Very thin chicken with respiratory infection gasping.

[Doodaddles]

I have a young pullet that is extremely thin and is gasping. I have been treating a few of my birds with Baytril for a respiratory infection. Most are improving. The sick birds have been separated from the healthy birds that are not showing symptoms. Until a couple days ago I believed this bird to be health as she was not showing any symptom or so I thought. About two days ago I found her walking around gasping and she is extremely thin. I currently have her on Baytril IM injection, meloxicam, and just for good measure I have wormed her. She is also currently inside on a heating pad. She is not interested in eating or drinking so I am syringe feeding her a warm watery mushy concoction of a high protein cat food, egg yolk, electrolytes, honey, and water. Is there anything else I can do to help her? Has anyone had a bird like this recover? I feel terrible that I didn't notice she was sick and she has gotten this bad.

 

[Myrshine]

Most common infectious diseases to cause respiratory infection symptoms are Mycoplasma Gallisepticum (MG or also known as Chronic Respiratory Disease), Coryza, or even Infectious Laryngotracheitis (ILV). I’ll tell you the unfortunate truth about respiratory infections in chickens- if you don’t believe me, look it up for yourself. Unfortunately, unlike us humans, antibiotics will never cure the disease of affected or exposed birds. All your infected birds will remain carriers for life, spreading the diseases to non-infected birds through feces. If you introduce new birds to your existing flock, the newbies will become infected. If you hatch eggs, MG passes through eggs into the chick, if it survives. You must maintain a closed flock. No birds out, no new birds in. Do not sell nor give away eggs to be hatched. Your other option is to cull your entire flock and disinfect everything. Your infected bird(s) will remain immune-comprimised for life. It’ll resurface within times of stress. Here’s more information about the MOST COMMON disease in backyard flocks: http://www.gapoultrylab.org/wp-cont...coplasma handout for Backyard Flocks 4-12.pdf

 

[Mimi Chickaduck]

I have a young pullet that is extremely thin and is gasping. I have been treating a few of my birds with Baytril for a respiratory infection. Most are improving. The sick birds have been separated from the healthy birds that are not showing symptoms. Until a couple days ago I believed this bird to be health as she was not showing any symptom or so I thought. About two days ago I found her walking around gasping and she is extremely thin. I currently have her on Baytril IM injection, meloxicam, and just for good measure I have wormed her. She is also currently inside on a heating pad. She is not interested in eating or drinking so I am syringe feeding her a warm watery mushy concoction of a high protein cat food, egg yolk, electrolytes, honey, and water. Is there anything else I can do to help her? Has anyone had a bird like this recover? I feel terrible that I didn't notice she was sick and she has gotten this bad.

Is there a chance she could have an impacted craw? I truly hope not, but I had this happen yrs ago with one of my girls. If they dont get enough grit to help grind their food up inside their craw, they can back up their digestive system. My hen sounded gurgly, would not eat, & eventually ended up dying from it. An old farmer told me the only way to keep them alive would be to cut open their craw, clean it out & stitch it back. I couldn't bear to do that. It was a very horrible experience, but it taught me to never go skimpy on the grit. Praying for your sick babies that they all get well soon.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Poor girl! How long has she been on the Baytril?

Checking her crop isn't a bad idea. I have a sick hen right now, too. My girl has some sort of infection that caused her crop to slow and go sour. I have been able to get it going again with medistatin and massaging. If she isn't eating, you should be able to check to see if her crop is empty. If it's squishy or bloated after not eating, you know there's something going on there. That might explain some of her symptoms.

 

[Doodaddles]

Most common infectious diseases to cause respiratory infection symptoms are Mycoplasma Gallisepticum (MG or also known as Chronic Respiratory Disease), Coryza, or even Infectious Laryngotracheitis (ILV). I’ll tell you the unfortunate truth about respiratory infections in chickens- if you don’t believe me, look it up for yourself. Unfortunately, unlike us humans, antibiotics will never cure the disease of affected or exposed birds. All your infected birds will remain carriers for life, spreading the diseases to non-infected birds through feces. If you introduce new birds to your existing flock, the newbies will become infected. If you hatch eggs, MG passes through eggs into the chick, if it survives. You must maintain a closed flock. No birds out, no new birds in. Do not sell nor give away eggs to be hatched. Your other option is to cull your entire flock and disinfect everything. Your infected bird(s) will remain immune-comprimised for life. It’ll resurface within times of stress. Here’s more information about the MOST COMMON disease in backyard flocks: http://www.gapoultrylab.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Mycoplasma handout for Backyard Flocks 4-12.pdf

Thank you for trying to help. However, I am already well aware of the most common internet answer to cull the entire flock. My chickens have been to see a vet and all but this one are responding well to treatment. I refuse to kill my entire flock everytime they get a respiratory infection. This is a closed flock of all young birds. We believe they may have caught something from the wild turkeys. We found a tom close to the barn that appeared very sick. My birds free range and it is impossible to prevent them from coming in contact with the wildlife. So, no, I will not kill them everytime they sneeze, especially not for something that exists naturally in the area.

 

[Doodaddles]

Poor girl! How long has she been on the Baytril?

Checking her crop isn't a bad idea. I have a sick hen right now, too. My girl has some sort of infection that caused her crop to slow and go sour. I have been able to get it going again with medistatin and massaging. If she isn't eating, you should be able to check to see if her crop is empty. If it's squishy or bloated after not eating, you know there's something going on there. That might explain some of her symptoms.

She does seem the have a very hard small ball of seeds/solid matter in her crop that doesn't not seem to be moving out. When I gave her water orally with a syringe, I messaged her crop to loosen it up but the fluids seem to move out quickly leaving it very hard again. She free ranges so she had access to plenty of grit. She just had her 3rd dose of Baytril. This is the only bird with weight lose and the others have responded very quickly to treatment. She is not responding at all.

 

[Doodaddles]

Is there a chance she could have an impacted craw? I truly hope not, but I had this happen yrs ago with one of my girls. If they dont get enough grit to help grind their food up inside their craw, they can back up their digestive system. My hen sounded gurgly, would not eat, & eventually ended up dying from it. An old farmer told me the only way to keep them alive would be to cut open their craw, clean it out & stitch it back. I couldn't bear to do that. It was a very horrible experience, but it taught me to never go skimpy on the grit. Praying for your sick babies that they all get well soon.

It is possible. She free ranges so she had plenty of grit available to her but she does have a small very hard compacted feeling ball of solid matter in her crop. I gave her water with a syringe and messaged it to break it up. However, it tightens back up pretty quickly.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry about your chicken. She might have a secondary infection or air sacculitis, a complication which makes the respiratory disease harder to treat. Hopefully the Baytril will help, but viruses will not respond to antibiotics. I will just continue to give her oral fluids and keep her warm. Probiotics may be helpful when she is not gasping so much. Let us know how she gets along.