Chicken coughing/gurgling

[Renee Bailey]

I went out to the coop around 7:30 and found my favorite girl Margy had this weird cough/gurgle that she's had 3 times now. The first two times I caught her with it, I would bring her in, put some Vet RX on her nostrils, combs and wattles and feed her some people food and she'd get over it right away. Tonite it doesn't seem to be working as good. I've got her in a kennel away from the others. I don't know if this is CRD and she just exhibits signs when she gets stressed or what. Should I put the Vet RX under her wings too? Also, I have some Tylan ...not sure if it's Tylan 50 or what it is (it's in the house somewhere) .....could I give this to her? And does anyone have the dosage if I gave it by syringe to her orally? Thanks in advance.

 

[Renee Bailey]

She seems to have stopped for a bit. Hopefully she'll be over it and go to sleep. I got on another site on FB and they said to give her Tylan shots for 5 days.

 

[Arya28]

Hi! Our flock experienced a respiratory upset some months back. We aren't sure exactly what caused it but we think it was viral. You can read about it and how we treated it here. Basically, Nutri-Drench is what we think cleared it up the most, it is a strong vitamin supplement. Also we used oregano oil and some other herbs. Our whole flock is organic, so we only use natural things where possible. We believe in building up the immunity of our flock, so we don't just cull whenever they have something wrong with them. We try to work with their immune systems rather than against them. An update to this article- all of our chickens remain cleared up from the upset, aside from one hen who sometimes seems to have a bit of a puffy eye, but her breathing is good so we aren't sure exactly what that is from. It's been about 10 months probably and the rest of them haven't had that problem since. As far as Tylan, that is an antibiotic. If the problem is viral an antibiotic won't help. I would try to figure out the problem, unless it's really really bad, before giving an antibiotic. It probably isn't bacterial, that's just my opinion.

 

[LJoWilly]

Bumping this up for ya!

 

[micstrachan]

How’s your girl doing and what is the weather like where you live? Bringing her in for a night for warmth and TLC might do her some good. But I wouldn’t have her away from the flock much longer if she’s in good shape, as that can stress her out, too. Besides, everyone else has already been exposed if she has something contagious.

 

[Renee Bailey]

How’s your girl doing and what is the weather like where you live? Bringing her in for a night for warmth and TLC might do her some good. But I wouldn’t have her away from the flock much longer if she’s in good shape, as that can stress her out, too. Besides, everyone else has already been exposed if she has something contagious.

She slept without a sound from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. and then I heard her sneeze a couple times and it woke me up. I put some more Vet RX around her nostrils and under her wings. I might try to give the Tylan orally tomorrow. Someone said you can just give it via a syringe and let her swallow on her own. I'm scared to give her a shot. I don't think it's contagious because she's had this a couple times already and none of the others has it. She likes to come in the house. She's the one in my profile pic.

 

[Renee Bailey]

Bumping this up for ya!

Thanks girl!

 

[Renee Bailey]

Since I put some more Vet RX under her wings and around her nostrils and put her back in the pet taxi I haven't heard her cough since. That was after 1 and she was ok at 5 a.m. when I checked on her. I will probably try to give her some Tylan injections today. If I can get the right needle at the farm store. How far do I inject it? Just under the skin at an angle into the breast? Scared silly to do this. I watched a couple videos on Youtube but don't really say how long of a needle they used or how far they go in.

 

[rebrascora]

If she is responding to Vet Rx treatment then I would continue to use that and save the antibiotic (Tylan) for when she doesn't respond to it. The odd cough or sneeze is not a huge issue. If she is constantly wheezing and struggling for breath and has a nasal discharge or bubbly eyes, that is another matter. As @Arya28 says, this may be viral and chronic and an antibiotic will not help that. Keep the "big guns" medicine for when it is really necessary and use the appropriate lower grade stuff like Vet Rx for the more minor situations like this.

 

[LJoWilly]

If she is responding to Vet Rx treatment then I would continue to use that and save the antibiotic (Tylan) for when she doesn't respond to it. The odd cough or sneeze is not a huge issue. If she is constantly wheezing and struggling for breath and has a nasal discharge or bubbly eyes, that is another matter. As @Arya28 says, this may be viral and chronic and an antibiotic will not help that. Keep the "big guns" medicine for when it is really necessary and use the appropriate lower grade stuff like Vet Rx for the more minor situations like this.

Good advice given by all. Just curious though, if things did start to decline and antibiotics is needed. What size/gauge needle and how far to you go in? And what's the best location to give the shot?