Treatment Plan for Respiratory Illness

[WannabeHomsteader]

Hi everyone, I have a 2 yo ISA brown laying hen that's wheezing/has raspy breathing, a purple tinged comb, frequent sneezing and coughing and occasional panting with exertion. No nasal discharge. Poop is normal. She still eats and drinks, pecks around, no lethargy, but very obviously struggling with breathing. She still lays every other day or so. She is a healthy weight. Diet consists of layer feed crumbles, kitchen scraps, occasional mealworms, grit, and oyster shell. This has been a very slow-moving illness over the course of several months, to the point that a) I didn't initially notice for a long time, and b) I thought maybe it wasn't contagious disease (perhaps something else internal...? since she was the only one affected). But now I have a pullet (housed nearby, but separate) who is sneezing often. Could be unrelated, or could be connected. I believe she had this illness before introducing the new pullets, I just didn't realize she was sick then. I don't think dust is a major contributing factor.

I suspected MG due to the slow progression and treated with Denagard. No change.
Unless anyone has other suggestions, I am thinking next step is to treat with a broad spectrum antibiotic, and order from Jedds site. I am hesitant about just throwing antibiotics at things. I felt like the Denagard was a decent shot, but now I have no idea what I'm dealing with.

 

[The Sniper]

maybe Albuterol Sulfate inhalation?? Ive never had a chicken with breathing issues


kindly note the above is probably a really stoopit idea

 

[Debbie292d]

Tylosin is an antibiotic helpful with MG/respiratory symptoms. Dosage is 1 tsp per gallon of water for 5 days. You can get that at Jedds.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I have a 2 yo ISA brown laying hen that's wheezing/has raspy breathing, a purple tinged comb, frequent sneezing and coughing and occasional panting with exertion. No nasal discharge. Poop is normal. She still eats and drinks, pecks around, no lethargy, but very obviously struggling with breathing. She still lays every other day or so.

This has been a very slow-moving illness over the course of several months, to the point that a) I didn't initially notice for a long time, and b) I thought maybe it wasn't contagious disease (perhaps something else internal...? since she was the only one affected). But now I have a pullet (housed nearby, but separate) who is sneezing often. Could be unrelated, or could be connected.

I suspected MG due to the slow progression and treated with Denagard. No change.
Unless anyone has other suggestions, I am thinking next step is to treat with a broad spectrum antibiotic, and order from Jedds site. I am hesitant about just throwing antibiotics at things. I felt like the Denagard was a decent shot, but now I have no idea what I'm dealing with.

Could be you are dealing with a Virus which an antibiotic will not help.

Since she's been like this for a good while, you may want to look at something else that may be affecting her.

Some of the symptoms line up with respiratory illness, but others don't. She's laying eggs, she's eating/drinking, she's not lethargic.

Check her crop to make sure it's emptying overnight. Feel the abdomen below the vent for any signs of bloat or fluid. It may be that she's starting to have some reproductive issues even though she's still laying eggs just fine. Other things to consider would be organ dysfunction, something going on with the heart or liver.

Denagard will treat symptoms of Mycoplasma only. It's possible she didn't consume enough medication on this go round. If you wish to treat with a different antibiotic, then try Tylosin. If that doesn't help, then it's unlikely you are dealing with respiratory illness.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

maybe Albuterol Sulfate inhalation?? Ive never had a chicken with breathing issues


kindly note the above is probably a really stoopit idea

No, don't use Albuterol. Chickens have a different respiratory system than humans.

 

[WannabeHomsteader]

Could be you are dealing with a Virus which an antibiotic will not help.

Since she's been like this for a good while, you may want to look at something else that may be affecting her.

Some of the symptoms line up with respiratory illness, but others don't. She's laying eggs, she's eating/drinking, she's not lethargic.

Check her crop to make sure it's emptying overnight. Feel the abdomen below the vent for any signs of bloat or fluid. It may be that she's starting to have some reproductive issues even though she's still laying eggs just fine. Other things to consider would be organ dysfunction, something going on with the heart or liver.

Denagard will treat symptoms of Mycoplasma only. It's possible she didn't consume enough medication on this go round. If you wish to treat with a different antibiotic, then try Tylosin. If that doesn't help, then it's unlikely you are dealing with respiratory illness.

Thank you for your thoughts. Checked her crop this morning, and it was empty, so that doesn't seem to be a factor.
I may give Tylosin a shot, see if that helps. Wouldn't hurt to have some on hand anyway.
I'm glad you mentioned viruses being untreatable with antibiotics, I hadn't thought about that. If it's a virus, and if it's been this long without improvement, what would treatment be then? I don't have access to antivirals. I feel like my only other option is culling. I hate to, but she sounds terrible. I'm not going to let her slowly suffocate, and right now I feel like that's what is happening.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you for your thoughts. Checked her crop this morning, and it was empty, so that doesn't seem to be a factor.
I may give Tylosin a shot, see if that helps. Wouldn't hurt to have some on hand anyway.
I'm glad you mentioned viruses being untreatable with antibiotics, I hadn't thought about that. If it's a virus, and if it's been this long without improvement, what would treatment be then? I don't have access to antivirals. I feel like my only other option is culling. I hate to, but she sounds terrible. I'm not going to let her slowly suffocate, and right now I feel like that's what is happening.

I check her out really well for lice/mites, make sure her crop is emptying, etc.

You can try Tylosin and see if that helps. Production birds often suffer from reproductive issues, so this may be what's going on with her instead of respiratory disease.

Viruses...offer supportive care, there's no treatment.

 

[WannabeHomsteader]

I check her out really well for lice/mites, make sure her crop is emptying, etc.

You can try Tylosin and see if that helps. Production birds often suffer from reproductive issues, so this may be what's going on with her instead of respiratory disease.

Viruses...offer supportive care, there's no treatment.

Would it be more likely to be bacterial if it's been a long illness? I would think a virus would either kill them or they'd recover. This has been a slow, steady decline. I'm definitely leaning toward infection/respiratory disease rather than reproductive issues, since she is sneezing and still laying eggs.
I'm very hesitant to throw antibiotics at it if I don't know for certain that's what this is. But I don't know what else to do. I am probably ordering some Amoxycillin powder today (seems to be more broad-spectrum than the Tylosin...?). Do you happen to know egg withdrawal times? Jedds site says not to use on birds that you'll eat eggs from, but I saw that on Amoxy-tyl and the Tylosin powder. I have seen people on BYC discuss using Tylosin on their flocks frequently.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Would it be more likely to be bacterial if it's been a long illness? I would think a virus would either kill them or they'd recover. This has been a slow, steady decline. I'm definitely leaning toward infection/respiratory disease rather than reproductive issues, since she is sneezing and still laying eggs.
I'm very hesitant to throw antibiotics at it if I don't know for certain that's what this is. But I don't know what else to do. I am probably ordering some Amoxycillin powder today (seems to be more broad-spectrum than the Tylosin...?). Do you happen to know egg withdrawal times? Jedds site says not to use on birds that you'll eat eggs from, but I saw that on Amoxy-tyl and the Tylosin powder. I have seen people on BYC discuss using Tylosin on their flocks frequently.

I have no idea.

It's been going on for a long time, hard to know what's causing her symptoms.

If you lose her, have a necropsy done and see what the result are.

Amoxicillin is broad spectrum and can help with some types of systemic bacterial infections it just really depends on what you are dealing with.

Certain respiratory diseases like Mycoplasma will not respond to Amoxicillin since there's no cell wall, this is why Tylosin or other medications are suggested, but if you are wanting to just treat "infection", then Amoxcillin would probably be the way to go.

Withdrawal for Amoxicillin is 14days after last dosing, so if given for 10days, you would throw out eggs for 24days.

There is a 1day withdrawal period for Tylosin.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would try the Tylosin for a respiratory disease. Sometimes it is hard to know if you are dealing with infectious bronchitis virus or a mild case of mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG.) MG usuall has mire symptoms of bubbles or foam in one eye, swollen eyelid or face on one side, decreased laying, lethargy, or rattly breathing. Infectious bronchitis is more common, and sneezing through the day for 3-4 weeks and mild congestion are the main signs. It also may cause wrinkled egg shells and other shell problems. Tylosin 1 tsp per gallon of wster for 5 days is pretty mild on them. I think FARAD says no egg withdrawal for Tylosin. You can also buy some amoxicillin if you can find it, for reproductive infections or wound infections. It won’t treat MG though. Some things that may cause respiratory issues in chickens are damp or moldy conditions, poor ventilation or high temperatures inside a coop, and dust. Dusty feed can also cause sneezing.