sick chicken heavy breathing help

[mshappy]

I have a sick silky hen for the last two days. dont know how old she is we have had her four years.

she was found in the coop sitting with her head forward, beak in the dirt. she is lethargic, does not walk. I inspected her all around and find no damage. she rests with her eyes closed but she is opening and closing her beak with a a backwards head tilt each time constantly.

when you let her sit a bit by herself she seems to rest and puts her head forward again but has still some labored breathing issues though not as much when you hold her. she is quite. has taken water with some minut amounts of aspirin today from aeye dropper. she has not eaten. when you hold her she fluffs her wings like to say dont hold me every 5 minutes or so. still seems to have some spunk in her.

she is not fluffed up when left alone though. I am going to try some yogurt and or probiotics. seems like she is going to die any day but with each morning she is still with us. any suggestions? I have also heard about a impacted craw. there is no bulge anywhere. i checked because with her mouth actions it appears she is blocked in her breathing.. but nothing swollen or felt upon manipulation..???

 

[PunkinPeep]

Did you check to see if she has a stuck egg? She could be straining, maybe.

 

[mshappy]

she does not seem to have a stuck egg. i have manipulated everywhere.abdomen feels normal, legs are working fine. just sits there like she cant breath.. just checked her neck again. Just gave her some watered down applesauce with chick feed with the ampocilin?? whtever that word is. she does not want to eat anything. with a watery substance she swallows in between breaths. no watery eyes, mucous, no moisture sounding breathing either. ??just a sick acting chicken.

 

[PunkinPeep]

I'm grasping at straws a little bit here, but could it be gape worm? Have you tried looking down or swabbing her throat? Gape worm can cause a blockage that will keep your girl from breathing, though i understood that it normally comes with some sinus problems. If that's what it is, i understand that some liquid or paste ivermectin given orally can remedy the situation easily.

 

[mshappy]

well I can look, will I see anything? hmmm? I do have some ivermectrin. I will have to dilute, do you know the ratio? I will be giving in a small eyedropper..

 

[NancyinAlaska]

I had a redcap hen doing something like that. I ended up culling her and when I autopsied her I found her crop was rock hard and small. It was full of thread like pieces of grass. I couldn't feel the crop before she was dead. I'd thought maybe she was egg-bound, so .???????????????

 

[PunkinPeep]

I just did a quick search and came up with .25 cc for bantams and .5 cc for large fowl. .25 cc is about a 20th of a teaspoon or a fifth of a 1/4 teaspoon....so maybe just one or two drops?

I'm just doing searches, so take my advice there for what it is.

I hope this works.

 

[mshappy]

just read up about gape worms.. yuck.. they called for injectible ivermectrin. I have the paste but will dilute some. cant hurt her any worse than she is. she is not shaking her head but she is outstretchingher neck to the ground in an arched fashion. maybe this is it?? the posts I read does not say how many times with ivermectrin I need? one??

 

[PunkinPeep]

For the paste, i believe the amount is "a beebee size" glop. If you could get her to eat a little piece of bread or something with the paste on it, that should work, i think.

 

[mshappy]

Okay, I am going out to try to get some ivermectrin in her. she wont eat anything. even the applesauce just stayed stuck to the top and back of her mouth. ?? so I will have to dilute a bit.. I'll keep youposted. thanks for the suggestions.