Question!

[Sarahloveslulu]

I have 18 chickens.I use to have 20.My chickens were dying of something my family calls the gurgles.All our chickens are carriers.By that I mean they were near or with a chicken with the gurgles.When our chickens have a hard time breathing or there making gurgling noises that means they have the gurgles.Does anyone have a suggestion of what I should do?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

You need to get a specific diagnosis. Either get a live bird tested or a deceased bird. Some respiratory problems can be treated, and others are contagious and chronic. It can be the difference between treating or culling your flock depending on what they have.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

My chickens were dying of something my family calls the gurgles.All our chickens are carriers.By that I mean they were near or with a chicken with the gurgles.When our chickens have a hard time breathing or there making gurgling noises that means they have the gurgles

Can you post some photos of the chickens and their poop? (can you show their eyes/beak too please)
If possible, getting a video of the gurgling so we can see and hear it - might be helpful.
Upload video to youtube and provide a link.

Where do you live? US (State?) or other country?

Your mention that they are all carriers leads me to believe your dealing with a respiratory disease. Can you ask your family if there is an "official name"? Some common diseases are Mycoplasma, Infectious Bronchitis, Infectious Coryza, ILT and Newcastle. Any of those names ring a bell?

I agree, testing is always a good idea so you know what you are dealing with and possibly can treat symptom.

Are your hen's crops empty in the morning before they eat/drink? Have you also checked for lice/mites?
While neither of these things is likely your main problem, when sick, chickens can develop these symptoms and parasites can also take hold.

Tell us more about what treatment(s) you have tried in the past.

 

[Eggcessive]

What state are you in? Sorry for your loss. Can you tell us or show a picture of your coop and set-up? Do you have windows in the coop for ventilation, and what type of floor and bedding is there? Hasa there been any mold?Do you hear sneezing from the chickens, or see nasal drainage, bubbles in eyes or swelling? I agree that if you have another chicken die, or still have a body, refrigerate it in a cooler with ice, and have your family take it or send it to the state vet for a necropsy (autopsy.) Here is a list of state vets:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm

 

[casportpony]

The drug ivermeticin is often used to control gapeworm infection in birds.

Sadly, ivermectin is not an effective gapeworm treatment. I can show you the studies if you are interested.

Per this veterinary textbook, gapeworm treatment using Safeguard for goats or Safeguard or Panacur paste is 0.14 ml per pound of body weight for *five* consecutive days, so a seven pound chicken needs 0.95 ml (okay to round up to 1 ml) five days in a row.

The dose amount on the label is for goats and is no where near enough to treat worms that waterfowl and poultry get.

I successfully treated roundworm infection in my flock last Feb with pea sized doses of fenbendazole (trade name safe-guard), which is also used as equine dewormer. chickens need only tiny pea size dose-

A pea size amount is only 25 mg. This pea size amount is equal to 0.25 ml of the liquid. IMO, this is too low a dose for poultry.

So, If you want a more natural approach to deworming please use food grade diatomaceous earth (DE) in your chickens dust bath (1 part to 3 parts mixed potash/sand/topsoil) and also add about 2 tablespoons DE to 1 pound feed and mix well. Do this every 2 wks until you see improvement.

Save your money and have routine fecals instead, DE is not an effective de-wormer.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Do you have a county extension office, or a similar local agricultural department to contact and ask about it?

Most vets don't treat chickens, but some are starting to. I believe in most places you need to buy antibiotics from a vets office now.

@Eggcessive ,@Wyorp Rock , any advice?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Infectious Bronchitis rings a bell.We make sure that there are no mites or lice every morning.We live in New York.We tried colonial silver.And Antibacterial fungi.And many other medication.Nothing worked.They just die.We have one right now that is old and has it.She is still eating and drinking.But I feel like she's suffocating to death.

I'm sorry she's not doing well.

I do agree - if you lose her, then sending the body to your state lab (NY I believe that is Cornell) to get more information would be a good idea.

Infectious Bronchitis is a virus, so generally it will have to run it's course. You mention your hen is old - have your added birds to your flock consistently over the years? IB, generally makes birds carriers for up to a year - if you've been hatching/adding birds and keeping the disease going then it can continue to "go" for years.

Other diseases like Mycoplasma are for life.

It may be worth checking your hen's crop to make sure it's empty in the morning.
I agree as well - how is the ventilation in your coop, is there any moldy, excess poop that's causing ammonia, etc.

 

[casportpony]

@Sarahloveslulu, this place can do testing for you:
https://zoologix.com/avian/Datasheets/PoultryRespiratoryPanel.htm

 

[Kglassmo]

I have 18 chickens.I use to have 20.My chickens were dying of something my family calls the gurgles.All our chickens are carriers.By that I mean they were near or with a chicken with the gurgles.When our chickens have a hard time breathing or there making gurgling noises that means they have the gurgles.Does anyone have a suggestion of what I should do?

I have 18 chickens.I use to have 20.My chickens were dying of something my family calls the gurgles.All our chickens are carriers.By that I mean they were near or with a chicken with the gurgles.When our chickens have a hard time breathing or there making gurgling noises that means they have the gurgles.Does anyone have a suggestion of what I should do?

I’m sorry to hear your flock is unwell. Please look up gapeworms in chickens, as it’s too long for me to describe here - in short, it is a parasitic disease common in chickens and other poultry who are free ranged or have access to eating dirt, slugs, earthworms, aquatic snails, or other intermediate carriers of parasitic worms. Gapeworms cause obstruction of trachea/airways and can even spread into lungs. This can cause gurgling, difficulty breathing and loss of appetite in chickens. The drug ivermeticin is often used to control gapeworm infection in birds. I successfully treated roundworm infection in my flock last Feb with pea sized doses of fenbendazole (trade name safe-guard), which is also used as equine dewormer. chickens need only tiny pea size dose- first dose orally right into beak- you can put on a tiny piece of bread and then 2nd dose about 10-14 days later, orally to kill off any existing internal eggs that may have hatched. We did not eat eggs during treatment because I have antibiotic sensitivity and was not sure how that drug would translate into eggs. So, If you want a more natural approach to deworming please use food grade diatomaceous earth (DE) in your chickens dust bath (1 part to 3 parts mixed potash/sand/topsoil) and also add about 2 tablespoons DE to 1 pound feed and mix well. Do this every 2 wks until you see improvement. Wear a face mask when mixing feed because humans should not breath diatomaceous earth dust. Hope this helps! Good luck!

 

[Sarahloveslulu]

I'm sorry she's not doing well.

I do agree - if you lose her, then sending the body to your state lab (NY I believe that is Cornell) to get more information would be a good idea.

Infectious Bronchitis is a virus, so generally it will have to run it's course. You mention your hen is old - have your added birds to your flock consistently over the years? IB, generally makes birds carriers for up to a year - if you've been hatching/adding birds and keeping the disease going then it can continue to "go" for years.

Other diseases like Mycoplasma are for life.

It may be worth checking your hen's crop to make sure it's empty in the morning.
I agree as well - how is the ventilation in your coop, is there any moldy, excess poop that's causing ammonia, etc.

My whole family cleans the coop.Its really big.We clean once or twice a month.We decided not to add anymore chicks because of all the disease.We have 4 windows and there always open.But we worry about animals getting in so we use chicken wire.At night we close the windows,but only if its raining.