Sick Roo. smoke inhalation

[UltraMegaChicken]

Okay, so last night I had one of my heat lights fall in my coop; landing on 4" of pine shavings. Not sure how long it sat there face down smoldering (15 to 20 min max is my guess), but lucky for me i checked them before I went to bed. The smoke was so thick that it was hard for me to breath. I quickly opened the coop and kicked on a fan. Had it smoke free in less than a couple of minutes; but up here in the rockies it got very cold! I tried to heat the coop back up, but my water was frozen this morning so I know it dropped below freezing.

And now my Silver Penciled Roo is wheezing bad on every breath, easily audible from 5-10ft away. His crow also cracks terribly. I haven't seen any sinus discharge. I mixed some Duramycin-10 in the flocks water this morning.

What should I do next? Bring the roo inside and keep him warm?

Thanks for any advice you have.

 

[Erica]

Gosh I'm glad you found it in time... At least you averted a complete disaster.

I would keep the boy quiet and warm. If he doesn't have underlying disease (mycoplasma gallisepticum or other low grade infection that only appears during stress) he may come out of it okay. It would be vital to keep him away from ammonia from droppings, so it might be a good idea to put him in a cage somewhere quiet and clean. That will make it easier to observe him too.

Chickens' lungs as I understand it aren't very easily able to shake off damage. I'm sorry to say he may continue to get worse if the damage itself (never mind infection) was severe enough. Antibiotics could help if he has mycoplasma, but it's a hard combination if the lung tissue has been injured. I would say it's a case of do your best and see...

Sorry I can't help more. Hope you get some better answers, e.g. from someone who knows a little about smoke inhalation.

Erica

 

[UltraMegaChicken]

Thanks for the advice.

Getting a cage ready for him now. He has been acting normal so far today, besides the wheezing and vocal crackin'. Oh, and he's a silver penciled rock roo (named Craig)....forgot to say it was a rock.


I ordered all my chickens from McMurray Hatchery; so I would hope the genetics are strong. They have been vaccinated for mareks and cocci.

*crossing fingers* I think he'll pull through. I'll update if his condition changes.

 

[UltraMegaChicken]

Update:

My roo is doing much better today; wheezing has stop and his crow is almost back to normal. Gonna keep him inside until tomorrow.

 

[Erica]

Fantastic news UltraMegaChicken.