Chicken wheezing and sneezing, What should I do??

[Belzarvie]

My 1 year 10 month old Easter Egger has been wheezing, open mouth breathing and sneezing a lot lately. She had this same problem (minus the sneezing) a few months ago and it was so bad we had to take her to the vet and they had to put her on oxygen. But she made it and we took her home and medicated her for about a month and she got mostly better. She seemed to have a small amount of chronic wheezing when scared but none of the other birds seemed affected. The vet never actually figured out what the exact problem was and it seems to have come back. She also stumbles almost drunkenly around.

Her poop is normal, she is eating and drinking as she always does and none of the other birds are having this problem. We have put her in quarantine inside the house for now as it's been incredibly cold out and the rest of the flock was picking on her.

I have a video of her sneezing and wheezing which I'll put below (i apologize for the low quality and shaky cam.) There's a bit at the end where you can hear her wheezing

I'm considering taking her to the vet. Is there anything I can do at home?? What do y'all think it is?

 

[cavemanrich]

Your video is very helpful. I had some of my hens sneeze a little but not for extended periods of time. They overcame it on their own. Some that did sneeze a lot had a condition that finished them off in 3 days. Lost 3 chickens at same time. Thought that I would loose whole flock. Luckily that did not happen. I suggest giving your chicken good nutrition and some added vitamins. It worked for me when some of my chickens seemed to be sick. Cant hurt. I just added some of my One A Day(without iron) crushed vitamins into their food. I used half of a pill and added it to some pasta that I cooked up. They wolfed that pasta like mad. With it went the vitamin intake. You can get supplemental pet vitamins at feed stores or pet shops.
WISHING YOU BEST...

and

 

[Belzarvie]

Your video is very helpful.    I had some of my hens sneeze a little but not for extended periods of time.   They overcame it on their own. Some that did sneeze a lot had   a condition that finished them off in 3 days.  Lost 3 chickens at same time. Thought that I would loose whole flock. Luckily that did not happen.   I suggest giving your chicken good nutrition and some added vitamins.    It worked for me when some of my chickens seemed to be sick.   Cant hurt.   I just added some of my One A Day(without iron) crushed vitamins into their food.   I used half of a pill and added it to some pasta that I cooked up. They wolfed that pasta like mad. With it went the vitamin intake. You can get supplemental pet vitamins at feed stores or pet shops. 
WISHING YOU BEST...   and   

Thank you so much for all your help advice!! She's still here with us so that's good but she rufuses to eat the pasta I made. She's eating all her other food just not the pasta. Did you ever have this problem or could it be because she's not feeling well or she's just a picky eater ?

 

[cavemanrich]

Not all chickens have the same taste buds. Some of my chickens prefer their Alflock pellets to scratch.

Same goes with my dogs. They all luv, meat, but when I give them small pieces of white bread, only one of them gladly eats those. The pasta I used was the Ramen Noodle type. I crushed it dry and cooked it for like 3 minutes. Cooled it and then added the vitamin into it. The rest is history. I thought I had a flock of wolves.

 

[Eggcessive]

...

My 1 year 10 month old Easter Egger has been wheezing, open mouth breathing and sneezing a lot lately. She had this same problem (minus the sneezing) a few months ago and it was so bad we had to take her to the vet and they had to put her on oxygen. But she made it and we took her home and medicated her for about a month and she got mostly better. She seemed to have a small amount of chronic wheezing when scared but none of the other birds seemed affected. The vet never actually figured out what the exact problem was and it seems to have come back. She also stumbles almost drunkenly around. Her poop is normal, she is eating and drinking as she always does and none of the other birds are having this problem. We have put her in quarantine inside the house for now as it's been incredibly cold out and the rest of the flock was picking on her. I have a video of her sneezing and wheezing which I'll put below (i apologize for the low quality and shaky cam.) There's a bit at the end where you can hear her wheezing She may have a chronic respiratory disease such as mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG.) Her symptoms look like infectious bronchitis with the sneeze or snicking, but that usually goes through the whole flock. There are different strains of MG, some mild, that can look like this, and some worse where there will be bubbles or foam in the eyes, wheezing, sneezing, and a swollen eyelid from sinus infection. Unless you can get some better antibiotic from your vet, I would get some injectable Tylan 50 or even 200, and give it ORALLY twice a day for 5 days. You will need a 3 ml syringes and 18-20 gauge needles to withdraw it feom the vial. A smaller 22 gauge needle would be best if you choose to give injections. Make sure that your coop is not too war, has plenty of overhead air circulation, and not ammonia odors or molds, which can add to respiratory problems.

 

[Belzarvie]

...

My 1 year 10 month old Easter Egger has been wheezing, open mouth breathing and sneezing a lot lately. She had this same problem (minus the sneezing) a few months ago and it was so bad we had to take her to the vet and they had to put her on oxygen. But she made it and we took her home and medicated her for about a month and she got mostly better. She seemed to have a small amount of chronic wheezing when scared but none of the other birds seemed affected. The vet never actually figured out what the exact problem was and it seems to have come back. She also stumbles almost drunkenly around. Her poop is normal, she is eating and drinking as she always does and none of the other birds are having this problem. We have put her in quarantine inside the house for now as it's been incredibly cold out and the rest of the flock was picking on her. I have a video of her sneezing and wheezing which I'll put below (i apologize for the low quality and shaky cam.) There's a bit at the end where you can hear her wheezing She may have a chronic respiratory disease such as mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG.) Her symptoms look like infectious bronchitis with the sneeze or snicking, but that usually goes through the whole flock. There are different strains of MG, some mild, that can look like this, and some worse where there will be bubbles or foam in the eyes, wheezing, sneezing, and a swollen eyelid from sinus infection. Unless you can get some better antibiotic from your vet, I would get some injectable Tylan 50 or even 200, and give it ORALLY twice a day for 5 days. You will need a 3 ml syringes and 18-20 gauge needles to withdraw it feom the vial. A smaller 22 gauge needle would be best if you choose to give injections. Make sure that your coop is not too war, has plenty of overhead air circulation, and not ammonia odors or molds, which can add to respiratory problems.

Thank you! I'm taking her to the vet later today so I'll see what medicines they prescribe her. It's been pretty cold here lately(below freezing all day) so I'm pretty sure the coop is not too warm but I will make sure to check out the coop for any ammonia smells or molds. Your advice is very helpful once again thank you!!

 

[Eggcessive]

Let us know what the vet has to say.

 

[Belzarvie]

So update! I took her to the vet today and he examined her and he believes that she's got a bacterial lower respiratory disease. He's thinking that it's possible she's got a mass in her lung that would explain why she got better then worse again, so I'm gonna take her back in tomorrow for a radiograph to see if it's there.

On the stumbling, the vet thinks it's less of a neurological thing and more just her being exausted from not being ableft to get enough air. She also jumed up onto the exam table perfectly fine all on her own so that's a good sign.

Here she is sittin on the table like she owns the place

 

[Eggcessive]

Chickens don't get lung infections, such as pneumonia, as we do, since they mainly breathe through the air sacs that are all through their bodies. When they get a respiratory infection it can be complicated by a bacterial infection, such as E.coli or another that can spread infection through the air sacs. This is known as air sacculitis, and it can make things much worse. Hopefully she doesn't have that, but just something she will recover from. Can you say what antibiotic was prescribed for her?

 

[Belzarvie]

Hey everybody i am so so SO sorry for the late reply!! She's improved since we've had her inside and started giving her the medicine. The radiograph found nothing other than showing her air sacks were enflamed. The vet as prescribed her Orbax oral suspension; 0.65 mL every twelve hours followed by probiotics an hour after we give her the first medicine. ThanK you all very much for your help and if you like I'll keep you posted on if she gets better or worse!!