Can hen sleep with respiratory distress

[Lasotahssm]

Hello,
First time chicken owner here, she came with the house I purchased! I have a 4yo hen who started "sneezing" wheezing and open mouth breathing 6 days ago. On day 4 I took her to the vet. She tested negative for gapeworm. She has lost weight as keel is very prominent. No nasal discharge, no weepy eyes, no fluid in abdomen. Vet said she thinks it could be cancer, but thought it would be worth trying doxycycline first. She's had 3 full days of meds and is about the same with some time going by where she seems to feel better and other times she is distressed. We will probably end up putting her down tomorrow.
My question is, if a chicken is wheezing and has labored mouth breathing with the neck extending up for every single breath, can she sleep? When I'm miserably sick, sleep is sometimes the only relief I can get. I'm wondering if it's possible for her to sleep while maintaining her breathing the way she obviously needs to do it.
Any help is appreciated

 

[dawg53]

Welcome to BYC. Sick birds sleep just as you would. As soon as they go to roost at night, it's lights out. Their mouth may or may not be open, you may or may not hear wheezing.
If would be best to put her down, especially if you decide to get more birds.
If you decide to get more birds, disinfect everything and wait a couple of months before getting them. I recommend starting out by getting chicks from a reputable hatchery.

 

[Lasotahssm]

Welcome to BYC. Sick birds sleep just as you would. As soon as they go to roost at night, it's lights out. Their mouth may or may not be open, you may or may not hear wheezing.
If would be best to put her down, especially if you decide to get more birds.
If you decide to get more birds, disinfect everything and wait a couple of months before getting them. I recommend starting out by getting chicks from a reputable hatchery.

Thank you so much for your reply. I have 2 other hens that are still asymptomatic and my neighbor has 3 adults and 5 pullets. All of our birds mingle together and even have sleepovers. They know mine is sick and I did quarantine her as soon as I knew something was wrong. I will be getting a necropsy done as well. As long as our other birds stay healthy through the winter, we will get chicks from meyer hatchery next year. Thanks again

 

[CountingChickens]

Hi! I am so sorry to hear your hen is ill. How long did the vet say to be on the antibiotic, if you don't mind my asking.

 

[Lasotahssm]

Hi! I am so sorry to hear your hen is ill. How long did the vet say to be on the antibiotic, if you don't mind my asking.

It looks like it was 2x a day for 13 days. She got worse and I couldn't keep her like that. My vet said she agreed that she looked worse and after 3 days she should have showed some improvement, so we put her down. Necropsy showed very abnormal lungs, very thick tissue. I did not go to an avian or exotic vet, but this was the best we could do.

 

[CountingChickens]

It looks like it was 2x a day for 13 days. She got worse and I couldn't keep her like that. My vet said she agreed that she looked worse and after 3 days she should have showed some improvement, so we put her down. Necropsy showed very abnormal lungs, very thick tissue. I did not go to an avian or exotic vet, but this was the best we could do.

I am so sorry for your loss. I hope you're doing okay. It's so hard when our animals are ill and the decision to put them down is better than to try to keep them alive. I wish you many more lovely chickens to come and I'm sure she knew how special and loved she was.