Persistent cough, hoarseness in 10 month old pullet. Possible fungal problem?

[TropicalChickies]

Hi. I have a lovely little red pullet named Rusty with a mild but persistent cough and hoarseness. I've had hens with more serious respiratory problems like IB/mycoplasma and Rusty doesn't seem to have this, but still I'm concerned because she clears her throat often and coughs. She has no fluid leaking from the nose or eyes, she lays about 5x per week, and her eggshells are strong and well-formed.

I live in a very rural and remote area of Ecuador, South America. Veterinary care for chickens is not a privilege I have access to. So I'm trying to narrow down this problem by process of elimination.

First, since threadworm seemed a possible culprit, I dewormed her with a fenbendazole/Praziquantel combo. No improvement.

I waited a few weeks to see if she would improve. I hate giving antibiotics without really knowing the problem, but her hoarseness seemed to get a bit worse, so I gave her 50 mg Doxycycline orally for five days. That seemed to help some, but now two weeks later, she's coughing and clearing her throat again. It's not loud or dramatic, and her color is red/normal, but the persistence really worries me.

She's been like this for almost two months. Perhaps she has a fungal problem in her lungs or trachea? I bought her at 8 months old from a neighbor and I know that the place she was kept before had some moldy and dusty wood in the coop and run.

I understand that "just trying different treatments" isn't exactly optimal, but without a proper throat culture, my options are limited to what I can do.

I was thinking to give her a round of copper sulfate in water. I've read that is useful for both fungal and bacterial problems and I've used it successfully for sour crop so I'm comfortable with dosing it.

If anyone has a better idea based on her symptoms and/or personal experience, I'd really appreciate it.
Thank you.

Rusty with our cockerel Lucio, who is hopelessly devoted to her.

 

[DotToDot]

Sorry to hear about Rusty. It sounds probable that her issues have roots of the moldy place she was previously kept. May I ask what kind of place she lives in now? Plenty of hens are just hoarse, although I’ve never actually heard one cough.
P.S- Rusty and Lucio are gorgeous!

 

[TropicalChickies]

Hello, thank you so much for replying. Rusty lives in a very good environment now. Because we are in a rain forest climate (warm, wet, humid) and I've experienced problems with wood getting mold on it, I built the chicken coop with cob (a natural mixture of sand, clay, and palm leaves) and finished it with natural lime plaster, which is very mold resistant. I give it a fresh coat of limewash every other month and disinfect the roost bars routinely. The roost bars and beams that support the roof are a recycled plastic material and there's an open space all around the top of the coop and the roof for lots of ventilation.

The flock only stays in the coop overnight anyway. They come out at 6 am for breakfast and free range all day.

I was thinking if she just had irritation from dust, it would have cleared up by now. So that's why I'm thinking she could have a mild case of aspergillus or something like that. Especially since aspergillus is not contagious and none of my other chickens have this problem.

When she coughs, it sounds like a child with a dry cough-- not that squeaking sound chickens make when they sneeze.

Sorry to hear about Rusty. It sounds probable that her issues have roots of the moldy place she was previously kept. May I ask what kind of place she lives in now? Plenty of hens are just hoarse, although I’ve never actually heard one cough.
P.S- Rusty and Lucio are gorgeous!

Thank you! They are just farmyard ""mutts" -- no fancy breed -- but I think they are beautiful. Here they are finding snacks in the grass.