Gasping chicken

[Valhalla Acres]

We have a bantam hen (about 1-year-old) that is gasping for air. She doesn't seem to have trouble walking but rarely moves around her pen. We have had chickens in the past with a lung problem and we treated them successfully with Tylan 50 and Vet RX. However, this hen has shown no improvement. What else could be wrong? How can we help her?

 

[Eggcessive]

Gasping can be from many different problems. You will need to look her over, feel her lower belly for enlargement or fluid in the abdomen (ascites.) Does she have any watery or bubbly eyes, nasal drainage, rattly breathing, or other signs of a respiratory disease? Mold in the coop can cause a fungal respiratory disease called aspergillosis, and viruses or bacteria can also cause bronchitis, mycoplasma, and others. Those can cause gasping. If she is not moving around much, I would look at it being a reproductive disease, such as internal laying, egg yolk peritonitis, and others which can occur with ascites or water belly.

 

[Valhalla Acres]

Gasping can be from many different problems. You will need to look her over, feel her lower belly for enlargement or fluid in the abdomen (ascites.) Does she have any watery or bubbly eyes, nasal drainage, rattly breathing, or other signs of a respiratory disease? Mold in the coop can cause a fungal respiratory disease called aspergillosis, and viruses or bacteria can also cause bronchitis, mycoplasma, and others. Those can cause gasping. If she is not moving around much, I would look at it being a reproductive disease, such as internal laying, egg yolk peritonitis, and others which can occur with ascites or water belly.

She has her head arched out and her mouth is wide open. She has to move her whole body to get a single breath of air, We can't feel anything abnormal. I change their bedding every two days, sometimes I do it every day if they made a mess. Thank you for the suggestions too! I will look into those.

 

[Eggcessive]

Since there have been respiratory problems in the past, she may have something similar. ILT and infectious bronchitis are viral diseases, and they won’t be affected by antibiotics. ILT may cause “pump handle respirations.” Can you see a vet?

 

[Valhalla Acres]

Since there have been respiratory problems in the past, she may have something similar. ILT and infectious bronchitis are viral diseases, and they won’t be affected by antibiotics. ILT may cause “pump handle respirations.” Can you see a vet?

We are taking her to the vet on Monday.

 

[Eggcessive]

I hope she survives. Please look inside her beak with a light, just to make sure there is nothing blocking her throat, such as any yellow plaques or mucus. Let us know what the vet has to say.

 

[Valhalla Acres]

I hope she survives. Please look inside her beak with a light, just to make sure there is nothing blocking her throat, such as any yellow plaques or mucus. Let us know what the vet has to say.

What would yellow plaque mean? Cause we ran a cotton swab over her throat a while ago and yellowish paste was on the end of the cotton swab. We did it again a couple hours later but nothing was on the cotton swab

 

[Eggcessive]

Yellow plaque is a term for puss or a deposit caused by a virus, bacteria, or protozoan. Many books call it caseous deposits. Diseases, such as wet fowl pox, canker, ILT, and coryza can all cause these deposits. In some cases, especially canker, they can block the airway and breathing. Do you smell a bad odor, which can be common with canker and coryza? The deposits sometimes can be mistaken for food or mucus. This is a picture of canker inside the beak:

 

[Eggcessive]

This picture by Casportpony is of wet fowl pox, a virus carried by mosquitoes:

 

[Eggcessive]

Again another picture that shows the virus ILT in the airway of a dead chicken up autopsy (necropsy)