HELP another sick hen

[teebo]

i lost a hen a week ago she had trouble breathing i went out today and found another hen laying on the ground,with her mouth hanging open having trouble breathing,and shes weezing,she was fine yesterday,she let me pick her up,i seperated her into a cool cellar.please whats going on here.

 

[speckledhen]

Not enough information to tell you. How hot is it where you are? Could be heat exhaustion/ dehydration or something else respiratory.

 

[teebo]

its hot but not that hot......

 

[teebo]

i dont see any that sound like what she has,but i moved her to a bigger cage and in the excitement she started breathing funny again,mouth open and trying to get air into her lungs shes pooing and looks fine,but the breathing is alful ,i added some aspirin to her water in the hopes she drinks it,i dont want to force her ,because ,when she gets excited thats when her breathing gets bad.im lost i dont know what to do,i have had chickens for 4 years now and i have never had gone through something like this,,it really stinks.

 

[dlhunicorn]

A bird is very different physiologically than a mammal ...the greatest difference being their airways and system of breathing... when your bird pants (for whatever reason...be that stress or heat) it creates an electrolyte imbalance which can only be addressed by giving electrolytes (the equivalent of having to give your child ORS>Oral Rehydration Salts when your child has diarrea)... you will find this at your feed store...you can use gatorade or even childrens ORS in a pinch...
If it is hot where you are at then all your birds need electrolytes/vit in their waterers...

 

[Pine Grove]

TeeBo, May I ask what you feed your chickens?

 

[teebo]

dlhunicorn ,i gave her some gatorade in her water,i just ordered electrolytes from jeffers,today i gave her an aspirin in her water ,her breathing is alot better tonight,thank god ,i feed them layer pellets,i also ordered some antibiotics,from jeffers incase she has an infection? dont know.my order wont be in until next week can i put her on chidrens plain pedialyte ,until i get the order.and should i still be feeding her anything special.

 

[dlhunicorn]

cut out any scratchgrains and remove food during the day is what the literature all advise... (offer watermelon or some frozen fruit pieces or such during the day)... I do not understand why you are giving aspirin...it is hard on the kidneys and should never be given except in very specific and necessary situations where the bird is in obvious distress from pain.

 

[teebo]

someone told me aspirin would help her breathe better,shes looking better today,weezing isnt bad,and shes eating i have her on medicated chick feed?is this ok

 

[dlhunicorn]

you have an adult hen on medicated chick feed?