Help! Open mouth breathing, eating less, laying down alot

[Therusticcoop]

We have lost 4 birds in the last 2 months. We just noticed another this morning taking these big breaths between eating. She is the first I noticed a sneeze from but no discharge or anything that signifies respiratory for sure. None of the others sneezed, so it may not be related. There aren’t a ton of symptoms, we feed our birds their normal layer feed, they have access to grit and oyster shells. They free range 90% of the time. We use pine shavings in their coop since day one and then recently changed to the horse pellets as 2 friends use them and they are easy to clean up. We did switch back to shavings in the last few days because Thats literally the only new thing in the last 6 months. Roosters are crowing strong, no signs there. We quarantine inside as soon as we notice something is up, they eat and drink in quarantine, usually egg yolk, scrambled egg, veggies and chicken feed. I feel their appetite is less but they do eat and drink. We’ve tried nutridrench, corrid, & denaguard. So far we have not been able to save one and I’m afraid of losing more birds. We have not had any new birds added to our flock. My kids are devastated, lost one of their favorites ((she was a Brahma)) and we lost golden comets. The silkies and polish are all thriving despite being more sensitive birds. Any ideas on what we could try next? I want to say their poops are more watery ((the sick ones)) but not bloody. They have all been in our care since last spring. We do not have a vet near us that can help, we’ve tried everything to find one but nobody will deal with chickens. I need help on what else to try to cure whatever this is that’s taking my flock slowly.

 

[azygous]

Knowing your location would be helpful. We don't need a map to your house, just city, province, state, and country.

What is your water source? City water, well water, reclaimed rain runoff, etc? Do you store machinery on the land where your chickens wander? Do you have a compost pile? If so, what do you put in it?

 

[Razzlefrazzle]

Are the sick birds generally lethargic or just gasping for air? How long do they last once sick? Have you noticed a change in the color of their combs when sick?

The only problem I can think of with pellet bedding is that chickens might eat them instead of their food. One or two here and there wouldn't matter, but if they ate enough and they expanded in the digestive tract that could cause problems.

Have you opened up their mouths to look for lesions or anything unusual? Is gapeworm a possibility?