Sick chicken 4 months old

[Sean Abbott]

Hi, one one my hens who is almost laying is sick. She is sneezing, breathing heavy, has watery eyes, and is very lethargic. She eats and drinks still. I was wondering if this is fatal or not. Please let me know.

 

[sbhkma]

Definitely need more info.
How old?
What breed?
How many other chickens/ages with her?
What color is her comb?
What do her poops look like?
Any other birds acting off?
Drainage from nares or eyes? If so what does it look like?

 

[Sean Abbott]

4and 1/2 months old, welsummer,3 other chickens with her, others acting usual if not better, poop normal as far as I know, pink comb as usual, clear coat of water over eyes. Also her head has an odor. She has always smelled since we got her. We have had her for almost 3 months, and not had any issues with her

 

[sbhkma]

How is her crop? And if you smell her breath does it smell sour or rotten?

 

[Sean Abbott]

I'm not sure, I suppose sour, it definitely is not rotten.

 

[sbhkma]

Is her crop squishy? Empty in the morning? I'm not aware that sour crop can cause respiratory issues, but I guess if she regurgitated some food/water from her crop she may have aspirated some. What type of feed is she getting? Thinking you may want to put some Rooster Booster or something in the water for them all. It has vitamins and probiotics. No nasal drainage?

 

[Sean Abbott]

No I have not noticed nasal drainage. I will check her crop tomorrow. In the morning she is especially sluggish. She is getting Dumor laying feed and cracked corn.

 

[sbhkma]

I wouldn't give layer feed until they're laying. I actually feed all-flock and then the birds have a bowl of oyster shell for when they need it. That way nobody gets an over-abundance of calcium. I never feed cracked corn. Hard to digest, very little nutrition and makes them fat. Try giving them all some Rooster Booster. I might also want to pick up some Poly Vi Sol without iron and give this gal 2 or 3 drops on her beak. It may help perk her up. For sure check her crop in the morning and see if it's empty. Someone else will come along here who has more knowledge of respiratory issues and can advise better than I can.

 

[Eggcessive]

You may want to get some injectable Tylan to give orally 1 ml twice a day for 5 days. That can treat symptoms of mycoplasma (MG) or coryza which are bacterial respiratory diseases. If she has a virus, such as infectious bronchitis or ILT, then the symptoms may persist for several weeks or more. Coryza can have a bad odor, but without testing her, it is hard to know what she has. This link is a good one to read about the diseases above and their symptoms:
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

 

[Sean Abbott]

We tried giving our sick chickens medicine, and it did not go well. One of our hens died from a seizure because of it. Do you think it will be ok to leave nature to take its course?