Hen breathing through open beak and seems lethargic

[Chookie Monster]

Hello all

I have a 1 year old Barred Rock who is not doing well. I thought she had Gapeworm as she was coughing and clearing her throat constantly, stretching her neck out and ‘gaping’ and taking deep breaths with her beak open. I treated her with Wazine per instructions but after a week with no improvement gave her a very small amount of Ivermectin paste as recommended by the feed store chicken expert. She improved almost overnight and her noise went away. Everything seemed normal until a week later and she started spending more time in the pen with her eyes closed a lot. Deep breaths and slight raspy noise. Gave her some more paste and VetRx but she still seems the same. Any ideas for what to try next?

 

[micstrachan]

Can you look in her beak and throat and see if anything looks amiss? How is her crop functioning? Is it emptying properly overnight? Is her abdomen bloated? When was the last time she laid an egg? How is her poop? Answering some of these questions may help us narrow it down.

 

[Chookie Monster]

I looked in her throat yesterday and it looked fine. I’ll do a swab later and also check her crop. About 5 days ago we had an egg that was very miniature along with 1 normal one (3 pullets haven’t started laying yet) so I assume she’s quit laying and it’s just the other hen who’s laying. Never seen one like that before. Since then it’s just been 1 normal egg. Her poop seems loose as it’s matted on her more so than it should be.

 

[Chookie Monster]

Well sad to say I had to put her down today. She seemed fine this morning and then started to go downhill later on. Her breathing slowly declined and she was struggling to take breaths. Whatever it was I missed and it had gone too far by that point. Couldn’t stand to see her suffer anymore. We are sad but the other 4 will keep us company. Thanks for responding though Micstrachan.

 

[micstrachan]

Aw. I'm so sorry for your loss. I think you did the right thing. Hugs.

 

[nestleaver1]

Hi - sorry about your chicken... did you find out what was causing the problem? My Black Rock hen has the raspy breaths (sometimes) and shakes her head violently on occasion. She is so flighty I cannot keep her still enough to check in her beak. Looks perfectly healthy and is laying fine. Is the violent head shake symptomatic of anything specific? I'm not sure whether she's just got something stuck or... canker? Gapeworm? She's not stretching/gaping tho. Will be worming this week when the drugs arrive.
Any suggestions gratefully received.
Thanks.

 

[nestleaver1]

Update for anyone searching for symptoms. I treated my raspy/gurgling girl for worms and also with metronidazole for canker. Seemed to improve but then it got worse to the point where I took her to the local vet. Easier said than done as she does NOT like to be put in a box and the 'large animal' vet I was offered didn't sound promising... However, Lucy Eyre of Parkside vets in Dundee can control and expertly examine the most wild of chickens. She managed to look in Marilyn's beak and found canker, recommending a higher dose for longer than I had already treated. So currently trying to get highly suspicious chicken to take her medicine. That's a week now and she's still gurgly in the throat. Two weeks to go...