Hen has blue comb and respiratory probs!

[Dp921]

I have a 1.5 year old leghorn that has been acting odd and I can’t figure out what to do next.

On 6/23, I saw her extending her neck and gasping twice and then her behavior returned to normal, so I just assumed she had something stuck in her throat and she cleared it.
On 6/24, she began wheezing and sneezing around 1pm — She’s free range and I couldn’t catch her, so I just hung out with the chickens for 3hours around 2pm I noticed her comb was slightly blue; however, by 3:30pm all symptoms disappeared. She was breathing normal and her comb was bright red.
That night I grabbed her from the roost and brought her inside.

-I treated her and the flock with VetRX- under wings and in water.
-I checked her throat for gapeworm. No sign. However, I still started a treatment of Ivermectin.
-No signs of mites.
-She is still laying eggs

Since then, her comb continues to turn blue then back to normal despite her breathing being normal.

On 6/25, I did the second dose of ivermectin and she had diarrhea and wasn’t eating or drinking; however, I did manage to get her to eat a little bit of tomato, oats and some clovers.
On 6/26, her poop returned to semi normal and she ate some greens and drank water/ACV. Still gasping occasionally and her comb keeps turning blue periodically. She ate some scrambled eggs, greens, and watermelon.
Today 6/27, I’ve began thinking it may be fungal, so I’ve started giving her yogurt with oregano oil and I still have ACV in her water.

I feel like I’m covering parasites and respiratory problems, and now fungal. But am I wrong?

So my questions are:
Am I not treating her for the right thing?
Why is she eating anything but her scratch grains?
What am I missing?


I’ve had her since she was a chick. I haven’t added any new members to the flock.

 

[Dp921]

video links of her symptoms:

Blue Comb

Wheezing/Sneezing

Gasping

 

[DobieLover]

She likely has a respiratory infection of some kind but it looks mild.
You can purchase Tylosin powder to treat her. The dosage is 50 mg/Kg once daily orally or 25 mg/Kg twice daily. You can soak the dose onto pieces of bread and she should eat them readily. She looks very bright and alert. I would treat her for a week.
What is her normal diet? You mention lots of treats but what does she normally eat?
I would remove the ACV water and just give her plain, fresh clean water.
The VetRX won't cure her. It may relieve some symptoms but that's all.

 

[Dp921]

She likely has a respiratory infection of some kind but it looks mild.
You can purchase Tylosin powder to treat her. The dosage is 50 mg/Kg once daily orally or 25 mg/Kg twice daily. You can soak the dose onto pieces of bread and she should eat them readily. She looks very bright and alert. I would treat her for a week.
What is her normal diet? You mention lots of treats but what does she normally eat?
I would remove the ACV water and just give her plain, fresh clean water.
The VetRX won't cure her. It may relieve some symptoms but that's all.

Her normal diet is scratch grains and whatever they eat while free ranging. They wander 2 acres throughout the day. I’m giving her treats now because she isn’t eating her grains and I want to make sure she’s eating a little of something.
I’ll pick up some Tylosin today! Thanks!

 

[DobieLover]

Her normal diet is scratch grains and whatever they eat while free ranging. They wander 2 acres throughout the day. I’m giving her treats now because she isn’t eating her grains and I want to make sure she’s eating a little of something.
I’ll pick up some Tylosin today! Thanks!

I would get them a complete diet. Not scratch grains. That is meant as a treat.
Shoot for something in the 18-20% protein range and offer oyster shell on the side. I like Flock Raiser and use that.
Good luck with her.

 

[Eggcessive]

Scratch grains is not a balanced complete feed. They need to be getting either a 16% layer feed or a Flock Raiser 20% feed with ostershell probided in a separate container. Could she be dehydrated or overheated? She might be suffering from a respiratory infection from a virus, bacteria, or mold fungus. I would make sure that she is drinking well, and she might accept some watery chickens feed with some cooked egg.

Ivermectin is not approved for poultry, but if it is used, it may treat mites or lice, but is not a reliable wormer nowadays, due to resistance. Dosage is 0.1 ml per every 2 pounds of weight given only once, and then repeated in 14 days. There is a fairly long egg withdrawal time. Valbazen or SafeGuard are much better and safer for worming.

 

[Dp921]

I would get them a complete diet. Not scratch grains. That is meant as a treat.
Shoot for something in the 18-20% protein range and offer oyster shell on the side. I like Flock Raiser and use that.
Good luck with her.

I may be referring to her feed incorrectly. It’s layer chickens grains we buy from the local Amish community. Is that still considered a treat? I know there is protein content; however, I’m not sure what it is off the top of my head.
I mix oyster shells and cayenne in their feed.

 

[Eggcessive]

It sounds like a layer feed, which should be complete. Oyster shell should be kept separate from the feed, and the layers will take it as they need it. There is usually enough calcium in layer feed, 4% versus 1% in chick starter or flock raiser. The birds in the flock who are not laying, including chicks, roosters, and hens in molt or past laying, do not need too much calcium since too much can cause gout or kidney damage.

 

[Dp921]

It sounds like a layer feed, which should be complete. Oyster shell should be kept separate from the feed, and the layers will take it as they need it. There is usually enough calcium in layer feed, 4% versus 1% in chick starter or flock raiser. The birds in the flock who are not laying, including chicks, roosters, and hens in molt or past laying, do not need too much calcium since too much can cause gout or kidney damage.

Ok! We do have 2 chickens molting, so I’ll make sure to separate it. Thank you!

 

[Dp921]

Scratch grains is not a balanced complete feed. They need to be getting either a 16% layer feed or a Flock Raiser 20% feed with ostershell probided in a separate container. Could she be dehydrated or overheated? She might be suffering from a respiratory infection from a virus, bacteria, or mold fungus. I would make sure that she is drinking well, and she might accept some watery chickens feed with some cooked egg.

Ivermectin is not approved for poultry, but if it is used, it may treat mites or lice, but is not a reliable wormer nowadays, due to resistance. Dosage is 0.1 ml per every 2 pounds of weight given only once, and then repeated in 14 days. There is a fairly long egg withdrawal time. Valbazen or SafeGuard are much better and safer for worming.

I was curious about the idea of dehydration or overheating because it’s been very hot/humid and the day she was wheezing was the hottest day we have had in Maryland.
There haven’t been any signs of worms beside the gasping. I didn’t see anything in her throat when looking and when I swabbed it. I’ve checked hers and her flock mates poop constantly and have never seen worms either.
I decided to do the ivermectin because of the gasping and because they had been shaking their heads, so I was scared it may be mites.
However, I’ve scanned their bodies for evidence of mites and have checked the roost with a flashlight at night with no signs of mites.

If it is a fungus, which is what I’ve been leaning towards, what treatment would you lean towards?
I started giving her yogurt with oregano oil and ACV in her water per the recommendation of poultrypedia.com