Pet chicken labored breathing Clavamox dose needed until I can get to the vet

[ilovebirds2010]

Earlier today, my husband let our puppy out without the cable. He said the dog rammed into one of our chickens. Well, I noticed that one of the chickens has labored breathing right now. I know earlier today, she was fine with no issues. There could be something stuck in her windpipe or who knows, maybe she is just coming down with a respiratory infection. I don't want to take a chance and the vet is closed. I have on hand some Clavamox 125 mg strength which is diluted with 2 cc's of liquid that I have left over for my pet bird (which is still good). I want to give her some so she makes it through the night. Does anyone know the dose for this stuff? I did try VetRx and she is the same. I brought her in the house tonight. Please help. I am worried about our baby!

 

[Eggcessive]

I would look over the chicken for any trapped air under her skin which is called a leaking air sac. That can be a result of trauma to the back or chest, and feels like a ballooon. It can cause labored breathing. If you find this it can be reduced by puncturing the skin with a needle and pushing the air out. But I would not do this unless you are certain there is a leaking air sac, or if there is not severe distress. Check out this thread in posts 8 and 20 for dosage:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/clavamox-source.819233/

 

[Eggcessive]

Here is an article anout deflating a leaking air sac:
http://ijasvm.com/ijasvmadmin/upload/IJASVM_5113cbc51d31b.pdf

 

[ilovebirds2010]

Update - Thank you for the above article on the air sac. Will have to give her a good look over. I have saved it to my computer. I tried to make an appointment today with our vet. They didn't have any openings so I left a message for the vet to call me back so I could explain her situation. He told me to give her .5 ml (which is 1/2 of a 1 ml syringe) once a day for 7-10 days. Ironically, that is what I ended up giving her last night and this morning before he called me back. I told him I was concerned as it could be a respiratory infection. He said that the Clavimox I have will take care of it and to call back and make an appointment if things don't change. If I discover that she does have an air sac issue, I'm definitely taking her in!! I also told him I am worried about the other girls getting sick and still have some of my old Duramycin-10 powder. He said yes to go ahead and treat the other birds. I mentioned to the vet about VetRx. He said he never heard of it. I asked him if I should give her some nutri-drench (liquid vitamins). He said only if she is not eating. If I notice she stops eating, I'm going to give her some of that. So later today, I am going out to get new straw. I'm going to remove every last piece of straw currently in their run, grate the dirt (like if I were planting a garden), power wash the dirt with the garden hose (letting it air dry), then putting fresh straw down. I am also going to remove all the pine chips I just put in their coop. Then I'm going to sanitize the whole coop with Oxine (found on the chickenchick.com website which kills avian influenza on contact) and then put fresh pine chips down. I don't want to take any chances! After I get done treating this chicken, I'm going to use Oxine to sanitize her cage!!

 

[Eggcessive]

I think that you might be overdoing the cleaning and removal of all the bedding, but that is up to you and will probably do no harm. It really sounds like the hen’s problem started when she was run into by the puppy. If she had a full crop of water and food, she may have expelled some of that into her throat causing some choking or respiratory problem. I doubt too that she has an infection, but would continue the Clavamox after starting it. I just hope that she has no internal injuries. Please keep us up to date on how she is getting along.