Lavender Orpington breathing heavily

[NMfarmgirl]

Hi there, I have a dear 5 year old lavender orpington who started having breathing problems several weeks ago. The vet initially prescribed enrofloxacin and prednisolone, which I gave her for two weeks, but there was no change. I took her to the vet for an urgent care visit and he changed her medication to SMZ (which she’s had for 6 days), and I also started putting TiaGard in the water (5 days), but she only seems to be getting worse. Her behavior is otherwise completely normal— she’s eating and drinking, not lethargic, maybe just seems a little weak when I hold her. Sometimes I can’t hear the breathing problem at all, but at other times it’s loud and occasionally accompanied by slight snoring/wheezing/honking sounds. This morning was the worst— it seemed like she was panting (beak only slightly open) even though it wasn’t hot out, and her tail was bobbing. Then it stopped later and just went back to loud breathing. I don’t know what to do, I’m desperate to help her, but the cultures haven’t come back from the vet yet and probably won’t for several more days. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Debbie292d]

Hi,

If she's off the antibiotics, I'd give her probiotics now for a few weeks. That's most likely not going to help the breathing issues but she'll be out of balance from so many antibiotics and that'll help her get good flora back so she doesn't wind up with other issues.

I personally think you'll need to wait for the cultures as for any of us to try diagnose using something else could be contradictive. She's getting up in her years too, so wouldn't want to throw too much at her.

I'd also put her and them all on a vitamin regimen for a week or two by putting Poultry Cell or similar in their water every other day. That'll help her fight whatever she's fighting.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I have a dear 5 year old lavender orpington who started having breathing problems several weeks ago. The vet initially prescribed enrofloxacin and prednisolone, which I gave her for two weeks, but there was no change. I took her to the vet for an urgent care visit and he changed her medication to SMZ (which she’s had for 6 days), and I also started putting TiaGard in the water (5 days), but she only seems to be getting worse.

Her behavior is otherwise completely normal— she’s eating and drinking, not lethargic, maybe just seems a little weak when I hold her. Sometimes I can’t hear the breathing problem at all, but at other times it’s loud and occasionally accompanied by slight snoring/wheezing/honking sounds. This morning was the worst— it seemed like she was panting (beak only slightly open) even though it wasn’t hot out, and her tail was bobbing. Then it stopped later and just went back to loud breathing. I

Welcome To BYC

Did your Vet recommend giving the Tiamulin along with the SMZ-TMP? If not, then I'd re-consult to make sure there's no contraindications when giving this combo.

You hen is 5, when was her last egg?
Does she have any bloat or feeling of fluid in the abdomen?

Can you get a video of her? Upload to Youtube and provide a link or upload to the BYC Gallery and tell us where to find it.

Does your hen have any other symptoms like coughing, sneezing, bubbly eyes, facial swelling, lesions inside the beak, crop not emptying, etc.?

Panting with tail bobbing sounds like she may be struggling to expel an egg or lash material. Have you tried giving her extra calcium (300mg Calcium Citrate+D3) for a few days?

 

[NMfarmgirl]

Hi,

If she's off the antibiotics, I'd give her probiotics now for a few weeks. That's most likely not going to help the breathing issues but she'll be out of balance from so many antibiotics and that'll help her get good flora back so she doesn't wind up with other issues.

I personally think you'll need to wait for the cultures as for any of us to try diagnose using something else could be contradictive. She's getting up in her years too, so wouldn't want to throw too much at her.

I'd also put her and them all on a vitamin regimen for a week or two by putting Poultry Cell or similar in their water every other day. That'll help her fight whatever she's fighting.

Thanks so much! Do you have a recommended brand for the probiotics? I’ll order the Poultry Cell today.

 

[Debbie292d]

Thanks so much! Do you have a recommended brand for the probiotics? I’ll order the Poultry Cell today.

For water additives, I've used Durvet brand and the product called Hydro-Hen. That one's good for new chicks too as it has a bit of electrolytes in it.

I recently found that Kalmbach's makes probiotic crumbles called LifeGuard. Since we feed crumbles, we just mix a little into it.

 

[NMfarmgirl]

Welcome To BYC

Did your Vet recommend giving the Tiamulin along with the SMZ-TMP? If not, then I'd re-consult to make sure there's no contraindications when giving this combo.

You hen is 5, when was her last egg?
Does she have any bloat or feeling of fluid in the abdomen?

Can you get a video of her? Upload to Youtube and provide a link or upload to the BYC Gallery and tell us where to find it.

Does your hen have any other symptoms like coughing, sneezing, bubbly eyes, facial swelling, lesions inside the beak, crop not emptying, etc.?

Panting with tail bobbing sounds like she may be struggling to expel an egg or lash material. Have you tried giving her extra calcium (300mg Calcium Citrate+D3) for a few days?

No, I read about the Tiamulin on BYC. I’ll hold off on it then.

She doesn’t have any other symptoms as far as I can tell. I don’t know if it’s relevant, but the other lavender orpington in the flock has had a persistent problem with the bubbly eyes and facial swelling, and the vet had her and Pip (the chicken in question) on the enrofloxacin and prednisolone at the same time, but they haven’t helped either chicken. For calcium, I’ve been giving them oyster shells— is that enough?

I’m not sure when her last egg was because of all the hens in the coop, but it’s been a good while since I’ve seen her laying. The tail bobbing hasn’t happened since the other day though. Unfortunately the audio didn’t capture her breathing, just the slight honking sound she occasionally makes, but here’s the link to the video (that hopefully works):