Chicken Loudly Gasping for Air and Wheezing

[TheBestMidwestFlock]

I have a one year old hen who is struggling to breathe. She is stretching her neck out and making a wheezing noise as she gasps for air. She is sitting still just trying to breathe, and her comb is slightly purple and flopped over, which isn’t normal for her. I have felt her neck to see if anything is lodged in it, but I haven’t felt anything. She is still very alert, looking around, but she’s not moving her body because she’s using her whole body to try to breathe. Does anyone know what could be wrong with her and/or how to treat it? She is a Starlight Green Egger in case that’s relevant, and none of my other chickens have any symptoms. She is separated from the other chickens now in case it’s contagious. I went to check on the chickens this evening and found her like this about an hour ago.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I have a one year old hen who is struggling to breathe. She is stretching her neck out and making a wheezing noise as she gasps for air. She is sitting still just trying to breathe, and her comb is slightly purple and flopped over, which isn’t normal for her. I have felt her neck to see if anything is lodged in it, but I haven’t felt anything. She is still very alert, looking around, but she’s not moving her body because she’s using her whole body to try to breathe. Does anyone know what could be wrong with her and/or how to treat it? She is a Starlight Green Egger in case that’s relevant, and none of my other chickens have any symptoms. She is separated from the other chickens now in case it’s contagious. I went to check on the chickens this evening and found her like this about an hour ago.

Welcome To BYC

She may be experiencing Stridor, which is when some food, debris or mucous is inhaled/stuck in the airway. Often Stridor will resolve on its own over the course of a day.

If possible, check inside her beak to make sure there's not an obstruction that is causing the distress.

 

[TheBestMidwestFlock]

Welcome To BYC

She may be experiencing Stridor, which is when some food, debris or mucous is inhaled/stuck in the airway. Often Stridor will resolve on its own over the course of a day.

If possible, check inside her beak to make sure there's not an obstruction that is causing the distress.

Thank you for the reply. I shined a flashlight down her beak a few times but didn’t see anything that looked abnormal. She’s still struggling to breathe and doesn’t seem to be able to eat or drink, although she looks interested in food and water. I have her in a dog crate in my garage and when I open the door she will come out and walk around in the garage, which is better than what she was doing on Sunday. She has snot coming out of her nose now, which she didn’t before. I ordered TiaGard in case she has a respiratory infection, but won’t be here until tomorrow.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you for the reply. I shined a flashlight down her beak a few times but didn’t see anything that looked abnormal. She’s still struggling to breathe and doesn’t seem to be able to eat or drink, although she looks interested in food and water. I have her in a dog crate in my garage and when I open the door she will come out and walk around in the garage, which is better than what she was doing on Sunday. She has snot coming out of her nose now, which she didn’t before. I ordered TiaGard in case she has a respiratory infection, but won’t be here until tomorrow.

Poor girl!

It does sound like she may have respiratory illness. If it's Mycoplasma, then the Tiagard (Tiamulin) will help treat symptoms.

When was her last deworming?

 

[TheBestMidwestFlock]

Poor girl!

It does sound like she may have respiratory illness. If it's Mycoplasma, then the Tiagard (Tiamulin) will help treat symptoms.

When was her last deworming?

I dewormed the whole flock in the middle of August with SafeGuard poultry dewormer, and last night I syringed SafeGuard goat dewormer down her throat in case she has gapeworm. After my comment yesterday she was able to eat and drink a small amount (a few pellets and a couple sips of water). Late last night I checked on her and she was peacefully sleeping with her head under her wing, which seemed like an improvement since she has been unable to move her neck around much other than stretching it out to breathe. Her breathing still sounded wheezy, though. This morning she’s back to stretching her neck out to breathe, but she doesn’t seem to be stretching it out as far as she has been, so I’m hoping she’s starting to feel a little better.

 

[Eggcessive]

She probably has a respiratory infection, but just to be safe I would repeat the SafeGuard for a total of 5 days at 0.23 ml (1/4 ml) per pound, in case of gapeworm or capillary worms. Do you see any bubbles or foam in the eye on the side of the snotty nostril? Have you added any new birds recently?

 

[TheBestMidwestFlock]

She probably has a respiratory infection, but just to be safe I would repeat the SafeGuard for a total of 5 days at 0.23 ml (1/4 ml) per pound, in case of gapeworm or capillary worms. Do you see any bubbles or foam in the eye on the side of the snotty nostril? Have you added any new birds recently?

I haven’t seen any bubbles or foam in either of her eyes. I got some chicks a few weeks ago but they are separated from the older chickens, and I have been changing my clothes and shoes and washing my hands after handling one flock or the other so that I won’t pass any illnesses or anything from the chicks to the older chickens or vise versa. I will continue giving her the SafeGuard, and I also have TiaGard that should be arriving today that I will start giving her.

 

[Eggcessive]

Tiagard as well as Denagard dosage is 2 ml per quart, or 8 ml per gallon of water for 5 days. There is no egg withdrawal.