Help figuring out what is wrong with hen

[DianeB]

Hi

I have a RIR that was slightly lethargic, a pale comb yesterday morning and watery poop early yesterday morning. She seemed to make a complete after a short 5 minute nap in my lap. I figured it was the heat, but took her into the vet anyway. My regular vet wasn't in so I had to take her to another one.

He said that she had bronchitis and was too thin. Occasionally when you listen really closely she does have a very slight problem breathing. It is only noticable when I pick her up and put my ear next to her chest. This is not very often, has not become any worse and only seems to occur when she has been digging through the dirt or on poor air quality days. (We have some of the worse air quality in the country, even worse then LA.) My other two hens seem to be like this from time to time but not as bad as her. She has no fever, no discharge, no swollen face and does not sneeze or cough. She has been eating and drinking normally, laying perfect eggs pretty almost everyday without problems and runs around with the other hens. Also, my hens are very isolated. There is no farms or other chickens for miles. I wouldn't know where she would pick it up.

The vet just listened to her chest, said their was a very slight breathing problem and told me it was bronchitis. He didn't even take a culture to determine if she had a viral or bacterial infection. Before I knew it, he was giving her a powerful antibiotic. (I swear this vet over medicates.)

When I got home, I looked up poultry bronchitis. She does not have any of the symptoms. Am I wrong? Could she have bronchitis? She still seems very healthy and no other chicken has shown any symptoms. Or could she have some type of asthma? Do chickens get asthma or other breathing problems?

He also said her breast was too thin. She eats quite a bit and weighs around 6.5 pounds. Could she have worms? Is it just her age or breed or the heat? Do I need to add something to her diet?

Also, he said that I should never bring them into the house. Supposedly, the change in temperature causes breathing problems. I only bring them in at night or during very hot days. Is this true? Even when the difference is less then 15 degrees.

Thank you
DB

 

[purpletree23]

So her only symptoms are lethargic, pale comb and occasional watery poops? How old is she and how hot has it been. What is she eating and how many other chickens do you have?

 

[DianeB]

She is 7 mos. old. It has been around 100 for the last three days. It was in the upper 80s/ low 90s before this week. Also, we have pretty much no humidity. I think that can be hard on chicken's lungs. I cleaned her nostrils this morning. There was no discharge just dirt from digging in the garden. She seems to be breathing okay with a clean nose.

Do you know how I can fatten her up? She does have a very strong appetitie, but can be a picky eater.

Thank You

 

[dlhunicorn]

might be dust... hang a freshly wettened towel in their coop each evening to provide the humidity you say is too little (be sure there is adequate ventilation in your coop > if this is not the case then take care of that too)
I would try misting the coop several times in the evening with oxine and see if that doesnt help and hold off on the strong AB for the moment unless she shows aditional symptoms.

 

[chickenzoo]

Also if she is thin she may need to be wormed.

 

[DianeB]

That was what I was thinking. I read that worms cause anemia and that makes their combs paler. Do you know what is the best wormer?

She is also a picky eater and seems to prefer to dig up worms than eat her feed. I have started to offer them layer pellets along with seed/grain mixture (wheat, millet, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, etc.) they have always been eating. In fact, I switched to a seed/grain mixture because she won't eat the pellets. Ironically, she has put on weight since then and is the tallest bird. Is there anyway to convience her to eat her pellets and more grain, instead of running around the backyard burning calories?

The color has completely come back in her comb. Her activity was always high. I cleaned out her nostrils yesterday morning and last night. There was no mucus or discharge just dirt. She seems to breath much better after that.

I checked the air quality and it was unhealthy for sensitive groups approaching unhealthy. There has been a lot of wildfires in California and smoke is everywhere. I could smell it when I walked outside this morning.

On Tuesday, I have an appointment for her regular vet. I hope that he can straighten this out.