

What is your general location in the world? Have you had a vet examine a fecal specimen to confirm gapeworms? Gapeworms are not very common, but chronic respiratory diseases are common. Her crop looks large in the pictures? Can you feel of her crop and tell us if it is full, firm, puffy, or very enlarged? Check it early each morning when the crop should be empty. If not and the crop is hanging low, it could be a pendulous crop, a long standing problem. Crop bras can sometimes be helpful to keep the crop from overfilling. Impacted or sour crop treatment could help, but it takes time. Crops sometimes do not empty normally if they have something else going on, such as internal laying or water belly. Can you check her belly belly her vent to see if it seems enlarged or full of fluid? What do you feed? Does she still lay eggs? Poop pictures can be helpful. If you are in the US, Valbazen is a much better and safer wormer. SafeGuard/fenbendazole is also very good. Here is a good article about impacted, sour or pendulous crop:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

Thanks for your swift reply. I live in the Netherlands, close to Eindhoven. I haven’t examined the poop. I have put her inside and she hasn’t poop yet. She is gasping a lot and seems stressed. I believe she would like to get back to the flock but it gets very cold at night. Reason why I mentioned gapeworms is because she has been gasping in the past and every time I gave her levamisole she got better. Crop is ok, she is just very fat. She has been eating a lot the past month and very quick. Belly is ok. She eats dry grains and she has been free to range in my garden. She does not lay for 1 year at least. She is over 5 and got a respiratory disease last August. I feel so sorry for her.

 

[Eggcessive]

Did she ever have any bubbles or foam in one eye, swelling on an eyelid or her face, or have mucous drainage from her beak when she suffered the respiratory disease in August? If so, she might have had mycoplasma (MG,) a chronic respiratory disease that can come back during periods of stress, such as cold weather, molting, or others. Tiamulin/Denagard, Tylosin, or Oxytetracyljne are medications that your vet could prescribe for treatment of MG. @BDutch is another member from the Netherlands who might have a suggestion on getting testing, a fecal test for gapeworms, and a vet.

 

[RiccardoR]

Did she ever have any bubbles or foam in one eye, swelling on an eyelid or her face, or have mucous drainage from her beak when she suffered the respiratory disease in August? If so, she might have had mycoplasma (MG,) a chronic respiratory disease that can come back during periods of stress, such as cold weather, molting, or others. Tiamulin/Denagard, Tylosin, or Oxytetracyljne are medications that your vet could prescribe for treatment of MG. @BDutch is another member from the Netherlands who might have a suggestion on getting testing, a fecal test for gapeworms, and a vet.

Indeed this summer she had many of these issues. She got it from new chickens. What can I do to help her in the meantime I talk to the vet? The other two chickens are doing great …

 

[Eggcessive]

Make sure the coop ventilation stays good, no dust, ammonia odor, or dampness. Offer her a little dampened moist chicken feed, in case the dust in the feed is causing irritation. Probiotics or a small spoonful of plain yogurt a couple of days a week won’t hurt. Check to see if you can get any of the antibiotics listed above, to have in case she has more outbreaks. Tiamulin is pig antibiotic and the others might be available for fish or pigeons. Many countries are very strict about antibiotics now.

 

[BDutch]

Did she ever have any bubbles or foam in one eye, swelling on an eyelid or her face, or have mucous drainage from her beak when she suffered the respiratory disease in August? If so, she might have had mycoplasma (MG,) a chronic respiratory disease that can come back during periods of stress, such as cold weather, molting, or others. Tiamulin/Denagard, Tylosin, or Oxytetracyljne are medications that your vet could prescribe for treatment of MG. @BDutch is another member from the Netherlands who might have a suggestion on getting testing, a fecal test for gapeworms, and a vet.

Hi Ricardo. sorry for you and your sick chicken. I cant add much to what Eggcessive writes. She is super good in diagnosing from a distance.

Antibiotics are not for sale in NL. Only a vet can subscribe them.

Vets in NL are expensive and from what I have been reading they often give poor diagnoses when it comes to chickens. Another problem might be that vets are not open for poultry because of bird flu restrictions.

Maybe you can call one, say a friend diagnosed, and buy one of the medicines Eggcessive proposed at the vets pharmacy? If you don't want to go to a vet at all, is hoping she wil get over it by herself.

Btw was born in Eindhoven and live just above the Rhine river now.

 

[RiccardoR]

Hi Ricardo. sorry for you and your sick chicken. I cant add much to what Eggcessive writes. She is super good in diagnosing from a distance.

Antibiotics are not for sale in NL. Only a vet can subscribe them.

Vets in NL are expensive and from what I have been reading they often give poor diagnoses when it comes to chickens. Another problem might be that vets are not open for poultry because of bird flu restrictions.

Maybe you can call one, say a friend diagnosed, and buy one of the medicines Eggcessive proposed at the vets pharmacy? If you don't want to go to a vet at all, is hoping she wil get over it by herself.

View attachment 3735780Btw was born in Eindhoven and live just above the Rhine river now.

Thanks for your insights. I will try to speak to a vet I know tomorrow. I hope she can make it, she is gaping a lot right now, having troubles eating and drinking. Stay in touch!