Respiratory Distress

[2thscraprr]

Yesterday my chicken (5 month old Easter Egger), was wheezing and had a barking cough all day long. She appeared to have a little bit of dried blood by one nostril. We were worried about her and separated her from the others in case it was contagious. Today she is making her normal chicken sounds and I didn't hear her cough. But I was headed to work and only had a minute or two to observe her. I had ordered VetRx online and it'll be here tomorrow. I'm a new chicken owner and so I hope I got my terminology correct! Do I need to worry that she is going to infect the rest of the chickens? Will VetRx be enough? I had read online to give her water with olive oil and garlic in it. So she had that all day long. Thank you for the helpful info!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Sometimes they get something stuck in their throat. It generally only lasts a few hours or a day. If you bird continues to sneeze and wheeze more than a day or two it could be a respiratory issue. You would need to see a vet to get antibiotics to treat her. I don't worry when one bird is sick. It happens. Birds die here and there. Multiple birds in a short amount of time would be when I would start worrying.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

wheezing and had a barking cough all day long. She appeared to have a little bit of dried blood by one nostril.

Welcome To BYC

I would keep a watch on her. Can you tell where the dried blood on the nostril came from -perhaps she was pecked? If she starts wheezing and coughing again, I would separate her so you can monitor her symptoms more closely.

 

[2thscraprr]

Welcome To BYC

I would keep a watch on her. Can you tell where the dried blood on the nostril came from -perhaps she was pecked? If she starts wheezing and coughing again, I would separate her so you can monitor her symptoms more closely.

I’m not sure where the blood came from but it seemed to be there when we noticed the wheezing. She’s fine again this evening and it’s 90 degrees out. So I feel better about it! I did let them out the evening before it started and they were very much into their dirt bath. Maybe she just got something in her throat/sinus’ that irritated her for a day. I hope so!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hopefully she just had dirt in her throat.
I would monitor the flock for several days, if you notice anything, then investigate further.

 

[dawg53]

Look inside the coop in the area where she is normally perched at night. Look for blood droplets on the roost and walls, anywhere she could have shaken her head to splatter blood droplets. Let us know what you see.

 

[2thscraprr]

Look inside the coop in the area where she is normally perched at night. Look for blood droplets on the roost and walls, anywhere she could have shaken her head to splatter blood droplets. Let us know what you see.

There isn’t any blood. It was a very small amount that first morning on her nose. She was doing well last night. I hope it was just dirt or something simple irritating her throat. Thank you.