Help! My hen is gasping for air !

[Mar55]

I have a three year old barred rock hen. She hasn't been eating or drinking water. When she breaths she is gasping . She wobbles when she walks only taking a few steps just to sit down again. Her comb is dark red. I've tried force feeding her and it seems to be choking her. Afterwards she gurgles. I've ordered tylan-50 to start injections. I was giving her electrolytes with vitamins, but can't get it down her without seeming to drowning her! Any suggestions?

 

[Isaac 0]

Welcome to BYC

She wobbles?Like a penguin?

Egg peritonitis is common in old hen causing them to internally lay eggs inside there body(Coelmotic cavity). Weezing is common in hens that have Egg peritonitis.Does her abdomen feel swollen/Squishy?When was the last time she laided a egg?

There is no cure for Egg peritonitis and birds are culled on sight.

Links

http://www.theveterinaryexpert.com/backyard-poultry/egg-yolk-peritonitis/

https://www.beautyofbirds.com/eggyolkperitonitis.html

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. She sounds very sick, possibly in heart failure. I wouldn't stress her too much. It is important to try and get fluids into her, but if it causes more stress, I would let her be. I hate to be negative, but it may be best to let her go. At her age, she could be suffering from any number of things, such as egg yolk peritonitis, some type of worms that can affect breathing, or a disease of some sort. Have you ever had a respiratory disease or gapeworm in the flock before? The Tylan 50 can also be given orally, but if you are comfortable doing the injection, it will act faster. So sorry that you are dealing with this.

 

[Mar55]

She has been sick now for about five days. I lost my big rooster about two weeks ago with the same symptoms . The gasping for breath. It came on so fast for him that there was nothing I could do. I'm afraid we may have transmitted a respiratory disease when my husband tried to help some abandoned chickens from a ranch down the road. He didn't bring any chickens home, but, there were dead birds on the site and I'm afraid his shies were contaminated! We never had issues before. I hate losing her, she's such a good girl! But I hate to see her suffer as well!

 

[Mar55]

She got her first injection of tylan. I'm afraid it may be too late . She's become so thin and she was once such a big girl! It distresses her when I try to force fluids, so I'm not. If there is no improvement by tomorrow and she's still here , I may have to let her go.

 

[Mar55]

Well, Ms.Penny took her leave sometime in the night. I believe it was too late for medication to help and I'm glad she's not suffering anymore. Now we have to keep a vigilant eye on the rest if the flock. We never realized how contagious respiratory disease us for chickens and certainly would have stayed away from rescuing if we had known then what we know now. Our established flock is 3 1/2 years old now and are all originals. They are no longer layers , they are our pets.

 

[WilloughbyStead]

I'm so sorry for your loss.

 

[IdyllwildAcres]

Sorry you are going through this.I hope the rest of your flock is not affected. This just strengthens my resolve to keep a closed flock, although you did not even take in other birds. I see people on here all the time talking about rescuing and bringing adult birds in and then this happens. Thanks for posting hopefully others will see it and not have to go through what you are.

Sorry about penny too

Gary

 

[Eggcessive]

Well, Ms.Penny took her leave sometime in the night. I believe it was too late for medication to help and I'm glad she's not suffering anymore. Now we have to keep a vigilant eye on the rest if the flock. We never realized how contagious respiratory disease us for chickens and certainly would have stayed away from rescuing if we had known then what we know now. Our established flock is 3 1/2 years old now and are all originals. They are no longer layers , they are our pets.

We are very sorry for your loss. Please refrigerate her body in a plastic bag, and think about contacting your state vet or poultry lab for a necropsy to look for a cause of death. Sometimes there can be multiple diseases, such as a virus or fungal infection that is complicated by secondary bacterial diseases or spread of infection through the air sacs. Wild birds can easily spread diseases from other nearby flocks. It helps to know what disease you may be fighting. Close your flock to new birds. Most respiratory diseases will die in a few days after the flock is gone. Read all you can about the most common respiratory diseases such as infectious bronchitis, mycoplasma (MG or MS,) infectious coryza, I.L.T., aspergillosis and others. Here is a good link for that:
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

Here are some links for getting a necropsy including contact info and how to send the body:
http://www.usaha.org/Portals/6/StateAnimalHealthOfficials.pdf
http://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/799747/how-to-send-a-bird-for-a-necropsy-pictures