Chicken sneeze fit and panting

[moogleslair]

Hi,

I have a flock of 6 hens and 1 rooster, all about 1 year old now. This morning I heard a funny little sneeze from the yard so I went to investigate. One of my hens was in a sneezing fit, she sneezed at least 4-5 times a minute for a couple minutes. She was acting fine otherwise, but I decided to separate her from the others. She had plenty of energy to let me chase her around the yard while trying to catch her, giving a little sneeze every once and awhile even while fleeing. Once I had a hold of her I also noticed a hint of a gurgle or wheezing as well. I put her in a crate in the house and she is eating treats taking water, and not one sneeze all day. However now she is going into a little pant every now and then. She opens her mouth and breathes heavy for about 10 seconds every minute or so. Her stool was fine this AM and now is a little loose, but not watery. I looked down her throat and it is clear, as well as her eyes and beak. She has had a wheezing fit once before, during the first cold snap of the year, also coincided with her laying her first egg, so I just thought it was a stress thing. It cleared up in 24 hours.

The rest of the flock still shows no symptoms, but I cleaned their water, food, bedding, ect. as a precaution. I have to run to the feed store this afternoon anyways, any suggestions on treatments or what to look out for. I have read everything from allergies to gapeworm. Just looking for a start and a game plan.

Thanks

 

[henny1129]

It sounds like your little girl may have an Upper Respiratory Infection. In order to treat this, you can get Terramycin or Duramycin 10 from TSC or another feed store. I believe this goes in their water, but just make sure to read the label on the bottle before treating your girl. You can also get Tylan 50, and give it to her orally. The dose if you do that is 1/2 cc daily for 5 to 7 days. Be prepared for the rest of your flock to become ill, and make sure to have medicine ready to treat them.

 

[henny1129]

I forgot to add that the dosage for Duramycin is 1 tablespoon for every 1 gallon of water. There is a 21 day withdrawal period in which you should not process and eat the chicken and not eat her eggs as well.

 

[moogleslair]

Thanks for the info, I will pick up one of those first thing tomorrow and start.
As an update, I gave her some electrolytes and some Vetrx. I put the rest of the flock up early and set up a playpen in the yard for her. One hour outside, no panting, 2 sneezes, and acting happy otherwise. I will still treat her, keep her separate, and watch the flock for a few more days. She did pant when I put her back in the house. I have her in a large dog kennel, the temp is identical to outside. It is actually less humid outside right now. So it may just be stress causing the panting?

No short update and thank you has ran a bit long, but thanks for the info gang.

 

[henny1129]

Thanks for the info, I will pick up one of those first thing tomorrow and start.
As an update, I gave her some electrolytes and some Vetrx. I put the rest of the flock up early and set up a playpen in the yard for her. One hour outside, no panting, 2 sneezes, and acting happy otherwise. I will still treat her, keep her separate, and watch the flock for a few more days. She did pant when I put her back in the house. I have her in a large dog kennel, the temp is identical to outside. It is actually less humid outside right now. So it may just be stress causing the panting?

No short update and thank you has ran a bit long, but thanks for the info gang.

It seems she's doing a bit better. It is definitely possible that the stress of being sick is causing her to pant. Chickens, just like humans, can become stressed easily, so I wouldn't be surprised if bei duck is making her be stressed!