Hen struggling to breathe

[Kiki]

Hi everyone. For the last couple of days I've had a hen who is having difficulty breathing, but when I hold her upside down it seems to regulate her breathing and she will be okay for 20 minutes or so and then start gasping for air again. I'm not sure what to do or if there is anything I can give to help her?

Oh Lord... I'm pretty sure you're making things much worse by hanging her upside down, so please don't do that again.

 

[Sad Chick]

I would suggest you brought her to the vet. Good luck, hope she recovers soon! <3

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

Ps. I should have said tiamulin only treats mycoplasma. Tylosin can also be effective against other bacterial respiratory disease symptoms. But I always mention tiamulin/Denagard if the suspected/confirmed culprit is mycoplasma. Because from my personal past experience, I found tiamulin to be effective against MG after tylosin had no effect. And found studies confirming that is true, especially when a bird has suffered mycoplasma symptoms over a period of time where the infection is considered chronic, and not acute.

 

[Crazyabouthens]

Oh Lord... I'm pretty sure you're making things much worse by hanging her upside down, so please don't do that again.

I'm sorry I didn't know I'm making things worse but I'd rather do that and make her feel more comfortable for a wee while rather than stand there and watch her suffer? What else do you want me to do?

 

[Crazyabouthens]

How old is your hen? Do you have any known respiratory diseases within your flock, and/or have you recently introduced new birds into your flock?

Scratch my second question. I skimmed through other threads you have made, and it appears you do have a respiratory illness in your flock, possibly Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) based on the symptoms you reported. If the issue is MG, you can treat the symptoms with either tylosin or tiamulin (Denagard). But I also see you live in the UK. Can you get either of the meds I llsted there?

In your other thread, I saw one of your other birds died. If this hen succumbs, are you able to have an official necropsy done? If so, it would be well worth it to know what she died from. Because even though birds exposed to respiratory illnesses remain carriers for life and will infect future birds you add to your flock, there are various meds that can treat symptoms. Tylosin and tiamulin are only effective against mycoplasma, and of course no antibiotics will help viral infections, so it would be extremely useful to know what lurks within your flock.

I'm not sure how old she is but I got her just over a year now as an ex battery hen so I'm guessing she's 2 nearly 3? I did get new chickens the other day but her breathing problem started before they came. Yes I did have a hen with a respiratory problem a while ago, but I'm sure that was before I got this hen now that's having the breathing problems.

I can get the meds you listed but they aren't too cheap and would probably take a few day to get here. However there is similar products I saw online.

I know that it would be useful to have an official necropsy done but I'm not in the position that I'm able to do that at the moment.

Thanks for your help

 

[Crazyabouthens]

Does she have any fluid in her abdomen below the vent between her legs or a feeling of air pockets under the skin around any of the 9 air sacs throughout the body?

I'm not with her right now but I'll check first thing in the morning. What would it mean if she did have this?
Thanks

 

[Crazyabouthens]

Ps. I should have said tiamulin only treats mycoplasma. Tylosin can also be effective against other bacterial respiratory disease symptoms. But I always mention tiamulin/Denagard if the suspected/confirmed culprit is mycoplasma. Because from my personal past experience, I found tiamulin to be effective against MG after tylosin had no effect. And found studies confirming that is true, especially when a bird has suffered mycoplasma symptoms over a period of time where the infection is considered chronic, and not acute.

is it possible that she might have gapeworm?

 

[Crazyabouthens]

Oh Lord... I'm pretty sure you're making things much worse by hanging her upside down, so please don't do that again.

If its making her comb go from purple back to red does that still mean it's making things worse
@Kiki

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

I did get new chickens the other day but her breathing problem started before they came. Yes I did have a hen with a respiratory problem a while ago, but I'm sure that was before I got this hen now that's having the breathing problems.

Re the hen that had respiratory symptoms, did you have other chickens living with that hen, do you still have those chickens, and does the subject of this thread live with those hens? Because birds exposed to respiratory symptoms remain carriers for life and can infect other birds, even if they never show symptoms themselves. This means the new chickens you recently got will also be exposed and become carriers too, if you mingle them with your flock. This doesn't mean you should never get more chickens; many have flocks that carry contagious avian diseases. Although it does mean you should never sell or give away any of your flock members.

is it possible that she might have gapeworm?

Yes that is possible, and my second question would have been "When was the last time you dewormed your flock, and what medication did you use?" I canceled that question when I saw your flock has had respiratory symptoms before, including bubbles in their eyes.

With her being a 3-ish years old ex-batt hen, her breathing issue combined with a purple comb could also mean she is experiencing heart failure, and her symptoms may have nothing at all to do with a respiratory disease. Unfortunately, unless you could get a necropsy done, that leaves you unable to know any effective treatments you could possibly provide, if this happens to another flock member in the future. But thank you for rescuing her and caring about her. That is something that only a tiny minute fraction of battery hens ever experience.

 

[Crazyabouthens]

@azygous @mrskenmore