Help please/cold wheezing

[justachickenatheart]

I have one out of 10 hens , Lucy; she is a RI Red, 6 mo. old, good layer. I noticed yesterday that she is wheezing when just standing around, and she sounds congested. do chickens get colds, and if yes, what can I do to make her feel better. They are allowed to wander the farm. should I keep her penned until she is better. Anitbiotics? I have read on here that chickens do not get colds, so I now know that, and I also looked to see if she had crusties, etc. and her sweet face is clean and clear..is just the rumbling wheeze. She seems to be eating fine, and is still laying and keeping company with the others. I can contain her as she is one that loves to be treated special...diva chicken...but am not sure if Bob the Roo will let her go, but I will tryif need be. Thank you to all that respond
Annie

 

[Hollywood Chickens]

I don't know but here is a bump.

 

[chookchick]

You will need to fight off Bob and separate her out, for her sake, and in case she is contagious to the rest. Bring her in to a warm quiet place where you can keep an eye on her. How does her poo look? Does she smell okay? Can you tell us more about her diet etc...?

 

[justachickenatheart]

I have brought her inside, and made her nest in the dog crate. She smells fine, no fould odor, no crusties anywhere on her. She seem to have her regular appetite. She is eating scratch grains, her regular crumbles for layers, and drinking water all normally. I also feed all fresh spinach every day. Her wheezing seems to be on both, the "in breath" and the "out breath", but she does not seem to be laboring to get her breath. She also does not seem to be in any stress about being in a cage. If anything she is overy quiet per her normal chatter. She has not pooed yet, and she has been in the house , caged since 10:30 this morning. I just felt her, and she feels warm, not hot, to my hand.

 

[cherylcohen]

I am not a vet so take this info as my opinion and experience only

We had two birds come down with a respiratory problem and our breeder suggested using Tylan 50 injectable. It is given in their left breast for 3-5 days 1/2 cc daily. It knocked whatever they had right out and they were showing improvements even the next day, and of course we treated the full 5 days.

When you have her on your lap does she seem like she is purring when you pet her. I also gave the girls vitamins and electrolytes in their water and warm mash and extra protein to build up their system.

 

[justachickenatheart]

yes, she does "purr" when in my lap.
She seems better since I brought her in the house where warmer, but she continues to stand, and although she has straw to nest in, she seems to want to stand more than anything else. The wheezing is no better or worse than earlier.
I will get right on feeding her more protein and will also give her warm carbs (homemade pasta-which she loves) her water already has extra vit. in it, and she drinks often and alot when she does. She still has not pooed, but is eating and drinking like a horse.... I am going to keep her from others until otherwise instructed for the sake of the rest. Will TSC have the Tylan 50? or do I need to contact Vet tomorrow? I am assuming that she will be fine until I can get to TSC and/or vet tomorrow. Thanks for getting back to me
I am new to chickens, and have alot to learn, obviously. But I love them as much as my other animals and want the healthy and happy.

 

[cherylcohen]

i don't know what TSC is but you can get it from online Twin City Poultry http://www.twincitypoultrysupplies.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2_10&products_id=192
the needles come from the drug store/pharmacy, they are the small little needles 1/2 cc for insulin injections

I'm not sure where you are but maybe there are some other BYC members that can give you the tylan till you get yours.

 

[justachickenatheart]

thank you for all your help. I will get the ball rolling tomorrow morning. thanks to all.

 

[beckt]

If you are not keen on giving shots try and get the Tylan powder. I have used both and the powder in the drinking water is much easier. I got mine from my vet.

 

[skyedobb]

I had a bout of contagious respiratory disease last summer (I started wtih my birds last spring) adn didn't have an area for segregation when it started. Unforunately I think I learned the hard way about mixing flocks b/c I think some birds that I purchased locally brought it in. However, I read several posts on BYC about giving Tylan and I went and got some at our local farm supply store. Both of our stores (similar to TSC) have Tylan in stock and you don't need a vet to get it. I'm just fine with giving injections so that's the route I went. I alternated between left and right breast muscle and used the 1/2 cc dose I was doing it twice a day. Before starting with Tylan I had tried any and all soluble antibiotics in the water and none of those seemed to work at all. Tylan definately kicked whatever bug I had circulating in my birds. I've since made a seperation pen and have had a few other occurrances to use it and it works GREAT. I did a lot of online research about whether I could use the eggs or not, and since this drug isn't specifically for use in poultry I never found a specific indication about the eggs. Once I had a segregation pen, I just threw those eggs out just in case. Long story short: I'm a believer in Tylan!!