Chicken gasping, low-energy, did not go to roost at dark

[ChattyChickens4Life]

Thank you @ChattyChickens4Life! Am I correct in assuming I need to go to a vet to get that treatment? Or would it just be wisest to take her to a vet anyway? I was trying to avoid large vet bills, but might this be an issue that could affect all of them? The other two birds are very lively and appear healthy.

Going to a vet would most likely be the best option. They can confirm gape worm or uncover a possibly hidden, more serious illness. And then they can treat for whatever us wrong. I would suggest bringing all your birds to be safe. Best wishes! Keep me updated!

 

[AccidentalChickenLady]

Thank you for all your help! I will indeed keep you posted.

 

[Eggcessive]

I think that you are probably seeing a respiratory infection, and there are several viruses, bacteria, and fungi that can cause those. Gapeworm is an over diagnosed problem and rare, but chickens with that will not be able to eat and drink, since they are in so much respiratory distress. It is treated with SafeGuard liquid Goat Wormer or Equine paste given for 3-5 straight days at a dosage of 0.25 ml or 1/4 ml per pound of weight. A 5 pound chicken would get 1.25 ml for 3-5 days. You could be dealing with aspergillosis, from mold, or infectious bronchitis, Mg, ILT, or coryza, so of the common respiratory diseases that you could read about here: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

 

[AccidentalChickenLady]

Thank you so much, @Eggcessive! That's an excellent resource. Is my best bet still to find an avian vet and get the birds tested, to be sure I'm not treating for a condition they don't have?
For what it's worth, when I carried her into the coop tonight, I did NOT hear rattling, as some posts on gape worm say is common.

 

[AccidentalChickenLady]

Just got back from a long (and expensive) trip to the vet with Ginger. The vet also suspects she has gape worm, though a preliminary fecal analysis was inconclusive. Because I couldn't justify $550 in additional tests, the vet sent me home with an oral de-wormer (Panacur) to give Ginger for three days, and an opthamalic antibiotic (Gentamicin) to administer via drops into her nostrils for a week. Ginger was interactive and responsive at the vet, and aside from being a bit skinny, the vet didn't see any additional signs of trauma or injury.
Since the temperature has started dipping below freezing at night here in Colorado, I've moved Ginger into her own "condo" inside the house, where I can also administer her medication and make sure she's getting plenty of food and water, as she is usually at the bottom of the pecking order. The vet suggested I keep her inside for at least the week that she's on antibiotics, and to monitor the rest of my flock for any signs of distress. She did say that the fact that Ginger is "talking," awake and alert, and interested in eating and drinking is a good sign that we may have caught whatever it was early enough to address it, and that she may be strong enough to beat it. Thank you to all of the BYC-ers who offered suggestions and encouraged me to take her to the vet. I'm glad I did, even if we don't have definitive answers about what's causing her illness (the $500 test would have provided those, as well as a definitive course of treatment, but cost was really prohibitive for this underemployed journalist) and my wallet is lighter for the trip.
As a preventative measure, I'm going to be changing out the bedding we use in their run — thus far we've used grass clippings from our yard (since we know it's not treated with anything other than hose water), but the vet suggested we switch to sand instead, as a more hygienic option that is less appealing to parasites and other nasties.

 

[ChattyChickens4Life]

Just got back from a long (and expensive) trip to the vet with Ginger. The vet also suspects she has gape worm, though a preliminary fecal analysis was inconclusive. Because I couldn't justify $550 in additional tests, the vet sent me home with an oral de-wormer (Panacur) to give Ginger for three days, and an opthamalic antibiotic (Gentamicin) to administer via drops into her nostrils for a week. Ginger was interactive and responsive at the vet, and aside from being a bit skinny, the vet didn't see any additional signs of trauma or injury.
Since the temperature has started dipping below freezing at night here in Colorado, I've moved Ginger into her own "condo" inside the house, where I can also administer her medication and make sure she's getting plenty of food and water, as she is usually at the bottom of the pecking order. The vet suggested I keep her inside for at least the week that she's on antibiotics, and to monitor the rest of my flock for any signs of distress. She did say that the fact that Ginger is "talking," awake and alert, and interested in eating and drinking is a good sign that we may have caught whatever it was early enough to address it, and that she may be strong enough to beat it. Thank you to all of the BYC-ers who offered suggestions and encouraged me to take her to the vet. I'm glad I did, even if we don't have definitive answers about what's causing her illness (the $500 test would have provided those, as well as a definitive course of treatment, but cost was really prohibitive for this underemployed journalist) and my wallet is lighter for the trip.
As a preventative measure, I'm going to be changing out the bedding we use in their run — thus far we've used grass clippings from our yard (since we know it's not treated with anything other than hose water), but the vet suggested we switch to sand instead, as a more hygienic option that is less appealing to parasites and other nasties.

I use sand in my coop. Best choice ever! It's so easy to clean! Kitty litter scooper? Check! Also, when you need to fully replace the sand in the run, just wash it dry it, and reuse it! Woohoo! Best wishes and good luck!

 

[ChattyChickens4Life]

And glad Ginger is better! Hoping for a seamless recovery!

 

[AccidentalChickenLady]

Today is the last day of Ginger's medication regimen, and she is doing SO. MUCH. BETTER. She has a solid, consistent appetite, she's pooping regularly, talking whenever I go in to see her, and getting increasingly annoyed with me putting antibiotic drops into her nostrils. (I figure her squawking and trying to flap away when I do so is a good sign, as that's what I'd expect from a fully healthy "normal" chicken who doesn't want to be messed with.) Last night, she was sitting on my knee for a while after her meds, then jumped down and started exploring the guest room, which is the most active I've seen her be since she got sick.
I'm planning to return her to the coop with her sisters this week, as soon as I change out the run flooring for sand. It's also been warmer here in Colorado this week, with temperatures only in the 40s at night, so I'm hopeful that she won't have to work too hard to keep herself warm overnight. I'll keep an eye on her and make sure she puts herself to bed in the coop, but I'm optimistic that she's going to go right back to her regular chicken-y self once I return her to the flock.
Thank you again to everyone who weighed in here, especially @ChattyChickens4Life! I'm so grateful for this community of fellow feathered-friend enthusiasts. <3

 

[ChattyChickens4Life]

Today is the last day of Ginger's medication regimen, and she is doing SO. MUCH. BETTER. She has a solid, consistent appetite, she's pooping regularly, talking whenever I go in to see her, and getting increasingly annoyed with me putting antibiotic drops into her nostrils. (I figure her squawking and trying to flap away when I do so is a good sign, as that's what I'd expect from a fully healthy "normal" chicken who doesn't want to be messed with.) Last night, she was sitting on my knee for a while after her meds, then jumped down and started exploring the guest room, which is the most active I've seen her be since she got sick.
I'm planning to return her to the coop with her sisters this week, as soon as I change out the run flooring for sand. It's also been warmer here in Colorado this week, with temperatures only in the 40s at night, so I'm hopeful that she won't have to work too hard to keep herself warm overnight. I'll keep an eye on her and make sure she puts herself to bed in the coop, but I'm optimistic that she's going to go right back to her regular chicken-y self once I return her to the flock.
Thank you again to everyone who weighed in here, especially @ChattyChickens4Life! I'm so grateful for this community of fellow feathered-friend enthusiasts. <3

You are so welcome!!! I am so glad she is doing better! Yay!

-Chatty

 

[AccidentalChickenLady]

So I am sad to report that Ginger abruptly died last Thursday. She was still living in her re-coop-eration station in our guest room, but I took her outside to peck in the yard with her sisters for about an hour, since it was 70-plus degrees and sunny. Raven, our alpha Barred Rock, pecked at/picked on Ginger a few times while they were all scratching around, so I separated them. Ginger seemed OK, and was munching on grass and bugs, and willingly came back inside with me. About an hour later, I heard her squawking in the guest room, then came in just in time to watch her flop from side to side, yell loudly, then fall flat on the ground, neck bent and legs straight out. She pooped and I knew she was gone.
I did have our wonderful avian vet perform an autopsy (technically called a necropsy) to see if we could identify anything viral or infectious we might need to treat the rest of the flock for. The vet said she did find remnants of one gape worm in Ginger's throat, so the preliminary diagnosis (and dewormer treatment) was correct, though it doesn't seem that's what did her in. The vet didn't find any spots on Ginger's internal organs, but did notice that her reproductive system had never fully developed, which it should have in a six-month-old bird. (Ginger never laid eggs - now we know why!) The underdeveloped reproductive organs and the fact that Ginger was lightweight led the vet to conclude that she likely had some failure to thrive issues going on since birth, and certainly wouldn't have survived as long as she did in a more hostile/natural selection environment.
The good news is that the vet saw no signs of infection (Ginger's airways and lungs were clear, aside from expected indicators of the sudden death), and says there's no reason to believe our other two girls, Raven and bell, have been exposed to anything dangerous. Both those girls are still laying regularly, eating, drinking and pooping like the bottomless pits they are, and are very active and responsive whenever I talk to them or come outside to offer them treats.
I DID change out the run flooring, from grass clippings to sand. (THAT was a gross chore.) Since we live in Colorado, the climate is arid enough to tolerate sand, and the run roof covers all but about six inches at the front of the predator-proof run, so I'm optimistic that I can keep the sand dry enough to prevent any future worm or parasite issues. The birds seemed a little confused by the sand at first, but they've adjusted well — although I do try to let them roam free among the backyard grass more often now, since they don't have as much fun stuff to scratch around in out in the run.
It's been a bit of a rough run with our first flock, which started out with five day-old chicks. We lost one a couple days in, then another died without explanation about a month before Ginger bit the dust. We've just got two left now, our BR Raven and our EE bell, but we are hoping to add a few new chicks in the spring to get our flock back up to full-size (our neighborhood allows four hens per residence). I'm hoping that most of this is just the beginner's learning curve, and that we'll have better survival rates with our next round.
Finally, if any fellow BYC-ers in Colorado (namely, Denver and the western suburbs) are looking for a kind, honest, and thorough veterinarian who treats and understands chickens, I cannot recommend Dr. Jen Schoonmaker at VCA Anderson Animal Hospital highly enough. (https://vcahospitals.com/anderson) She never once made me feel like a crazy chicken lady, but patiently explained all our options, was respectful of my budget, and treated me and Ginger with the utmost compassion and respect. Thank you again to all you BYC-ers who weighed in here.