just wheezing...antibiotic question?

[Jemjoop]

Hello, I've held off asking and I've been searching for posts here on wheezing for almost 2 weeks now.

My favorite hen Mae, the friendliest one who always talks to me and comes up to me, has been wheezing for a couple of weeks. At first it was just mild but yesterday it was louder. She isn't sneezing or leaking anything and has been eating and active so I've been watching her waiting for it to get better.

I read here that the wheezing may be due to her having a cold and antibiotic or a vet visit is recommended.

We had a hard frost last night so this morning I brought them warm milk and some warm oatmeal. She greeted me and picked at it and then went to the quiet corner. She keeps closing her eyes as if she's tired of wheezing.

My son is 6 and is on amoxycillin for an ear infection. I don't have a chicken vet (I have a dog vet) and my feed store has medicines for other farm animals but not chickens.

The question is, can I give her a little of his antibiotic? Are all antibiotics the same or does it specificially have to be a chicken antibiotic because of the dosage? Like can you give a chicken too much and it harms them or would it be okay.

 

[Jemjoop]

UPDATE:

OK I went back to the feed store to talk to a farm specialist and they DO have chicken antibiotics, it was just hiding in the middle of all the cow and swine stuff.

They have a packet of Terramycin and I got Merrick's Blue Ribbon Poultry Electrolyte which is vitamins and bacterium. I don't like the sound of Terramycin oxytetracycline HCI Soluble Powder. Don't feed to laying hens! And I said this packet is made for 2 gallons and I only have 4 hens and they drink about 1 quart per day so she said do the math. Fun! Who knew math came with chickens. And I said how do I give this to just the wheezing hen and not the others and she said its ok for them all to have it and it won't do them any harm. Why would you voluntarily taint all your eggs if you didn't have to.

So anyway...I don't like the stuff.

They are only 4 months and not laying yet and she said the stuff wears off but these were meant to be organic eggs. I thought antibiotics were made from mold why is everything so chemicalized.

So I'm going to give just the electrolyte and see if that helps. I called my vet and she doesn't know anyone who helps chickens. They do exotics so I'm thinking if you can diagnose a snake or a spider you can help a chicken but no.

Hubby says taking a chicken to a vet is like a heart bypass for a hamster. They're pets so what can you do, you have to take care of them. It had to be Mae too! lol Not Pearl the bully it had to be the one with the heart of gold. So we shall see.

 

[dlhunicorn]

Separate your bird from the rest and give as the sole water source for 7-10 days.
1/2 tsp per half gallon... make fresh daily (throw away unused.)
5 day withdrawal (so dont eat the eggs for five days after stopping the treatment.) Give a vitamin supplement during the withdrawal period (not the one with electrolytes as you should only give electrolytes if she is panting or drinking insufficiently) and offer live culture yogurt free choice daily.

 

[Jemjoop]

Thanks for the help.

Give the Terramycin as sole water source for 7-10 days?

Do you know the possible causes of just wheezing?

From reading the links at the top I think she has either bronchitis or pneumonia. She rattles when she breathes in or out and gives a loud squawk sometimes on the out. But she's always very vocal so I don't know about that. This morning when I went to check she was trying to go to sleep and putting her head under her wing and still rattling and squawking on the out from under there. And she blocked the door on my way out. I'm getting very worried-

 

[dlhunicorn]

that is why the AB is indicated...

 

[Jemjoop]

Right. You sound just like a doctor

Segregation is no problem, her favorite place to sit in the coop is inside an open dog cage so I'll just move her to the back porch. I was just reading your help to the woman who brought home the rescue salmon fav. who had lots of problems. Mae is a buff orp who looks like a walking down pillow and I worry the opposite; about bringing her indoors and getting acclimated to heating.

It seems to come up that its always our favorite birds who get sick. My whole family has just had a bad flu for the last month and now Mae has a respiratory problem. I wonder if we're not transferring things to our favorites because they get the most attention.

These are my first 4 hens and they are almost 5 months old and I've only had them for a month and now one is sick so I'm a bit clueless but thank heavens for this site.

Off to get Mae and the Terramycin I really appreciate your help!

 

[dlhunicorn]

I assure you I am no vet and would much prefer that everyone had an affordable and chicken competant vet next door to consult. Any advice given on these forums is truly a guess to help narrow down the most probable cause and hopefully find and convey the advice from professionals ... I truly hope she is better soon. Just remember, no yogurt or vitamins until she has finished the round of AB (but then DO supplement for at least the month after.)

 

[Jemjoop]

just a little update:

Mae's inside and a little perkier, she's 24 hrs on antibiotic.

She is still wheezing but it seems fainter today. Still closing eyes like she's tired. But her appetite is better and she likes her laying mix and even had some day old rye bread bits. Not drinking as much as I'd like but its her only choice so she's going to have to get used to the greenish water.

She a little clingy and follows me around so I'm letting her out to explore and play for a bit and then she goes into the cage in a quiet room when she hunkers down for a rest. She slept a good 14 hours last night.

It seems like she's on the mend at least. After yesterday's wheezing I thought for sure she was going to keel over-

 

[dlhunicorn]

thats great...lets hope she s on the mend!

 

[Jemjoop]

mae is much better, 3 days of tylan 50 1cc shot and she is not wheezing at all

I have a pecking order issue in the coop now that she's been out but at least nobody died!

And I managed to find an avian vet only an hour away which is good, the bad news is he didn't have a clue what he was talking about.

Raising chickens is nothing compared to all those books I read. Catherine Goldhammer was right in Still Life With Chickens, "Its a vertical learning curve."

Thanks for the help!

Jen