Possible gapeworm/respiratory illness

[Leonard4]

I noticed this afternoon that my 2.5 Light Brahma was coughing and/or sneezing.

-Eyes and nostrils clear
-Eating and drinking fine
-Not lethargic
-Comb and wattle where nice and red
-No diarrhea

I separated her and put her in a kennel in the garage with food, water with electrolytes and probiotics, and a fan (it’s warm here). She had this issue about a year ago and after some VetRx she was totally fine.

However, I checked on her about 20 minutes ago and her breathing is very labored now, and there is blood. I can’t tell if she’s coughing it up or if maybe she got her back caught in the kennel.

I have nothing on hand. I thought I had some VetRx but I don’t. Of course this all happened an hour before the farm store closed. My plan is to go ASAP in the morning, but I don’t feel confident at all she will make it that long. Should I treat the others? Antibiotics or a dewormer?

I wish I could help her. I feel like she is suffering. Should I cull her? I’ve never had to do it before.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

I would post a video but I want her to rest and I don’t want to disturb her. There is a definitely rattle/grumbling sound when she breaths and she is breathing very heavily.

 

[Myrshine]

Respiratory disease in chickens and other poultry are chronic and incurable. She most likely has Mycoplasma Gallisepticum (MG) or also known as Chronic Respiratory Disease (CRD). Antibiotics will help ease symptoms if this is MG. Antibiotics will not cure your girl unfortunately. She’ll be a lifetime long carrier of this bacteria, so if you have other birds, they most likely have it as well.

 

[Leonard4]

Respiratory disease in chickens and other poultry are chronic and incurable. She most likely has Mycoplasma Gallisepticum (MG) or also known as Chronic Respiratory Disease (CRD). Antibiotics will help ease symptoms if this is MG. Antibiotics will not cure your girl unfortunately. She’ll be a lifetime long carrier of this bacteria, so if you have other birds, they most likely have it as well.

So what do I do with the other birds? Treat them? Hope for the best?

 

[Tankueray]

How hot is it in your garage? Did you leave her in there all day with only a fan and no fresh air exchange? Is she on the floor or near any gas appliances, automotive areas, or chemical storage? Determine where that blood is coming from. Initiate quarantine and strict biosecurity measures with the rest of your flock and any areas, people, clothing, etc. that the affected bird has been in contact with until you know for certain what the issue is. (Pick up some kitty litter or oil change pans, bar towels, and bleach from the dollar store for quick setup of boot sanitizing stations.)

Do not administer medication to any of them unless a Vet tells you too. Antibiotics and antivirals need to be matched to the thing they're treating or else they're useless and a recipe for more resistant pathogens in the future. A wormer is unlikely to help at this time, and could even do harm if their immune systems are already trying to fight off a flock-wide respiratory infection.

No one, not even a Vet, can diagnose your bird definitively without more information, a physical exam, and lab tests. I have a hen that sneezes occasionally and a rooster that wheezes due to an internal physical deformity. It's regularly been close to 100 degrees here for some time. Proceed with caution, but don't automatically assume the worst.

If it is a communicable respiratory disease, all of them are serious enough that you should find out for certain with lab tests. If she makes it through the night, get her to a Vet if you can, get the VetRx as an option only if she appears to have mostly recovered, otherwise you're probably just prolonging the inevitable. If she does not make it, call a Vet or your State Diagnostic Lab and find out what you need to do to get a necropsy done. (I looked up your Lab's pricing and it's pretty high compared to Texas, so that might be a limiting factor for you.) Preserve the body by wrapping in a towel or placing in a paper bag in the refrigerator, not in plastic and not in the freezer, until you can get further instruction from a professional over the phone. (The most expensive option is sending the whole body to the lab, less expensive would be to have your Vet collect tissue samples to send for testing, but time is of the essence.)

If she does test positive for a disease in which your other birds may be asymptomatic carriers, you'll need to get them tested too, and then decide how you want to proceed from there.

Good luck.

 

[Leonard4]

How hot is it in your garage? Did you leave her in there all day with only a fan and no fresh air exchange? Is she on the floor or near any gas appliances, automotive areas, or chemical storage? Determine where that blood is coming from. Initiate quarantine and strict biosecurity measures with the rest of your flock and any areas, people, clothing, etc. that the affected bird has been in contact with until you know for certain what the issue is. (Pick up some kitty litter or oil change pans, bar towels, and bleach from the dollar store for quick setup of boot sanitizing stations.)

Do not administer medication to any of them unless a Vet tells you too. Antibiotics and antivirals need to be matched to the thing they're treating or else they're useless and a recipe for more resistant pathogens in the future. A wormer is unlikely to help at this time, and could even do harm if their immune systems are already trying to fight off a flock-wide respiratory infection.

No one, not even a Vet, can diagnose your bird definitively without more information, a physical exam, and lab tests. I have a hen that sneezes occasionally and a rooster that wheezes due to an internal physical deformity. It's regularly been close to 100 degrees here for some time. Proceed with caution, but don't automatically assume the worst.

If it is a communicable respiratory disease, all of them are serious enough that you should find out for certain with lab tests. If she makes it through the night, get her to a Vet if you can, get the VetRx as an option only if she appears to have mostly recovered, otherwise you're probably just prolonging the inevitable. If she does not make it, call a Vet or your State Diagnostic Lab and find out what you need to do to get a necropsy done. (I looked up your Lab's pricing and it's pretty high compared to Texas, so that might be a limiting factor for you.) Preserve the body by wrapping in a towel or placing in a paper bag in the refrigerator, not in plastic and not in the freezer, until you can get further instruction from a professional over the phone. (The most expensive option is sending the whole body to the lab, less expensive would be to have your Vet collect tissue samples to send for testing, but time is of the essence.)

If she does test positive for a disease in which your other birds may be asymptomatic carriers, you'll need to get them tested too, and then decide how you want to proceed from there.

Good luck.

The garage door was open all day and still is. No gas. No chemicals. Nothing automotive. Blood is gone and she is bit breathing heavily anymore. Some watery diarrhea. Are some scrambled eggs.

 

[Tankueray]

Good to hear.

She was probably just panicked then, the blood and heavy breathing may have come from trying to get out of the cage. If you're going to leave her alone with the door open, put her up higher on a table. Chickens are prey animals and have a well developed social hierarchy. Think like her - taken from her place in the flock, trapped, left alone for anything to come eat her - definitely enough to cause a panic attack. And what do humans do when they have a panic attack? Hyperventilate.

Birds have more sensitive respiratory and easier stressed circulatory systems than mammals (they also have very simple digestive systems comparatively, hence the normally wet poo). I'm sure you've heard that burning Teflon will kill a bird, as will the products of combustion of many plastics, some cleaning chemicals, etc. The ability to fly requires very fast and efficient oxygen exchange between the lungs and bloodstream. Think about going for a hard run in cold air - your lungs burn, and if you were to cross paths with something very chemical or strong smelling, you might have a coughing fit or you might feel nauseous shortly after, because the increased oxygen exchange during your workout carried the molecules of something else in along with the clean air.

On the odd chance that this is a thing in your area; we have these annoying swarms of gnats in Texas in the Spring and cool Summer evenings. (They also love open beer cans, mostly fresh ones, as in you hadn't even taken a drink yet because you had to prevent a burned-burger-on-the-grill disaster. I've inhaled and drank more than enough in my lifetime.) They just happen to be about the right size and swarm in a way that if they collide with a chicken, they can easily clog up their airways and suffocate them. (Note: these are not the actual predatory Buffalo Gnats that often do kill chickens, just regular annoying-all-the-same gnats.)

My point being that there are many reasons for occasional respiratory symptoms beyond pathogens.

If she's showing no signs of illness and is eating and drinking, it may have just been a temporary reaction to the environment, which appeared to get worse due to a teeny bit of helicopter parenting. If you're still concerned that she may be ill, take her to your Vet, or (usually these things only cover dogs and cats, but it's worth a shot) call this free Vet helpline: https://petiq.com/veterinary-services/veterinary-help-line/

I think you were asking if you could give her scrambled eggs. That should be fine, but it's not really going to help with the diarrhea. Unless it's explosive, smelly, weird colored, or covering her feathers in a just-sat-in-a-mud-puddle kind of way, it's also probably due to stress and will be okay. If she's good and the rest of the flock is good, get her back in with them so she doesn't lose any social status. It's almost time to do your Winter cleaning prep anyway, it wouldn't hurt to do it a bit early. Do a thorough cleaning of all their water containers, scrape/scrub/remove poop from areas, remove dust/dander, change bedding in the nest boxes, remove buildup or caked crud in feeders, etc. Give them all a good look over when they nest tonight/this week sometime. If anything seems off or concerning (but not an emergency), take a picture and make some notes, observe for a few days to confirm.

The first entry in the Chicken Keeper's Guide to the Galaxy: Don't Panic!
...and always carry a towel.