Lethargic hen, open mouth breathing, her whole body moves when she breaths

[Cinnamon11]

I called a few vets in the area my dogs vet and a vet that treats chickens and neither had the antibiotics.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I have safeguard dewormer but don’t know the dosage or if you give it in there water or into their mouth? Also can I put Corid and safeguard in the same waterer?

Did you treat your whole flock for worms back in July? https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/worms-in-chicken-poop-please-help.1481864/

Safeguard is dosed by weight, not mixed in the water- so you would give each bird a dose of 0.23ml per pound of weight, given orally once a day for 5 days in a row.

It's fine to treat for both worms and Coccidiosis at the same time.

Treat your whole flock.

 

[Cinnamon11]

Did you treat your whole flock for worms back in July? https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/worms-in-chicken-poop-please-help.1481864/

Safeguard is dosed by weight, not mixed in the water- so you would give each bird a dose of 0.23ml per pound of weight, given orally once a day for 5 days in a row.

It's fine to treat for both worms and Coccidiosis at the same time.

Treat your whole flock.

Yes I had and treated for worms in July. I’m leaving to go out of town for 3 days tomorrow and the pet sitter cannot orally give them the wormer. So is there a dose to give them in water will that work? Yesterday I gave each hen their oral dose and I can again In the morning. Also do you think the worms are causing her labored breathing and tail bobbing or something else? Thank you!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Yes I had and treated for worms in July. I’m leaving to go out of town for 3 days tomorrow and the pet sitter cannot orally give them the wormer. So is there a dose to give them in water will that work? Yesterday I gave each hen their oral dose and I can again In the morning. Also do you think the worms are causing her labored breathing and tail bobbing or something else? Thank you!

Safeguard is dosed by weight, not mixed in the water- so you would give each bird a dose of 0.23ml per pound of weight, given orally once a day for 5 days in a row.

I don't know what's causing her labored breathing.
There's so many things that can happen with chickens.

 

[Cinnamon11]

I don't know what's causing her labored breathing.
There's so many things that can happen with chickens.

Yeah I agree do you think there’s anything I can do about it or just hope it gets better?

 

[azygous]

Now that you've wormed the flock, if this hen's woes are due to a heavy worm load, you should see improvement.

A heavy worm load, which is a distinct possibility with this hen, can cause intestinal obstruction. Have you seen any signs of a crop issue? A slow crop can cause discomfort, which heavy breathing can indicate.

It would be a good idea to monitor her crop. Read this and it will tell you how. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

 

[Lizzy733]

With so many worms being found, you should ask the vet for a fecal float to make sure your dewormer is getting all of them. Some worms, like tapeworm, typically aren't affected by normal drenches.

Your ill hen will need a proper clean-up - I'd recommend getting her in the tub or a utility sink and thoroughly washing her bum with warm water from the tap and shampoo(pet or baby shampoo would be best) blowdry after on low setting.

I'd normally recommend bathing and using Epsom salts, but her breathing worries me.

While you have her, check her comb color, temperature, condition (meatiness if the breast and prominence of the keel bone on her chest), and abdomen for any odd lumps or stuck eggs - it is possible she is eggbound on top of your other flock woes.

Do this check on a healthy bird first so you have a comparison of what's normal. Chickens do have a higher temp than us, so do measure this by a healthy bird.

A very pale comb may be indicative of anemia, which could be from the worms - I saw this with my hen that did die of necrotic enteritis (which is tecnically tissue death within the intestinal tract), though she never outwardly presented as ill.

Blue discoloring would indicate poor circulation or lack of oxygen, which I'd be most on the lookout for with how she's presenting.

Also, check that her nostrils are clear and listen out for any rasp or odd sounds made when breathing.

 

[Cinnamon11]

Now that you've wormed the flock, if this hen's woes are due to a heavy worm load, you should see improvement.

A heavy worm load, which is a distinct possibility with this hen, can cause intestinal obstruction. Have you seen any signs of a crop issue? A slow crop can cause discomfort, which heavy breathing can indicate.

It would be a good idea to monitor her crop. Read this and it will tell you how. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

I just r treated a hen with a really bad impacted crop and willows crop isn’t impacted and does not feel like sour crop either but it’s definitely not emptying properly.

 

[Cinnamon11]

With so many worms being found, you should ask the vet for a fecal float to make sure your dewormer is getting all of them. Some worms, like tapeworm, typically aren't affected by normal drenches.

Your ill hen will need a proper clean-up - I'd recommend getting her in the tub or a utility sink and thoroughly washing her bum with warm water from the tap and shampoo(pet or baby shampoo would be best) blowdry after on low setting.

I'd normally recommend bathing and using Epsom salts, but her breathing worries me.

While you have her, check her comb color, temperature, condition (meatiness if the breast and prominence of the keel bone on her chest), and abdomen for any odd lumps or stuck eggs - it is possible she is eggbound on top of your other flock woes.

Do this check on a healthy bird first so you have a comparison of what's normal. Chickens do have a higher temp than us, so do measure this by a healthy bird.

A very pale comb may be indicative of anemia, which could be from the worms - I saw this with my hen that did die of necrotic enteritis (which is tecnically tissue death within the intestinal tract), though she never outwardly presented as ill.

Blue discoloring would indicate poor circulation or lack of oxygen, which I'd be most on the lookout for with how she's presenting.

Also, check that her nostrils are clear and listen out for any rasp or odd sounds made when breathing.

This is her comb although it looks much greyer in person. Her breathing worries me too so I used a couple wipes and cleaned up her backend. I don’t feel any eggs. Her body condition is almost the same as one of my healthier birds. She is slightly skinnier but not much. I was wondering could it be because she’s so large? She is much larger and heavier than my other EE hens. I know all EEs are different but just throwing it out there. I don’t hear any raspy breathing just the sound of her breathing through her mouth.

 

[Lizzy733]

This is her comb although it looks much greyer in person. Her breathing worries me too so I used a couple wipes and cleaned up her backend. I don’t feel any eggs. Her body condition is almost the same as one of my healthier birds. She is slightly skinnier but not much. I was wondering could it be because she’s so large? She is much larger and heavier than my other EE hens. I know all EEs are different but just throwing it out there. I don’t hear any raspy breathing just the sound of her breathing through her mouth.

It wouldn't be something like necrotic enteritis then, that scars the digestive tract and the lose weight very quickly.

When you say large, do you mean overall body size, or us she heavier than the other girls? One thing that comes to mind is acites - water belly. If her abdomen is big/dense, it could be that. They can fill up with water to the point that it starts pressing on their organs and making it difficult for them to breathe.

Do you have any rescue remedies on hand? Polyaid or similar?

You may want to isolate her in a temp-controlled environment and monitor how much she's eating, how much she's drinking and what her poos are looking like - (color and consistency for both the whites and solids). Putting her down on an old towel with paper towels over top should allow you to get a good look at them.

If she's off her feed, try offering treats she's familiar with or some hard-boiled egg to see if she's interested.

Have you checked her crop? Empty in morning, full at night and usually has at least something in there throughout the day.

When you checked her abdomen, did she brace like she was being mounted?