Stridor PLEASE HELP

[Mdavchicks]

I have a 22 week old pullet who had stridor last night when I checked on the chickens before dusk. I brought her in, set her up in a crate with a sheet tented over it and have a humidifier with Vetrx drops going. She did this once before about a month ago and was all better in the morning. This time, she still has stridor and it's been (to my knowledge) over 12 hours. What should I do? Start antibiotics (I have baytril on hand)? Give her more time? Should I even offer her food with the stridor going on?

 

[Eggcessive]

How is she acting? Is she alert and active, eating and drinking? Stridor is a sound that usually comes from getting a small piece of feed stuck in the airway, but if it lasts longer, it could be mucus plugs or swelling of the airways. Look for any mucus from the beak or nostrils, bubbles or foam in one eye, sneezing, etc.

 

[Mdavchicks]

How is she acting? Is she alert and active, eating and drinking? Stridor is a sound that usually comes from getting a small piece of feed stuck in the airway, but if it lasts longer, it could be mucus plugs or swelling of the airways. Look for any mucus from the beak or nostrils, bubbles or foam in one eye, sneezing, etc.

Thank you for the response! She is active/alert. No bubbles or foam, no sneezing either just the stridor. I just noticed a tiny strand of mucus in her mouth. She is shaking her head every once in a while, guessing she is trying to cough it up? Not interested in food or water currently probably due to the stridor. What should I do?

 

[Mdavchicks]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/gallery/img_6404-mov-violet.7965992/

Hopefully you can see that. It is a video of her. She is laying down now and is tired, probably because she has been doing this all night but she was just standing up. What can I do to help her?

 

[Eggcessive]

Poor thing, she did sneeze at the beginning of the video. Since she is shaking her head too, it might be a respiratory infection. There are viruses and bacterial ones. Tylosin powder in the water which can be obtained from your vet or online without a prescription from Jedds.com, can help symptoms. Since you have Baytril, you can use that, but it has a month egg withdrawal time. If you have 10% liquid dosage is 0.1 ml for every kilogram or 2.2 pounds, given twice a day for 5 days. I would offer some fluids up to her beak so that she might be able to thin out her secretions. I hope she gets better in a few hours, but she looks weak. What is your general location? I would also look into her throat with a flashlight for anything stuck.

 

[Mdavchicks]

Poor thing, she did sneeze at the beginning of the video. Since she is shaking her head too, it might be a respiratory infection. There are viruses and bacterial ones. Tylosin powder in the water which can be obtained from your vet or online without a prescription from Jedds.com, can help symptoms. Since you have Baytril, you can use that, but it has a month egg withdrawal time. If you have 10% liquid dosage is 0.1 ml for every kilogram or 2.2 pounds, given twice a day for 5 days. I would offer some fluids up to her beak so that she might be able to thin out her secretions. I hope she gets better in a few hours, but she looks weak. What is your general location? I would also look into her throat with a flashlight for anything stuck.

I have tylosin powder as well. Would that be better? I did start the Baytril though. I read on google to add a couple drops of saline solution to their nostrils 3-4x a day, do you recommend that? I have looked in her throat and don't see anything. I'm in North Central Texas, the DFW area. I also syringe fed her some water with rooster booster (just drops in the mouth, I don't want her to aspirate anymore).

 

[Mdavchicks]

Is there a mucus reducer I can give her? Or just supportive care till this runs it's course?

 

[Eggcessive]

The Baytril is probably okay, but I have used Tylosin. They do have to drink enough of the Tylosin for the proper dosage. I don’t recommend using a lot of human drugs on a chicken. Mucus is produced by infection or irritation. You might want to call your state vet lab nearest you to ask if they are seeing any viruses that are showing up there. How is your coop ventilation, and is there any mold in the environment? Are you using pine shaving for bedding? Cedar shavings can cause breathing issues. Here is a list of state vet labs, and the 3 in Texas are there:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html

 

[Mdavchicks]

Okay, I'll stick with the baytril. Coop is clean and well ventilated. We use sand as the bedding. She did this a month ago but was back to herself in the morning. Would I treat the same way if it is aspiration versus a virus? If it is a virus, would I see my other birds getting sick? Thank you so much for your help!

 

[Eggcessive]

Viruses can spread through the flock. I have seen infectious bronchitis, and most of the flock gets it eventually. Something like MG may only affect 1 or 2, but can affect more. Stress is something that can bring about symptoms if they have something they have been exposed to in the past. I would try to get her to eat if she can tolerate it. Do you have a vet who might see her?