sick hen (wheezing, coughing, diarrhea, bright and clear eyes, eating and drinking as usual)

[Kiki]

I think you chicken looks to be in good shape.
Worms could cause nasty poop but so can diet and drinking a lot of water.
The noise she is making is what's throwing me off because I'm not seeing any other common respiratory symptoms.

Have you recently brought a new bird home?


I'm wondering if this could be the very beginning of a respiratory illness.
Hmm....

 

[emeraldroz]

I feed them purina layena pellets (not crumble because they all cough and sneeze with crumble). They’ve been on this feed for. Couple of years now.

 

[Kiki]

@Eggcessive thoughts here?

 

[emeraldroz]

We brought new birds home back in February and they have been in with my established flock of girls (sunflower is one of the established flock) since April. My son’s turkeys came home today AFTER our Sunflower has been sick days.

 

[emeraldroz]

I did change bedding back in February as well. I used to use hay which is expensive and causes me hay fever. I switched to Patterson pellets (saw dust pellets) and large flake pine shavings. Just sharing in case all the pine could be an issue. But wouldn’t I have seen signs of respiratory issues way back right after the switch in February?

 

[emeraldroz]

Update on Sunflower. She still looks and acts great. Eating and drinking as usual. Her poop has firmed up a bit. She is still coughing and doing the unusual head jerk movement like she’s trying to shake something off.

She does most pronounced coughing and head movements towards end of video.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Sorry, your latest video is not working.
She has what appears to be Vent Gleet. Wash her up and apply an anti-fungal cream to the vent.
The ear looks like it may have a little Favus - you can apply the anti-fungal cream to that as well.

Sometimes Vent Gleet and crop problems go hand-in-hand, so check to make sure her crop is empty in the mornings before she eats/drinks.
I would see that she is eating her normal feed, cut out any treats at this time, a little yogurt added daily to see if that helps. See if she improves with diet and topical medication. If not, then ask your vet for some Nystatin.

 

[Kiki]

@emeraldroz how are your girls doing today?