Please help my gasping hen

[Chickeeaholic]

Hello, I was met this morning to my Brahma hen gasping when I let the chickens out.

She sounds like she has fluid in her, especially her nasal passages. She stood up and coughed hard a few times. Is there anything I can do for her? I put vetrx on her beak and nostrils and brought her in the house. She did eat some scrambled egg. I am keeping things dark and quiet.

 

[coach723]

How does her crop feel? Empty, full, hard, soft and squishy? Also check it first thing in the morning, before she's had access to food or water, it should be empty then. Look inside her beak for any lesions or plaques. Are you seeing any discharge from nares, or beak, eyes, any bubbles in eyes? If you can get a video of the cough it might be helpful. You will need to post on another platform, like youtube and put the link here so we can see it.

 

[Chickeeaholic]

That was the video of her this morning. She is still the same. Her crop seems full a little on the firm side. and I don’t see anything in her mouth. No discharge.

A week ago I had to bring her inside for a few days because of this but it wasn’t near as bad. I thought she was better but this came on all of the sudden last night.

Thank you for your help.

 

[Chickeeaholic]

I noticed her vent is messy with white and runny stool. Her stools are water. Not sure if it’s related?

 

[coach723]

Have you ever wormed her? How old is she, do you know when she last laid?

 

[Eggcessive]

Have you added any new chickens or other birds to your flock lately? She sounds very gurgly either from mucus in her throat or crop contents coming back up. Had you handled her or her crop just before the video this am? If they have a crop that is not emptying, and it is accidentally squeezed, they can get some liquid into their airway. Look at her eyes for any bubbles or foam, any swelling of either eyelid or the face, or mucus from her nostrils. Some respiratory problems may be viral, where antibiotics don’t help. If she has a crop issue, antibiotics might not be a good idea, but if she has some of the symptoms above, she might have a respiratory disease such as MG (mycoplasma gallisepticum.) That can respond to Tylosin or Tiagard/Denagard. Smell her breath, since sour crop may have a bad odor and the crop may not empty overnight.

 

[Chickeeaholic]

Thank you both for your help. I had not handled her crop before the video. That’s how she was this morning. I wormed her about 2 moths ago. She is 4.5 years old. She laid her last egg a few moths ago.

Your questions got me thinking in a different direction. I had thought it was respiratory but after you asked I began to think it was reproductive problems. A few months ago she was egg bound. I got her through that then the “respiratory problems “ started.

I started her on tylan today because I’m sure it’s now an infection in her reproductive system. I’ve been through this with two other hens in the past but they didn’t get this congestion. They got sour crop and watery white stool. She has that.

She is breathing much better since the tylan. She just might make it through this. I thought she was gone for sure today. Thank you again for your help! I wouldn’t have known to treat her for this without you.

 

[coach723]

Tylan is generally used to treat respiratory issues, not really for reproductive issues. I'm glad she seems to be doing better on it, hopefully that will take care of it. If it does, then you may need to retreat periodically if symptoms recur, as they often do depending on what is actually the cause. Being ill can also stop them laying, so time will tell if she starts laying again, or not. If her crop doesn't start emptying normally, then there may be more going on.

 

[Chickeeaholic]

Thank you very much. I think your advice is why she is still here this morning. She is a great girl and I can’t stand the thought of losing her. I understand about her needing retreated and I will be sure to watch her closely from now on.

It’s a mystery to me why the tylan works. My whole flock was sick with respiratory a while back. I was treating them with tylan in their water. My other hen who has had many episodes of this same thing, white stool almost like chalk, impacted crop, she healed up during the Tylan treatment. When she starts having these issues I give her tylan for the recommended time and she gets better. She is a midnight majestic maran and is also 4.5 years old. She lays large eggs and has weird eggs sometimes. I always thought it was reproductive system problems? I understand they are prone to this? I had another do the same thing.

Sorry for the long post but I just thought it might help someone else to know if they read this, how I came across tylan working?

I appreciate you all. Thank you!

 

[coach723]

Tylan is often used for birds with Mycoplasma. It's chronic, is not cured, the birds are carriers for life. Tylan will help with symptoms but symptoms will recur, particularly during times of stress. It can contribute to lots of other issues as it weakens the birds immune systems. You can have testing done to see if that is what is going on in your flock.