Roo's breathing sounding a little off, need advice please

[yomama]

I have a 1 1/2 year old Silkie mix roo. He came to me last February, with nasty scaley leg mites. I successfully treated him by applying ivermectin topically to his legs, but noticed today that the scales on his legs were looking a little raised, so I decided to go out and treat him again tonight. Anyway, while I was applying the Ivermectin, I noticed his breathing sounded a little raspy. His eyes and nostrils are very clear, comb looks good and has a good appetite. He hasn't acted sick at all, still taking very good care of his girls,but I know that birds hide their illnesses well. I really like this roo and would hate for him to become ill. I decided to bring him in tonight, since I already had a large dog crate set up for one of my hens that I am concerned about. (I decided not to bring her in, and just keep an eye on her. (her only problem is she is really thin..that's another post

) I haven't treated him for anything yet, but I am concerned. I will add that about a week or two ago, I was doing something in the coop after dark, I think I was moving a hen from the nest box to the roost or something, and I heard him sneeze, then make a gurgly sound. I stood there for a few minutes, to listen to him breath, and he sounded just fine. I blew it off, thinking I would just watch him. But now with him sounding like this when I was holding him, I'm worried. I would appreciate any advice of what to do with him.
Thanks!
ETA: Just checked on him, and he is doing good. He has a full crop, normal poo. I leaned next to the crate and couldn't hear him breath, but when I held him, I could definitely hear a bit of raspiness. I made sure I wasn't squishing his neck or throat too.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

I hope someone will answer for you but here is something to look at in the meantime:
Common poultry diseases website:
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

I don't have experience with resp. diseases in chickens.

 

[yomama]

Quote:
Thanks for the link. I read it over, everything is much more serious than what my roo has now. All he is doing now is a little raspy breathing. I'm just worried that if I don't do anything now, while the symptoms are mild, he might have something that could get much worse. Thanks for the help, though!

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Quote:
Thanks for the link. I read it over, everything is much more serious than what my roo has now. All he is doing now is a little raspy breathing. I'm just worried that if I don't do anything now, while the symptoms are mild, he might have something that could get much worse. Thanks for the help, though!

You are welcome!

 

[yomama]

Hey

, I just realized that you and I are in the same neck of the woods! I'm between Silverton and Molalla, where are you at?

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

I'm outside La Center, WA.

I didn't notice your "PNW" until you said something! I hope your little guy gets better soon!

 

[AndreaS]

Hey!

I'm gonna post a link to an article i found in a thread. It's on treating respiratory illness, and Ive used it in the past when I heard weezing and sneezing. None of my girls actually showed any other signs of illness, just the weezing and a sneeze here and there like your roo. I never medicated, and they got over it. This was back in the early spring. Now that the weather is changing again I'm seeing a few signs again, so i am currently using the supplemental suggestions on my girls. I really like the VetRX. It's kinda like Vicks Vapor Rub for chickens.

So far I've only used the nutritional/supplemental suggestions, but i do have antibiotics on hand in the event that I need to use them.

Check out the second post by threehorses. There is an article she wrote about half way down. https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=235844

Good Luck!

 

[yomama]

Quote:
Thanks so much! I actually found this the other day when I was researching for my roo! I copied it to my documents so I could have on hand

I was going to go ahead and put Rusty outside yesterday,since he seemed to be fine, and I couldn't really hear any noisy breathing if I just sat next to the crate. However,as I picked him up, I noticed his breathing was definitely raspy. Therefore, I decided to go ahead and keep him isolated and indoors. I have teracycline on hand, and decided to start him on that. I will go to the store today and get the Polyvisol baby vitamins. I might just take him off the antibiotics all together( he's only been on less than a day) and see how he fares with just the vitamins. I will also see where I can find the VetRx and see if I can do that. Thank you for the responses!

Sheesh! I swear a rooster crows a million times more when he is indoors.

 

[AndreaS]

Quote:
LOL I bet!

No problem. I have a notebook full of information that I've found on here. Good stuff!

I also have purchased LS-50 for my first aid kit. It's supposed to be a good one for mycroplasmosis. Haven't had to use it yet, but I wanted to have it on hand just in case. At the first sign of my girls loosing weight or acting like they feel bad (not just sneezing, etc) I will medicate. I also have read that fogging with Oxine AH works. Haven't tried that yet. My local feed store carries the Vet RX, but you can also order it from mypetchicken.com

I'm a little worried that my girls may be carriers for mycroplasmosis. Seems like when the weather changes, they get congested. I take bio security very seriously, but my neighbor has chickens that are kept in less than ideal conditions, and so many of these respiratory issues are air borne.

 

[yomama]

Hey there,
Just wanted to let you all know that my roo seems to be doing a little better. I have been following the advice of the link that AndreaS gave me. I have been giving Rusty the PolySivol (sp) vitamins once a day. I decided to go ahead and keep him on the tetracycline as well. It is a powder that I put in his water, and it doesn't look like he drinks a ton, so I'm not worried about him getting too much. I know that it is not good to let them "dabble" in antibiotics, for one, they won't be as effective, and two, the bird can build up an immunity to it. But since this is the first time I've ever had him on any, I'm not too worried about him building up an immunity. The directions say to put in the water, so as long as he is eating and drinking ok, which he seems to be, I think he is getting an adequate amount. While I was giving him his vitamins last night, I noticed that the breathing didn't sound as raspy. Hopefully I'm not jinxing him, but I think he may be on the road to recovery...better yet... the road to the chicken run, and out of my house!!

Thanks again for the help ChickensAreSweet and AndreaS!!!