Sick Wyandotte---Denagard question

[roz]

I've been battling a respiratory issue for a few weeks now with my 2+ year old BLR Wyandotte. She started with weird looking breathing (her neck would expand and contract (not up and down, but out), then a couple of days later she flipped out, woody woodpeckered the wall of the coop when I locked them up for the night and spattered blood all over. The next morning If I listened extremely closely I could hear a faint muted clicking noise when she would breathe. That night when I locked them up she turned her head to look at me and she had a mouth full of mucus. I panicked, made a dosage of Denagard for her and forced her to drink a few sips before she spilled the whole thing. I put the entire flock on Denagard (dosage for treatment) the next day and she made what seemed to be a full recovery. They were dosed for 5 days. Took them off and within a few days she was back to the weird neck breathing. Put them back on Denagard (preventative dosage) for another 5 days, she got better, just took them off 2 days ago, and she having trouble again, although this time, not only is she doing the weird neck breathing, but she will push her neck down into her body and then lift it back up, and I'm wondering if she has mucus in her throat. At this point I don't know what to do. She's eating and drinking and walking around normal. She just can't seem to shake what she's got. I don't know anything about any other meds other than corid for cocci, and this Denagard which Dawg was so nice to suggest to me last year when I had a respiratory issue. Any suggestions???

 

[dawg53]

Clicking could be an indicator of a bad heart or heart valve Roz. It might be best to go ahead and cull since the denagard seems to not be treating her in a more permanent manner.

 

[roz]

Thanks Jim. I hadn't even thought of it being a heart issue. I have just been assuming it is respiratory, but don't you find it odd that she improves after the antibiotics? Good to see you on BYC!

 

[dawg53]

Thanks Jim. I hadn't even thought of it being a heart issue. I have just been assuming it is respiratory, but don't you find it odd that she improves after the antibiotics? Good to see you on BYC!

It does sound odd I admit. But with the denagard, there's is no resistance to the product and should be at least 'treating/curing' her on a longer time frame (one month at least.) How long have you been treating her with the denagard?

 

[roz]

I treated twice. I may be doing it wrong though. The first time was probably aout 2 1/2 weeks ago. 5 days at 16cc/gallon (I think...whatever your post had said that I was able to look up). Then they were off for a few days, trouble came back but not as bad because I knew what I was looking for. I noticed her neck moving in and out I put them on the preventative dosage for 5 days. Maybe that was not the right thing to do. I was unsure about what to do and was afraid to over dose.

 

[dawg53]

Gurgling, rattling, wheezing, rasping sounds are usually respiratory, clicking is usually a heart issue. You can put your ear to her side and listen to determine what it actually is and go from there if you wish, disregard crop and gut noises. If there isnt clicking, it's respiratory. You mentioned she went ballistic and expelled blood inside the coop in your first post. Was it due from an injury like banging her head/neck on something or do you believe she expelled the blood from throat/mouth while shaking her head? If it's the latter, that could be very bad news and could possibly be Infectious Laryngotracheitis (ILT.) Scroll down and read about it if you wish:
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

 

[roz]

I believe the blood spatter came from her banging her beak against the wall repeatedly. I think I may have startled them when I locked them up for the night. It was after they'd been asleep for a while, i opened the people door to do my head count, and after I shut it that was when I heard the banging. I will listen to her heart tomorrow and see what I hear.