Hen has labored breathing, wheezing, possible gapeworm?

[janscott]

I have an EE hen that has been breathing heavily with her mouth open and making a whistling sound on each breath for over a week now. She shakes and scratches at her head occasionally, but doesn't have any nasal or eye discharge. She is eating some, but not a lot and seems to be losing weight.

The local bird vet gave her doxycycline and panacur for possible respiratory infection or gapeworms, but said he couldn't be sure either was the problem. Fecal analysis showed roundworm but not gapeworm. He recommended x-rays to see if she breathed in a foreign object. She hasn't shown improvement after 8 days of antibiotic and 3 days of wormer. She has two more days of each to go. The dosage on the panacur is .25ml per day which works out to 20mg/kg. Is this dosage too low for gapeworm?

Any advice?? You can see a video of her here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eCr4waQ-VKxb_Q-AkNkhyIHroE6bpy5q/view?usp=sharing

Thanks!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I have an EE hen that has been breathing heavily with her mouth open and making a whistling sound on each breath for over a week now. She shakes and scratches at her head occasionally, but doesn't have any nasal or eye discharge. She is eating some, but not a lot and seems to be losing weight.

The local bird vet gave her doxycycline and panacur for possible respiratory infection or gapeworms, but said he couldn't be sure either was the problem. Fecal analysis showed roundworm but not gapeworm. He recommended x-rays to see if she breathed in a foreign object. She hasn't shown improvement after 8 days of antibiotic and 3 days of wormer. She has two more days of each to go. The dosage on the panacur is .25ml per day which works out to 20mg/kg. Is this dosage too low for gapeworm?

Any advice?? You can see a video of her here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eCr4waQ-VKxb_Q-AkNkhyIHroE6bpy5q/view?usp=sharing

Thanks!

I'm sorry about your hen. Notes I have for Fenbedazole is 1/4ml (.25) per pound of weight given for 5 days in a row. Are you only giving her .25ml only? Did the vet give you a prescription or did you buy the Panacur at the store?

The breathing is concerning - have you felt her abdomen for any bloat/swelling or feeling of fluid? When was the last time she laid an egg? Reproductive problems that are complicated with Ascites (fluid in the abdomen) can cause difficulty breathing.

Respiratory illness like Infectious Bronchitis and Mycoplasma also come to mind.
Have you had any mold/mildew in the feed or in the housing? That can also cause respiratory symptoms.

Your vet could be right that she has a foreign object lodged in her airway, I'm not sure how expensive the X-Ray would be?

The Panacur will take care of roundworms and should treat Gapeworm as well. In the video, she is not doing a cough like I have seen in other videos of chickens with Gapeworm, usually it's almost like a violent cough/gasp - this action is constant and usually the bird is unable to even drink or eat.

The only other thing I can think of to try is Oxine which may help with some of the respiratory symptoms if caused by bacteria and mold. @azygous has some good instructions - look at her all of her posts in this thread https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/coop-flooded-now-sneezing-wheezing-chickens.1257244/

 

[azygous]

The head shaking and scratching at her head makes me suspicious that she could have an ear infection. Did the vet look into her ears? If not, it's time to take a peek. Fold the ear flaps forward and shine a strong light into each ear. If you see any foreign object try to fish it out with tweezers. If you see yellow crust or wax, it's an infection.

You can make a "tent" over a pet crate, place your hen inside and place a vaporizer in front of the crate so it mists inside the crate. Oxine is great for curing respiratory ailments caused by fungus. It will also kill bacteria that many other anti-bacterials miss. I ordered my Oxine here. https://www.revivalanimal.com/product/oxine-animal-health-ah?sku=15101-801

 

[janscott]

Thanks for the replies! The vet gave her a prescription of .25ml per day and told me it was 20mg/kg. I also bought a bottle of Panacur liquid to treat the rest of the flock.

Sunflower is about 1.3 kg or 2.9 pounds. So that dose is only about .09ml/pound. As you said, the info about gapeworm seems to recommend a higher dosage if that really is what she has. Maybe the vet gave that dose because only roundworms were found in the fecal but not gapeworm.

Her abdomen isn't bloated at all, she actually feels quite bony. She's not eating very well and is about a pound lighter than the other hens. She was laying earlier this summer at least through June. She's started molting now so I'm not expecting her to lay.

I don't think the vet looked in her ears, but I looked with a flashlight and didn't see any issues there.

I'll look into getting some Oxine. On the thread you mentioned by @azygous it says:

mix 1.5 ounces of Oxine with a quart of distilled or boiled, sterilized water, pour into a quart spray bottle and spray into the face of the patient three or four times a day

Do you recommend the same concentration of Oxine for use with a vaporizer?

 

[azygous]

Yes, the ratio would be the same.

 

[Eggcessive]

Wyorp Rock and Azygous have given excellent advice. I would also look into her throat with a flashlight for any mucus or yellow patches. Did the vet look into her throat? Fungus, viruses, or bacterial infections can all cause respiratory symptoms. I hope she gets better soon.

How much doxycycline did the vet prescribe? Here is a good link about antibiotics to save, and just scroll down to doxycycline for dosages:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/antibiotics.73452/

 

[Eggcessive]

Are you going to repeat the Panacur at 1/4 ml per pound for 5 days? I would, and round her weight up to 3 pounds.

 

[janscott]

Yes, I'm repeating the Panacur at .75ml per day starting today. The vet did look in her throat but didn't see any gapeworms. He didn't do a throat culture. Maybe we should try that. I'm guessing it would cost less than an x-ray ($160). I tried looking with a flashlight in her throat too, but didn't see anything strange.

The doxycycline was 1/4 of a 100mg pill twice a day, so 50mg per day for 10 days. She's finished that now, but her symptoms are pretty much the same. Not getting better, but not getting worse either. I wish she would eat more.