Chronic cough and wheezing

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Ann1986

Ann1986

Songster
9 Years
May 9, 2010
107
1
118
Hi all

Once a chicken brought in a cold and the rest of the flock got it. it was never severe, just some sneezing once in a while.
But after about 2 years my one black chicken now is coughing for 1 month and a week. She has to stop eating to cough and breath, she breaths with mouth open and I can hear her breathing.

I have been giving antibiotics now for 1 month (doxycycline + tylen) ordered by my vet.
its not getting better so I am stopping the antibiotics...

Do you have any advice?

She is 2-3 years old, black tall and slender. She lays eggs still, eats, drinks, does all the usual..

my vet thinks it might be chronical since she might have already damaged her lungs.

the coop is cleaned daily (poop taken out).

They have 1 little door that is always open and a little window. The other 2 chickens don thave the illness.

 
I would suggest having your birds tested for respiratory illness. You can talk to your state lab to find out how testing is done in your area. Unfortunately, I suspect you are not going to like what is found and the recommendations for dealing with it.

You likely have CRD in your flock. Antibiotics are not going to work to treat signs of illness unless you use progressively stronger ones. That is not a great alternative because you are merely killing off the weakest bugs and allowing the more powerful bugs to survive and get stronger with each successive course of treatment. CRD is chronic and highly contagious. Your flock needs to be closed- no new birds in, no live birds out. You can let your small flock live out their life, but they are all going to show signs of illness in times of stress and as they age. There is not much you can do about that. Antibiotics are only going to be of limited value, and can be more detrimental in the long run for the reasons I illustrated before. You can treat their symptoms palliatively, which means to just treat the symptoms and not try to "cure" them.

Vet RX was designed for just this purpose. You can pick some of that up at any feed store. I have even seen it at pet stores. Use it as directed. It is kind of like Vicks VapoRub for birds.

You can add natural antibiotics to their feed (like garlic) to help boost their immune systems. You can put them on a vitamin regimen. Make sure they are getting a good quality feed and access to fresh greens/fruits. A few teaspoons of probiotics each day (yogurt, buttermilk, ACV) will not hurt them and may help. These are all things that can help to ease their suffering.
 
CMV said:
I would suggest having your birds tested for respiratory illness. You can talk to your state lab to find out how testing is done in your area. Unfortunately, I suspect you are not going to like what is found and the recommendations for dealing with it.

You likely have CRD in your flock. Antibiotics are not going to work to treat signs of illness unless you use progressively stronger ones. That is not a great alternative because you are merely killing off the weakest bugs and allowing the more powerful bugs to survive and get stronger with each successive course of treatment. CRD is chronic and highly contagious. Your flock needs to be closed- no new birds in, no live birds out. You can let your small flock live out their life, but they are all going to show signs of illness in times of stress and as they age. There is not much you can do about that. Antibiotics are only going to be of limited value, and can be more detrimental in the long run for the reasons I illustrated before. You can treat their symptoms palliatively, which means to just treat the symptoms and not try to "cure" them.

Vet RX was designed for just this purpose. You can pick some of that up at any feed store. I have even seen it at pet stores. Use it as directed. It is kind of like Vicks VapoRub for birds.

You can add natural antibiotics to their feed (like garlic) to help boost their immune systems. You can put them on a vitamin regimen. Make sure they are getting a good quality feed and access to fresh greens/fruits. A few teaspoons of probiotics each day (yogurt, buttermilk, ACV) will not hurt them and may help. These are all things that can help to ease their suffering.
Click to expand...

X2.

As CMV stated, chances are this is a serious disease and permanent, i.e. you would have to cull all birds and wait at least a year, before getting more in, in order to establish a disease-free flock. Some diseases can persist for decades in the soil. If it is a serious respiratory disease, even the seemingly healthy ones are carrying it and they will be carriers for life. I hope for your sake it's not what it seems to be, but chances are very high against it being anything else.

I would also add that using hydrated agricultural lime on the ground will help keep pathogens down as well as the parasite load, and break down their feces quicker. It helps with controlling harmful fungi as well.

Best wishes.
 
CMV said:
I would suggest having your birds tested for respiratory illness. You can talk to your state lab to find out how testing is done in your area. Unfortunately, I suspect you are not going to like what is found and the recommendations for dealing with it.

You likely have CRD in your flock. Antibiotics are not going to work to treat signs of illness unless you use progressively stronger ones. That is not a great alternative because you are merely killing off the weakest bugs and allowing the more powerful bugs to survive and get stronger with each successive course of treatment. CRD is chronic and highly contagious. Your flock needs to be closed- no new birds in, no live birds out. You can let your small flock live out their life, but they are all going to show signs of illness in times of stress and as they age. There is not much you can do about that. Antibiotics are only going to be of limited value, and can be more detrimental in the long run for the reasons I illustrated before. You can treat their symptoms palliatively, which means to just treat the symptoms and not try to "cure" them.

Vet RX was designed for just this purpose. You can pick some of that up at any feed store. I have even seen it at pet stores. Use it as directed. It is kind of like Vicks VapoRub for birds.

You can add natural antibiotics to their feed (like garlic) to help boost their immune systems. You can put them on a vitamin regimen. Make sure they are getting a good quality feed and access to fresh greens/fruits. A few teaspoons of probiotics each day (yogurt, buttermilk, ACV) will not hurt them and may help. These are all things that can help to ease their suffering.
Click to expand...

I hope she doesnt have that! Ill go to the vet who knows a lot about birds so he can properly investigate it. Its abit further away but worth it.

I am going to let my flock live out their life, unless I see they are starting to suffer too much. As long as they maintain there normal behavior I am going to let them live. However, if there is only 1 chickens left, I dont know what to do then because she will be all alone and chickens are flock animals... Maybe killing her is the best option, I dont know, it is a hard decision. I dont just want to end an animals life.

I am going to stop the antibiotics today since they dont do anything. I gave it to her and it was worse today. I mean her breathing.

Ill try the Vet RX, see if they have it here in Belgium.

Garlic I have added :) I dont know if it is good the way I do it. I cook it with some rice so that it is soft, and the I mix it under the rice so that they eat it. I give them specific chicken food which has everything they need in it, but when I give additional things like garlic I like to mix it with other things else they wont eat it. Ill apply the recommendations.

Quote: wow thats a long time. But if its needed it is needed. i dont want to bring in new birds who then suffer the consequences.
Ill check it out if I can find something like hydrated agricultural lime , ill have to search for the dutch term.
 
Since I stopped the antibiotics it gotten worse.
She is coughing a lot now, and harder, also hear it in her breath. Hard for her to eat because she always has to cough and catch her breath. I also see slime in her mouth abit when she opens it. Not in her nostrils, also no smell.

Its so sad because for the rest she does everything as normal. But I dont like to see her suffer like that :/

So I am thinking of starting back the antibiotics. What do you guys think?
 
I filmed it:

0.jpg


its much worse when she eats
 
Last edited:
Talk to your avian vet. That bird is ill, and all the birds in the flock are likely infected. The vet may have some other treatment options available. At the very least, the vet can put her down painlessly for you.

I really think you should look into that testing. Find out exactly what it is you are dealing with.
 
Yes this morning I already made an appointment with an avian vet. We have to go there in an hour.
will keep you updated
 
She has narrowing of the trachea, caused by some kind of inflammation, and that also causes a mold or something (if thats the right english word).

I have to put her in a box with airholes, and use aerosol 10 minutes 2 times a day for 14 days. + half a pill of something.

He also said it is not contageous, else the other chickens would have already got it (its been more than 2 months that she has symptoms)
 
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