Chicken with a cold?

[Chickentvwatcher]

Hi all, I went out to check in on my girls this morning and my favorite BO was laying down making a strange noise. After observing her for a bit it seems to be a hen's version of wheezing with almost every breath with the occasional cough which sounds like a yell or the beginning of a crow, were she a roo. She has mucus coming from one of her nostrils and is lethargic. I've isolated her and gave her some scrambled eggs, which she immediately went to town on. I've never heard of chickens getting colds, but this looks like some sort of respiratory issue. Any ideas, advice, remedies?

 

[Gray Farms]

Sounds like a raspatory infection.

 

[Shadrach]

Hi all, I went out to check in on my girls this morning and my favorite BO was laying down making a strange noise. After observing her for a bit it seems to be a hen's version of wheezing with almost every breath with the occasional cough which sounds like a yell or the beginning of a crow, were she a roo. She has mucus coming from one of her nostrils and is lethargic. I've isolated her and gave her some scrambled eggs, which she immediately went to town on. I've never heard of chickens getting colds, but this looks like some sort of respiratory issue. Any ideas, advice, remedies?

Not a cold. Chickens don't catch colds.
It sound like a respiratory infection but there are a few that might give the symptoms you describe.
Ideally you should take her to a vet so you can get a proper diagnosis.
However, I'll assume because you've posted here that a vet isn't an option.
To try and narrow down the advice you may get from others a video of the hen showing these symptoms would help. You would have to upload such a video to a hosting site such as Utube and use the media link to make a link to this site.
If you can't manage a video then some clear pictures of the mucus from her nostril, a shot of inside her throat and a couple of her stance would be good.

 

[Eggcessive]

Can you look into her eyes for any bubbles and for any swelling around an eye, especially on the side where she is having nasal drainage? Is the sound she is making anything like in this video, possibly with a sneeze as well?

 

[Chickentvwatcher]

That is exactly what is going on.

 

[Chickentvwatcher]

Can you look into her eyes for any bubbles and for any swelling around an eye, especially on the side where she is having nasal drainage? Is the sound she is making anything like in this video, possibly with a sneeze as well?

This is the exact same sound she is making. There is swelling around the eye on the drainage side and bubbles in the eye.

 

[Eggcessive]

That sound in the video is called stridor, a high pitched sound on breathing in and breathing out, where there is something partially blocking the airway. That can be a small piece of food, a mucus plug, or swollen tissue. Many times this clears in a few hours or overnight, if it is just from inhaling a piece of feed. If there is also sneezing or coughing, then it is probably a respiratory disease. Common ones are infectious bronchitis or mycoplasma gallisepticum. IB does not respond to antibiotics, while MG can respond to certain ones. Do you have a vet that you can see?

Edited to say that I just now see the pictures. It looks like MG or mycoplasma. Tylosin (Tylan) is one of the antibiotics that may treat it.

 

[Chickentvwatcher]

No, sadly I can't get her to a vet. Is there anything I can do for her here at home, besides quarantine?

 

[Chickentvwatcher]

Is

That sound in the video is called stridor, a high pitched sound on breathing in and breathing out, where there is something partially blocking the airway. That can be a small piece of food, a mucus plug, or swollen tissue. Many times this clears in a few hours or overnight, if it is just from inhaling a piece of feed. If there is also sneezing or coughing, then it is probably a respiratory disease. Common ones are infectious bronchitis or mycoplasma gallisepticum. IB does not respond to antibiotics, while MG can respond to certain ones. Do you have a vet that you can see?

Edited to say that I just now see the pictures. It looks like MG or mycoplasma. Tylosin (Tylan) is one of the antibiotics that may treat it.

Is Tylosin available without a vet?

 

[Eggcessive]

It sometimes is available for pigeons online. Doxycycline is another that may treat it. LA 200 which is oxytetracycline is sometimes available in feed stores in the refrigerated medicines. It is used with a syringe and needle, but it may also be used orally without the needle.