Benadryl? Claritin?

[SourRoses]

Can I give Benadryl or Claritin to a young pullet with chronic sneezing?
This is day 5 of her condition. Today she had another prolonged fit of sneezing, so I bought her in for a humidifier treatment. She seems less energetic today. Still standing, eating, and pooping, but not active, napping a lot.
We think allergies, but is there any chance it could be something like mycotoxins?


This is the previous thread I posted about her...
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/sneezing-pullet.1575450/

 

[dawg53]

I read your thread and I suspect it's environmental ie: dust, pollen etc in the air. The same is happening here but no issues with my birds so far.
You can give her Children's liquid Benadryl orally. It'll keep the trachea open so she can breathe.
Dosage is 1/2ml given orally once in a 24 hour period. Do not overdose.

 

[Eggcessive]

Dust or other environmental things can cause occasional sneezing. If it goes on every few minutes all day and the next day, it could be a respiratory virus called infectious bronchitis. Occasionally a chicken may get a small piece of feed stuck in the nostril, or mucus or feed stuck in there. How is the air circulation? Has it been wet or have you seen mold? Benadryl can sometimes be used once with an allergic reaction or for an insect or tick bite, but should not be used more than once. I wouldn’t use antything but Benadryl.

 

[SourRoses]

I read your thread and I suspect it's environmental ie: dust, pollen etc in the air. The same is happening here but no issues with my birds so far.
You can give her Children's liquid Benadryl orally. It'll keep the trachea open so she can breathe.
Dosage is 1/2ml given orally once in a 24 hour period. Do not overdose.

View attachment 3479172

Thank you!

 

[SourRoses]

Dust or other environmental things can cause occasional sneezing. If it goes on every few minutes all day and the next day, it could be a respiratory virus called infectious bronchitis. Occasionally a chicken may get a small piece of feed stuck in the nostril, or mucus or feed stuck in there. How is the air circulation? Has it been wet or have you seen mold? Benadryl can sometimes be used once with an allergic reaction or for an insect or tick bite, but should not be used more than once. I wouldn’t use antything but Benadryl.

So I can only give her benadryl one time? I should probably save it for the morning then because she'll be inside tonight with her humidifier.

It's been 5 days and her symptoms have not improved overall. The humidifier helps for a short time afterward. When I put her back out she will sneeze occasionally and then it eventually builds up to a big fit of sneezing nonstop which sounds very stressful.

I've stared and stared at her but I can't see any discharge or objects. If she did have anything stuck, is there some way to tell if it's not in sight?


Today the tissue around her nose is a bit swollen, it makes it look like her nostrils are closed. I often wonder if she's only breathing out of her mouth...

 

[Eggcessive]

I have only seen it used once or maybe twice, but @dawg53 said it could be used once a day, so I would do what he says. Just see if it makes her too sleepy or if it works. Nighttime can be worse on chickens dealing with respiratory issues. I have only treated infectious bronchitis in my chickens, and they would get a bit worse in the evenings.

Can you post any pictures of the face where it is swollen?

 

[SourRoses]

We finally got a video of her and got it uploaded.
From pausing the video, I see a thin black line at the roof of her mouth when her beak is open.
Is that just from her mottled coloration or does the mouth not normally have color inside? Could that be a foreign object?

To me, especially in person, her comb looks unevenly reddish / swollen.
More red on her left side (with the black spot on the nostril, which was present at hatch, definitely just pigment there). Her right side is closer to her normal pink.
There is also some red skin showing around her eye.

She is still eating well. Her symptoms improve at night when she's sleeping.
She sneezes a lot worse when she's scared or nervous, like being picked up, loud noises, or when the adult chickens in the flock intimidate the juveniles away from preferred spots.
But we have her and her buddy set up on the porch now until she gets better.

I've been giving her grit since it started but I noticed when my mom was holding her for the video, her fingers touched her crop and the pullet gurgled a little and adjusted her head side to side a little.

@Eggcessive @dawg53 @Wyorp Rock

 

[SourRoses]

It rained really hard Tuesday afternoon, and she was actually sneezing worse during the sound on the roof. So much for my dust + allergies theory.


Redder side:

Paler side:

 

[SourRoses]

Sorry if it's too much, but here's some more videos while I'm at it.
@azygous ... Any ideas welcome!

 

[azygous]

I sometimes wander away from the crowd and focus on other things. The crop.

You mentioned her gurgling after being handled. Check her crop. A crop disorder could be throwing out false symptoms. She could have a slow or impacted crop. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

First, get someone to help hold her and pry open her beak wide. Take a strong flashlight and examine her throat well. Take your time.

Next, feel her crop, gently. Is it full, hard, lumpy, mushy, smelly? It could be backing up into her throat and causing the irritation and sneezing.