HELP!!! My Buff Orpington has been wheezing/rasping and flicking her head violently...HELP!!!

[buffychickenscanlove]

Sounds like respiratory infection please separate her from the rest of the flock while you figure it out

i only have two hens and they get worried about each other when separated

 

[buffychickenscanlove]

Can you post some photos or a video of her? (upload videos to youtube, then provide us a link)
What types of treatment(s) have you tried?
What type of food/treats do you feed?
Is she currently laying eggs?


If she is being kept from food/water, then cage her so she can have some peace. If she is having trouble after eating dry feed, then offer her a wet mash to see if that makes a difference. Keep encouraging her to drink.

Check inside her beak for any lesions, plaques, etc. and see that her nostrils are clear of debris and feed. Feel her crop-is it hard, soft, squishy or does her breath have a sour smell? Is the crop emptying overnight?

The shaking of the head-is she sneezing or do you see anything inside her ears (infection/debris). Also check her thoroughly for lice and mites.

With chickens it's hard to know what ails them, the symptoms you describe do sound like respiratory illness, but she may also have aspirated feed which caused some pneumonia. If you have a vet, that is always best.

i have triedvetrx
i give her a mix of oats, corn and brown rice with occasional yoghurt and table scraps
she is currently not laying eggs

 

[buffychickenscanlove]

Can you take her to a vet?

it is too expensive and i live in the busy city of SF

 

[casportpony]

it is too expensive and i live in the busy city of SF

She probably needs antibiotics, but in California we cannot get them without a prescription, so a vet is our only choice.
There is a good one in SF:
https://www.bayareabirdhospital.com/

 

[Pigpie]

I would try an antibiotic for resp infections and keep giving probiotics

 

[casportpony]

I would try an antibiotic for resp infections and keep giving probiotics

We cannot get antibiotics in California without a prescription. New law went into effect 1-1-2018.

 

[casportpony]

They have something called baytril at allbirdproducts, I typed in ca for shipping and it took me to next page for billing it did not say they couldn't ship there at that point , if I were you I'd give that a try since you can't take her to a vet . They also have bird specialist you can reach and ask what else may be helpful, I have done that in past as well and explained my ducks symptoms and they advised me on what I should be doing for her and giving her to help

Baytril is a great antibiotic, but it's banned for use in poultry. It also has to be given properly. Technically what allbirdpoducts and other online bird places are doing us illegal.

I guess I should have said "all legitimate places like Valley Vet, Jeffers's, etc. now require a prescription for antibiotics like Tylan, oxytetracyline, Denagard, penicillin, etc".

 

[Wyorp Rock]

i have triedvetrx
i give her a mix of oats, corn and brown rice with occasional yoghurt and table scraps
she is currently not laying eggs

Do you ever provide a commercial poultry feed?

Since you only have the 2 hens, then keep them together. What you may want to do is provide 2 dishes of food and place them as far apart as you can. The RIR will have a harder time of controlling the food. There is nothing really wrong with what you are feeding, but if that's their main diet, then consider adding poultry vitamins to their water 1-2times a week and giving extra protein like egg, tuna, mackerel, meat, etc. Both may benefit from any of these.

I do agree, that she most likely needs antibiotics, hopefully you can source some. In the meantime, the VetRx won't hurt, so I would continue with that-how did you adminster it? There are several different methods of using VetRx, so you may want to read up on that.
https://www.drugs.com/vet/vetrx-poultry-remedy.html

 

[MINDANAO DAVE]

Hello, Take a look at Newcastle Disease. I just lost 64 chickens in 6 days.

 

[casportpony]

Hello, Take a look at Newcastle Disease. I just lost 64 chickens in 6 days.

So sorry for your losses.