Hen with very raspy breathing

[jimgunn]

Yesterday I noticed one of my hens started sneezing. I picked her up, checked her nostrils and eyes, no discharge and eyes completely clear. This morning her breathing is terrible. You can hear every breath like a little trumpet. Her nostrils are still clear and so are her eyes, she is still eating and drinking but it's just her breathing. Can anyone tell me what is wrong? Any help would be great. Thanks.

 

[Eggcessive]

Does she have the same symptoms your other bird had that you thought had IB? Did the sick hen before have a bad odor coming from her head? Coryza is the disease with the bad odor. If it doesn't smell bad, then I would treat for mycoplasma. Tylan 50 used as a shot into the breast muscle or by mouth for 3-5 days is good. Some of the other diseases are viral, so antibiotics will only help if they get a secondary infection. If there is just sneezing, and no swelling of the eyes, eye or nasal drainage, eye bubbles, or raspy rattly breathing, it might be IB, but if any of those symptoms, it is more serious. Culling of the sick birds, cleaning every thing and disinfecting, waiting 3 weeks to get more birds is about the only way you can get rid of some of these diseases.

 

[jimgunn]

This bird has been vaccinated against IB and mycoplasma along with most of the other illnesses chickens get so I am struggling to workout what she has. It's just the raspy breathing and sneezing. She still eats and drinks fine, no nasal drainage, eyes are clear and not swollen, she seems fine in all other respects.

 

[jimgunn]

Anyone know what's going on?

 

[jimgunn]

Also, do I need to keep this hen separate from the others. She is at the moment but she's not in the nicest of places and if I can, it would be much nicer for her to go back with the main flock.

 

[Wyandottes7]

Also, do I need to keep this hen separate from the others. She is at the moment but she's not in the nicest of places and if I can, it would be much nicer for her to go back with the main flock.

If you don't want your other birds to be infected too, keep her isolated! Respiratory diseases (and diseases in general) can spread rapidly, and you do not want a flock-wide problem.

 

[Eggcessive]

I am not an expert here , but vaccines take time to work--usually a week or two depending on the vaccine. If she was vaccinated after an illness broke out, she may not be protected.

 

[jimgunn]

She was vaccinated as a chick at a few weeks old. She is now coming up to 2 years old. Her breathing is not so loud now. Every breath literally sounded like a little trumpet, now it just sounds slightly croaky and she coughs every now and then. Any ideas?

 

[Eggcessive]

Some other things to consider would be mold in the environment, especially it it has been wet there, dust in the coop, or an irritating type of litter used. Some people highly recommend a product called oxine that can be used in a vaporizer or fogger in the coop. It can be used directly on the birds a few times a day and is said to work well. You might check that out.

 

[jimgunn]

Well we have just managed to get rid of a red mite infestation and so a lot of DE has been used in the coop. Could it be this in the air? We use straw as bedding and a window is left open on the hutch in the summer so wouldn't most dust escape through that? After I put the DE round I leave the doors open on the coop to let most of the dust blow through. I will look into the oxine. Thanks for the suggestion.