Lobzi

Crowing
14 Years
May 6, 2008
2,332
276
356
San Francisco Bay Area, EB
Young roo not responding to denagard or amoxicillin for respiratory issue. Can I give him anything for the severe wheezing he is suffering with? He has been sick for six months or longer with no apparent help from either medicine mentioned. Trying Duramycin start today. I need to help ease his symptoms. He has a little crusting on eyelids some mornings and I do clean that off for him but I just hate how he seems to struggle for breath. He runs around, eats and drinks but does enjoy just sleeping in the sun whenever possible.
 
Not all respiratory issues are bacterial and even some of those that are can't be cured by antibiotics - mostly because of overuse. The problem could also be viral (likely), fungal, parasitic, environmental or even nutritional. Without knowing what is ailing the bird, I couldn't recommend anything.
Make sure the ventilation is good around the clock.
 
I had something called synolux for an upper respiratory problem. It was prescribed from the vet. I also gave metacam at the same time. Cleared her up in about 4 days. There is also something called phenoxypen used for respiratory problems. But they are rarely a singular problem. Mycoplasma tends to be a secondary ailment. I used oxi50 for that. All of these I had to have prescribed by a vet. If you can see a vet it would be the best course of action. The rest of your flock will also need treatment for whatever the actual cause is.
 
This guy stays in the house with me or on the deck with a small group of chickens he was raised with. None of the other have ever shown any symptoms. Whatever is wrong I doubt it is contagious. I just want to ease his symptoms since treatment is not working.
 
Greetings Lobzi,

Taking the chicken to see a vet, is sometimes the best thing to do.

Other causes for wheezing can be injury or obstruction to the air way. In one case here on BYC, the bird had hole, in it's trachea. How it happened, is a mystery. In yet another case, a single millet seed cost a rooster his life. It was found during a necropsy, sticking in the trachea. Like you, the keeper had tried everything over a period of months.

The body will try to expel, repair, or surround these things with mucous and or other fluids. We see this as crusty eyes, wheezing, ascites in the belly, swelling in legs etc.

Six months is a long time for a bacteria or virus to exist in a chicken without killing it. Another possibility, is a tumor or growth. This is the cause of my hen's long term decline in health. She has been losing feather quality and weight for six months now. She was treated with Herbal medicine, two different injectable broad spectrum antibiotics, and nutritional supplements, only to have an x-ray show, that she has a tumor growing inside her. It takes all her nutrients, which accounts for the poor feather quality and weight loss. But, that chicken is running around with her tail up. There is nothing more that can be done for her. I keep her well fed, give extra vitamins, herbal therapy, aspirin therapy and spa treatments, to make her comfortable. Soon, she will move on to that big barn yard up on the hill.

These are my thoughts on your rooster's issue. I hope they are helpful.

God Bless and peace to you. :)

 
I would recommend taking him to the vet if you can. They will stand alot better chance of accurately pinpointing what the problem is and be able to give the correct treatment. Denagard and amoxicillin are fairly strong antibiotics. If they are having no effect it is unlikely to be bacterial and could lead to a resistance. Could it be something in the environment like dusty feed or bedding.
 
After dealing with his problem that long, he might have aspergillosis, a fungal infection caused by mold in the environment or feed. It can spread through the air sacs to the whole body. The crusty eyes and wheezing do sound like MG, as MG is a chronic disease, but a fungal infection could complicate his problem. You might want to seek out a vet or get him a PCR test for MG by contacting a poultry vet or college. Here is some reading about aspergillosis:
http://www.poultrydvm.com/condition/aspergillosis
 
There are so many things is could be. According to the table below, Denagard doesn't treat E. coli, which is one of the more common bacteria that cause respiratory infections, and even though it says amoxicillin does treat it, many strains of E. coli are now resistant to amoxicillin and other penicillins.

Can you take him to a vet? It would be best to have the vet check to see if it's bacterial. I see you're in the Bay area. Try these three places.
antibiotic_table.JPG
 
Since the young rooster has been hanging around with a group of other chickens and they havnt been infected, it's not a respiratory disease. That eliminates bacterial and viral infections. Denegard treats mycoplasma diseases and there is no resistance to it.
It's either a fungal problem or something in the environment causing the symptoms.
Oxine mixed with water misted over the head of the rooster 3 times a day for 10 days will take care fungus issues.
Hen Pen Jem provided good examples of causes as well; tumor, hole in throat, stuck millet seed, perhaps a ruptured air sac, liquids in trachea and so on.
If anyone has had something stuck in their throat or swallowed a liquid down their windpipe; I think we can relate to the roosters symptoms, although not 6 months for us humans.
 
OK, well then Ill try the oxine mist if I can get a hold of some. Any suggestions?In the meantime I did try a little Dayquil today and it seemed to perk him up. He took a nice dust bath, mated with a couple of hens and ate a fair amount. Im going to give him more Dayquil tomorrow as if nothing else I want to ease his symptoms.
 

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