What are the Symptoms of Congestive Heart Failure in Chickens?

[csaylorchickens]

Just lost a 15 week old pullet to right sided heart failure. She was mouth breathing, full of fluid in her lungs, her abdomen swollen. Had to put her down. Apparently she was born with it as evidenced by tissue showing long term damage.

 

[Cajoledn2it]

I just lost a 17 month old Black Star pullet to the same disease. It was confirmed by a necropsy and my vet told me that poor in-breeding can make sex link breeds highly susceptible to this disease. She was purchased from local feed store who got her from Privett Hatchery. There is nothing than can cure it unfortunately.

 

[froggiesheins]

THANK YOU PEEPS for this most valuable information!

 

[Emy]

Spanky is om Pimobendan to slow his heart rate and help the heart pump blood better. Digoxin treats the heart failure and atrial fibrillation. Enalapril helps vasodilator the blood vessels so the heart doesn't have to work so hard. And lastly. Furosemide to remove fluid from the lungs.

The U of F has not seem this in chickens so they are excited to be able to work with Spanky so they learn from him and help other chickens in the future.

Thanks for posting, I'm commenting to save as my girl may need to go on something similar. Did your rooster get better?

 

[PureBigBird]

First let me say I am sorry to hear your chicken is not well. Though I do not know what is wrong with your chicken, I would like to share some info on heart failure. My rooster was diagnosed wih heart failure at the University of Florida Small animal Hospital this past weekend. I noticed his eyes were sucken in. He was breathing though his beek which was part open and his breathing was making as gouging sound. The local vet sent me to the university. He has many heart issues including An irregular heart beat and enlarged heart. Because of this he has accumulation of fluid in the lungs. His treatment is complicated with 4 heart meds. It requires mixing these drugs and tubing this mixture into his crop. His prognosis is grave.

Hopefully this can help with symptoms to look for. These are the symptoms my rooster has but they might be different in other chickens.

Sorry about your rooster. Did he have kidney issues too? Not sure if my turkey is having heart issues, she pants all the time, and respiration appears more rapidly than the other turkeys. She doesn't make any sounds when breathing, yet. She isn't very mobile and has balance issue when stands and hangs right wing to side - and limps with right foot. Is the heart on the right side? Could the panting be heart disease? And does this mean she has fluid in her lungs? Or does the sound occur when the lungs fill with fluid? How can I tell if there is fluid in lungs? What was your rooster's respiration rate? How did they diagnose the heart disease-EKG or ECG? How long was the trip in minutes and miles to U of FL? How did you keep the stress down for the trip? Some people reported that their chicken died of heart attack while examined at vets (wish to get my bird some help somehow).

 

[RooFarm]

Does anyone know the symptoms of congestive heart failure in chickens? I've got a 5 and 1/2 year old hen whose feathers are ruffled. Her comb is pale (although it doesn't seem as pale tonight as it has been). She makes a small honking noise when she breathes sometimes. She has developed a baseball-sized ball behind her legs that is soft, not hard. She eats and drinks and walks around the house, pecking at the floor when we let her out of the infirmary cage she is in. She is not in the penguin position. She's been like this for about three weeks. We've already been through a week of Terramycin. I don't think she is egg-bound or internally laying, but what do I know?? For some reason, I think it may be congestive heart failure. If that is the case, is there ANYTHING I can do for her??

Thanks for any help you can give me.

I have a 13 year old cochin that had a mild heart attack last year.He was fine the night before,the next day he was rather listless,and gurgling when breathing.I gave him .15 mL of Furosemide once daily.In 5 days he was back to his normal self,tearing around being ornery.Your hen could either have fluid buildup in her body from congestive heart failure-or,if the fluid is built up in her back end,it could be cancer.Fluid builds up in her body,and makes it hard for her to walk and breathe.To relieve the pressure of the fluid,I stick a large hypodermic needle in the fleshy part of her back end,well below the vent,and draIn out the yellowish fluid.That will make her more comfortable for a while.But there is no cure for the cancer,and you will lose her,eventually.Draining her could buy her a few more months.Mine did.