Respiratory problem. Help!

[burnsbarberfarm]

Have a hen that is severely congested. Separated as soon as we noticed- no others seem to be showing any signs. Hen has a cough, gargly sound. Kind of a bad smell, too. Mucous coming out of beak. Gave Tylan 50 for 5 days. Stopped after 5 took couple days then have started again three days ago. She is drinking water. Eating a little. She is still pretty bad off. Thought she was a goner a week ago, but she is a fighter! Any ideas on what it could be?

 

[cubalaya]

cull. tylan just makes the bird a carrier if it even survives. watch for it to show up in rest of flock

 

[Isaac 0]

Welcome to BYC!You dont have to cull.If you keep them in a stress free environment they will be fine and symptoms wont show up.Unless you plan on adding new members next spring i would cull.Keep her isolated for a while so she can calm down.If she isn't stressed out Symptoms will stop.Repeat Tylan again.Could be Infectious bronchitis or Mycoplasma.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Have a hen that is severely congested. Separated as soon as we noticed- no others seem to be showing any signs. Hen has a cough, gargly sound. Kind of a bad smell, too. Mucous coming out of beak. Gave Tylan 50 for 5 days. Stopped after 5 took couple days then have started again three days ago. She is drinking water. Eating a little. She is still pretty bad off. Thought she was a goner a week ago, but she is a fighter! Any ideas on what it could be?

Welcome to BYC.

I'm sorry you are having trouble. Can you take your hen to a vet for testing?

With the symptoms you describe it sounds like she has a contagious respiratory disease. If she has a foul odor about her, she may have Infectious Coryza or it could be any one of the numerous illnesses chicken can have. Antibiotic treatment like Tylan can help with any secondary infections she may have but it won't cure the illness. What dosage are you using?

Testing is the only way to know for sure what you are dealing with.

Culling is an option and needs to be considered, depending on what your chicken keeping goals are. Respiratory illnesses are contagious, make sick and exposed birds carriers of the illness (some may never show signs of illness-but can still pass the disease to others), egg production is usually reduced and certain illnesses can be passed along to the embryo of hatching eggs. If you ever plan on selling/giving away hatching eggs, chicks, started pullets, etc. then culling and having a necropsy or testing performed is a good idea.

If you are keeping a closed flock, you still need to consider testing - some state and independent labs can work with blood samples or throat/nasal swabs and don't need a body to examine. You still need the results of testing to determine the risk of exposure to your existing flock and any future additions.

In the meantime, encourage her to drink plenty of water, offer her normal feed with some extra protein like egg or tuna. Add poultry vitamins to her water a couple of times a week and practice good bio-security between her and your existing flock.




Common poultry diseases:
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

Necropsy and State labs
http://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm
http://www.usaha.org/Portals/6/StateAnimalHealthOfficials.pdf
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahln/downloads/all_nahln_lab_list.pdf

Independent lab testing:
http://www.zoologix.com/

Bio-Security
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2016/08/biosecurity-for-backyard-chickens.html
http://www.fresheggsdaily.com/2012/07/backyard-biosecurity.html

 

[burnsbarberfarm]

Ok. So we went to poultrydvm and went thru symptoms- it came back with calcium deficiency. Anyway- rest of flock seems fine and we have had her separated for about two weeks now. She seems better, but still congested and mucousy. Been giving her water and she drinks a lot. 7 days of Tylan 50 1/2 to 3/4 ml, today added powder greens , ACV, yogurt in mouth Sunlight in Day Warm room at night . She does have a bad smell coming from her breath.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Ok. So we went to poultrydvm and went thru symptoms- it came back with calcium deficiency. Anyway- rest of flock seems fine and we have had her separated for about two weeks now. She seems better, but still congested and mucousy. Been giving her water and she drinks a lot. 7 days of Tylan 50 1/2 to 3/4 ml, today added powder greens , ACV, yogurt in mouth Sunlight in Day Warm room at night . She does have a bad smell coming from her breath.

What type of food/treats do you feed?

Congested and mucousy is usually sign of respiratory illness. If the bad smell is coming from her breath, it's possible she may have sour crop. This would need to be treated (link below).

I'm curious how a calcium deficiency plays into the symptoms you describe. Can you give more information on how you arrive at that answer?



Here's some info on sour crop:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/impacted-slow-and-sour-crops-prevention-and-treatments

 

[Isaac 0]

Did you go to actual place?Or did you just go the Poutrydvm website?

It doesn't sounds like a calcium deficiency.

 

[burnsbarberfarm]

Yeah. I went to the website and used the tool. I was as surprised as everyone else. Calcium deficiency didn't make sense to me.

The sour crop thing mentioned above sounds like a good fit though at first glance- need to read up on that more. but we are still treating as if resp infection - keeping separate, lots of fluids second round of antibiotics.

 

[Eggcessive]

Tylan won't make a bird a carrier--the coryza or MG disease will make them carriers. Many birds survive respiratory diseases, but whether or not they are treated with antibiotics, if they have a respiratory disease, they may make carriers of all the birds in a flock. Symptoms to look for are thick nasal secretions, watery, foamy, or swollen eyes, wheezing, coughing, and rapid breathing.

Sour crop signs can include a bad odor and gurgling from the crop not emptying and contents coming back up in the throat. Feel of the crop top see if it is full and squishy like a balloon. Massage the crop and give plenty of water. Then check it again first thing in the morning, to make sure it is empty. If not, that may be sour crop. Here is some info on crop problems:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/impacted-slow-and-sour-crops-prevention-and-treatments
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/04/answers-from-chicken-vet-on-impacted.html

Here is a discription of coryza symptoms from The University of Florida:
Infectious Coryza

Synonyms: roup, cold, coryza
Species affected: chickens, pheasants, and guinea fowl. Common in game chicken flocks.
Clinical signs: Swelling around the face, foul smelling, thick, sticky discharge from the nostrils and eyes, labored breathing, and rales (rattles—an abnormal breathing sound) are common clinical signs. The eyelids are irritated and may stick together. The birds may have diarrhea and growing birds may become stunted (see Table 1).
Mortality from coryza is usually low, but infections can decrease egg production and increase the incidence and/or severity of other diseases. Mortality can be as high as 50 percent, but is usually no more than 20 percent. The clinical disease can last from a few days to 2–3 months, depending on the virulence of the pathogen and the existence of other infections such as mycoplasmosis.
Transmission: Coryza is primarily transmitted by direct bird-to-bird contact. This can be from infected birds brought into the flock as well as from birds which recover from the disease which remain carriers of the organism and may shed intermittently throughout their lives. Birds risk exposure at poultry shows, bird swaps, and live-bird sales. Inapparent infected adult birds added into a flock are a common source for outbreaks. Within a flock, inhalation of airborne respiratory droplets, and contamination of feed and/or water are common modes of spread.
Treatment: Water soluble antibiotics or antibacterials can be used. Sulfadimethoxine (Albon

, Di-Methox

) is the preferred treatment. If it is not available, or not effective, sulfamethazine (Sulfa-Max

, SulfaSure

), erythromycin (gallimycin

), or tetracycline (Aureomycin

) can be used as alternative treatments. Sulfa drugs are not FDA approved for pullets older than 14 weeks of age or for commercial layer hens. While antibiotics can be effective in reducing clinical disease, they do not eliminate carrier birds.
Prevention: Good management and sanitation are the best ways to avoid infectious coryza. Most outbreaks occur as a result of mixing flocks. All replacement birds on "coryza-endemic" farms should be vaccinated. The vaccine (Coryza-Vac) is administered subcutaneously (under the skin) on the back of the neck. Each chicken should be vaccinated four times, starting at 5 weeks of age with at least 4 weeks between injections. Vaccinate again at 10 months of age and twice yearly thereafter.

 

[brandy21410]

This sounds like coryza, if I were you I would have her necropsied to make sure, but the bad smell is a dead giveaway. Sorry about ur chicken,