Help for a newbie!

[Dlighting]

I have a 4.5 mo pullet, occasionally sneezing. Medicated chick crumble. I still have 'open' windows in my coop and its been 55-60 at night, 70s during day. Run is dirt, grass, sand/dirt for dusting. At this eve's check, shes just standing there, let me walk over and pick her up. Where she normally would have struggled or vocalized, she just gasped. I separated her to a warm area, clean bedding, food and water. She has no discharge or oozing anywhere. She's perching, drinking a little water. No bad smell from her breathing. She possibly is hungry but not really eating, she was eating a bit of mash this morning. Felt around her chest to see if her crop was enlarged, but nothing. She's a little thin -not excessively or bony, but she's young (GL Wyandotte) No visible wounds, vent looks good, but haven't seen her poop yet. I can hear her wheezing ever so slightly when its quiet and she's just breathing. When she would normally vocalize, she gapes, then a few sneezes. She makes small chirping noises every so often- but anything else, she does the gasping thing. She is alert, clear eyed, but tired/lethargic vs her normaly feisty self. Tomorow I'll look closer at the rest to see if anyone else is sneezing, acting sick (I have 13) It went from 85 to 55 deg overnight here in NJ so maybe a cold/URI? What type of supportive care can I give, what else can I look for? Ive searched many threads on this site and it all becomes confusing. Electrolytes, Corid, Tylan50, oregano, garlic... In the AM, I was going to feed her eggs and go to TS in the am to get electrolytes -but what else can I do? I know everyone has different methods, but I'm a newbie and all has been good until this. TIA!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

4.5 mo pullet, occasionally sneezing. Medicated chick crumble

Where she normally would have struggled or vocalized, she just gasped.

She possibly is hungry but not really eating, she was eating a bit of mash this morning. Felt around her chest to see if her crop was enlarged, but nothing.

I can hear her wheezing ever so slightly when its quiet and she's just breathing. When she would normally vocalize, she gapes, then a few sneezes. She makes small chirping noises every so often- but anything else, she does the gasping thing

Can you look inside her beak to make sure there's no lesions or canker?
Photos of the poop would be good too.
If you can get a video of her actions that may help - upload to youtube and provide a link.

I would re-check her crop first thing in the morning to make sure it's emptying.

Has she been on medicated feed for the whole 4.5 months? I would start transitioning the pullets to unmedicated chick starter or an all flock feed until they begin laying eggs.

Hard to know if she's suffering from respiratory disease or not, but the wheezing, difficulty breathing and sneezing along with chirping noises - I would lean toward that.
Have you added any new birds lately?

If this doesn't clear up, then you can try an antibiotic like Tylosin to see if that makes a difference.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

First, many thanks to everyone who was kind and helpful to me. Im a first time chicken mom and trying to set a good example for my girls. Unfortunately, Weezy passed away earlier today. I found a vet far away, she wasn't getting better and she was just languishing. My kids were upset and I was stressed out in general, and this situation was not helping. So off I went. It took all of 5 minutes for her to be diagnosed with Fowl Pox, the wet kind. I was astounded. It was all down her esophagus, roof of mouth (cheesy stuff). She had no lesions or signs anywhere on her outside. She would not have recovered no matter what I did for her. So now Im freaked out about the rest of my little flock. So tomorrow I check anyone sneezing, or acting funny. Then I clean out, disinfect, rake out, put sand and new bedding down in run and coop. Am I missing anything? I am exhausted, I just got home from work, 3am. Any advice is (as always) much appreciated. Thank you for such wonderful support. RIP Weezy.

I'm sorry to hear about Weezy

Fowl Pox for the most part is transmitted by mosquitoes. Where are you located in the world?
Some people that live in states/areas where there's a lot of insect activity vaccinate their birds.
There's some good tips in this article about sanitizing drinking water to minimize spread if you have an outbreak. https://the-chicken-chick.com/fowl-pox-prevention-treatmen/

I'm not sure if doing all that cleaning out will help or not to be honest with you. You are exhausted and have done what you can. Stop, do a bit of research and go from there.
I'm very sorry you're having to deal with this and it's a stressful time. I hope the rest remain healthy.

 

[lbgreenfield]

Hi there. Yes, there can be some confusing/conflicting information here on BYC, but there are plenty of people able to help as well : ) Also welcome to BYC!

The gaping/wheezing, lethargy, and slight weight loss makes me think she might have gapeworm (or some kind of worm) that might be making her feel ill. Were you able to get a picture of a fresh poop? Did you see any worms?

How is she doing today? I'll bump this post for some more views and tag a few helpful people on BYC:
@aart
@Wyorp Rock
@Eggcessive
@Kiki

 

[BestLittleHenhouseInVA]

I’m a newbie too so I don’t have any pearls of wisdom... but can certainly identify with the feeling of helplessness of just not knowing what is wrong or to do. You are not alone. Following along to learn and wishing you the best possible outcome.

 

[Eggcessive]

Poor thing is gasping and not feeling too well. Is there any redness or swelling on the righ side of her beak? The poop looks like there are a lot of urates in it, and she may be dehydrated. I would hold a small scoop or cup up to her beak often to drink. Besides using the Tylosin antibiotic when it comes, I would also worm her, just in case of gapeworm. They are more rare, but I would treat for that as well. SafeGuard Liquid Goat Wormer or Equine paste can be purschased at TSC or other feed tsores. Dosage is 1.25 ml for a 5 pound chicken (or 0.25 ml per pound) given orally for 5 consecutive days. Have you ever seen any mold or wet conditions inside your coop? This is a good method of giving oral medication with a syringe down into the esophagus or you can just give her a tiny bit at a time and let her swallow:
https://unitedpeafowlassociation.org/articles/oral-medication-dosing-of-peafowl/

 

[Eggcessive]

The LA oxytetracycline is for cattle, and is meant for giving into the muscle every 3 days because it it a long acting drug. The dosage for chickens, and giving it orally are a bit confusing. Most drug books say to give it intramuscularly into the breast muscle, but I would try giving it orally. Read post 13 and 18 here for dosage suggestions:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/la-200-dosing-orally.1407807/page-2

 

[Eggcessive]

Let us know how the oral dosing helps symptoms. Hopefully the Tylan (Tylosin) will arive soon. It is valuable to have around in case of a later outbreak. Vet Rx has only oils from herbs and a little camphor odor similar to Vicks. There is nothing in it that will treat respiratory illness, but they sell a lot of it.

 

[One Lucky Momma]

You are an amazing, wonderful, tender, exemplary, loving chick mom. I’m so sorry your heart is broken.

Please find some consolation in knowing you did everything possible for your little girl, and let yourself feel the love and support coming to you from countless like-minded souls out here. Our hearts are wrapped around you and your family.

 

[Dlighting]

I'm sorry to hear about Weezy

Fowl Pox for the most part is transmitted by mosquitoes. Where are you located in the world?
Some people that live in states/areas where there's a lot of insect activity vaccinate their birds.
There's some good tips in this article about sanitizing drinking water to minimize spread if you have an outbreak. https://the-chicken-chick.com/fowl-pox-prevention-treatmen/

I'm not sure if doing all that cleaning out will help or not to be honest with you. You are exhausted and have done what you can. Stop, do a bit of research and go from there.
I'm very sorry you're having to deal with this and it's a stressful time. I hope the rest remain healthy.

I did some research.. I cleaned out everything in the run, raked up the poo, feathers, sticks and soforth. I put down sand. I cleaned out the bedding in the coop and washed down all the perches- I then disinfected everything with a bleach solution and let it sit for 10 mins and then washed it off. Same to the nesting boxes, floor and walls of the coop. I did my best. Also did a check of the chickens that pecked on weezy the most and the ones she was buddies with and slept with. I believe all is ok, but they had been eating meal worms so the pieces looked similar, I will check again. I would like to know where to get them tested and possibly vaccinated... but I have 12 left, so going to the vet isn't in the budget and I was thinking of calling a vet school or something... suggestions?
Vet told me mosquitos and wild birds are the most common transmitters of pox, especially wet.... Maybe they free ranged where the birds were, idk. Im in Central NJ where the state bird is a mosquito, lol. So Im going to invest in a mosquito trap of some sort. Maybe put up another bat house. I already dump standing water and so forth, so...
Thanks for all the supportive words. Its just this was from left field, the respitory infection I could understand... but this I wasn't expecting. I learned a lot, and Ill try to be better prepared for the next emergency... ha!