HELP wheezing chicken can’t breathe!!!

[zenstarling]

my hen has been sneezing on and off for a few days with NO other symptoms red comb and normal activity.

she is now wheezing sticking her neck out and “crowing” while gasping and beak open breathing loudly. what can I do for her??

 

[Eggcessive]

Can you get a video of her while she is doing this, and upload it to YouTube or a similar site? Is she able to eat or drink anything? Have you seen any mucus from her beak or nostrils, head shaking, bubbles in either eyes? Is this the only one showing symptoms?

 

[zenstarling]

Can you get a video of her while she is doing this, and upload it to YouTube or a similar site? Is she able to eat or drink anything? Have you seen any mucus from her beak or nostrils, head shaking, bubbles in either eyes? Is this the only one showing symptoms?

Hi, thank you. I can try to upload a video.

She is breathing with her beak open and you can hear it. Every few seconds she stretches her neck out and makes a rooster crowing sound while struggling for air I suppose that is wheezing. Her comb is still bright red.

None of the other hens are doing this or sneezing.

The frequency of this is increasing and only today did this new sound and action start.

I have Vet Rx and applied some on her beak and comb and wattles.

It just looks and sounds like she is struggling to breathe overall. This is so distressing to me…

Thank you

editing to add: I don’t think she can eat or drink while this is going on. I hadn’t noticed any fluids or bubbles. She HAS been head shaking for the last few days.

 

[zenstarling]

Can you get a video of her while she is doing this, and upload it to YouTube or a similar site? Is she able to eat or drink anything? Have you seen any mucus from her beak or nostrils, head shaking, bubbles in either eyes? Is this the only one showing symptoms?

Here is a YouTube link

 

[zenstarling]

@Eggcessive I have an open but unused bottle of enrofloxacin from 2023 so it’s clearly old, from a vet from another chicken. would that be useful or is it too old and expired?

 

[Eggcessive]

Has her comb been pecked or it is just dark? She looks very sick. Have you wormed her recently and with what? I would use the enrofloxacin even though this could be viral or even heart related, just as a last resort. Dosage is 10 mg per kilogram (0.1 ml of the 10%) or each 2.2 pounds every 12 hours for 5 days. Let us know how she gets along.

 

[zenstarling]

Has her comb been pecked or it is just dark? She looks very sick. Have you wormed her recently and with what? I would use the enrofloxacin even though this could be viral or even heart related, just as a last resort. Dosage is 10 mg per kilogram (0.1 ml of the 10%) or each 2.2 pounds every 12 hours for 5 days. Let us know how she gets along.

thanks for your reply. this is how she looks in daylight which I thought she looks pretty good, of course the wheezing is terrible.

thank you for the dosage information I will give that a try. no they haven’t been wormed recently.

 

[Eggcessive]

SafeGuard Liquid Goat wormer or horse paste 1.25 ml could be given carefully and slowly with a syringe every day for 5 days in case of round, gape or capillary worms. Does she normally lay eggs, and what is her age? Does she have any enlargement of her lower belly under her vent?

 

[zenstarling]

SafeGuard Liquid Goat wormer or horse paste 1.25 ml could be given carefully and slowly with a syringe every day for 5 days in case of round, gape or capillary worms. Does she normally lay eggs, and what is her age? Does she have any enlargement of her lower belly under her vent?

Thank you. She is about 3 1/2 hatched spring 2022. I can’t see or pinpoint anything else. Her vent is clean, no abdomen enlargement. She lays eggs. I was able to look inside her beak and her throat is clear.

She had been acting normal all week, eating drinking scratching pecking all the usual chicken stuff, with occasional morning hiccup type sneezes and none in the afternoons when I would observe for 20-30 mins at a time. This morning is when I started hearing and seeing the wheezing and struggling to breathe and brought her into the garage. Nobody else in the flock is doing this.

 

[zenstarling]

@Eggcessive is there anything else I can do in the meantime to help her breathe? This is so distressing to watch and listen to.