wheezing hen

[cactus-hen]

Last night I could only head the wheezing when I was up close to her. Now I can hear her from 15 feet away. I got some terramycin and gave it to her in her water. She drank some and ate. What else can I do? I was able to catch her (unusual) and she is sitting in my lap as I type. She isn't panting (air conditing in house) but still continues to make noise on inhalation.

 

[chickflick]

I can't help you, but hopefully someone will come along quick to help you!!

 

[sammi]

has she been exposed to dusts?(dusty coop/lawn/garden dusts, etc)
has the coop been cleaned recently?

for treating respiratory illness, I prefer:


Tylan 50 injectable...
found at farm/feed/livestock suppliers in the livestock section..
and some syringes..3cc syringes/22-25 gauge needles.

vitamins and extra protein wouldn't hurt to help her fight the illness...

 

[Jenski]

I am sorry your hen is sick. I just lost a 16-month old Ameraucana hen with similar symptoms ~ my girl had a dry wheezing and sneezing over three days. There was no discharge, and for the first two days she ate fine.

Here in Middle Tennessee the weather has been horrendous: hot, muggy, and we have air quality alerts. My hen's dry wheeze made me think of asthma, although I don't even know if hens get that. I checked the coop for excessive dust ~ but she had the same symptoms when running around in the yard under the trees. Heck, they even have a reinforced screen door and a ceiling vent to allow air to gently circulate in the coop at night when it's really hot! I keep a pretty darn clean area, and dust/gunk just doesn't build up.

I have been adding a sprinkle of electrolytes/vitamins in their water ("Avian superpack"), and when Sister got sick I gave a mash of Purina kitten chow put in a blender with water for a bit of extra protein.

Some possibilities I considered for my own situation:

* irritation from dust/DE/poultry dust - I use a small amount of DE in the coop shavings and on the dirt floor of the run. I dug around the coop to see if a large amount of dust kicked up from normal activity; nothing of note. Her symptoms flared after a day outside, in any case.
* throat/crop blockage - I checked the feel of her crop; nothing distended or unusual first thing in the morning. Normal eating for first two days of symptoms. No blockage detected visually in mouth or throat. I did try a very careful drench, slowly, with a few drops of mineral oil just in case a long strand of grass or hay was stuck in the throat or crop. No improvement.
* thrush/yeast infection/canker - Again, no visual sign of any lesions or blockages.
* infectious bronchitis - no discharge from nose or mouth; no blood; no wet rasping - only dry. To date no other hens have become ill either.
* gape worm - no redness or worm action on visual inspection of throat. I did pick up some worming medicine on day 3 with the intention of treating anyway, but she was already too far gone. Post-mortem did not reveal worms in trachea.

My own situation ended on day 3, when she stopped eating and sat around. When I detected the onset of cyanosis (comb/wattles beginning to get purplish/blue), we ended things mercifully.

There are other folks here who seem to have had similar symptoms and had success with recovery. I have seen Terramycin mentioned as well, and it seems you have given that a try.

I don't know if my own experience helps you at all, but I do hope you will find something of use here. It could well be that chickens are more sensitive to nasty summer air, especially in the south! You might try keeping her in a non-drafty area of the house for a couple of days, if you have a good cage. My girl was too high-strung to keep in a cage alone.


Jen in TN

 

[cactus-hen]

I've checked her throat - nothing that I can see. Crop seems fine - some food but not hard. No discharge from nose or mouth. Color looks good. Poop varies from normal to watery. The weather has been hot and humid. Windy but not unusual. I added new hay to the coop floor the day before she got sick, but I usually do this once a week. She has been in the house for the last 30 hours. VERY lethargic today - sits in the cage head hanging and tail feathers drooping, breathing shallowly.Today is day three. She ate some yogurt and oats last night. Refused anything but some scratch this morning. She has not eaten or drank for the last 5 hours. Her coloring still looks good though. If I have to put her down, how do I know when it's time?

 

[chickenzoo]

You might need a stronger medication. Terryimicyn is just for light colds etc.. you need tylan 50 or Baytril . tylan can be found at feed store, it is an injectable. You need to keep her hydrated! Buy some Pedialite etc., Gatorade, ake sugar water if you can't get to the store. Dribble some in her mouth every few hours. Force feed her some scrambled eggs if she won't eat. It sounds like a respitory infection. Do you have any Tetracyclne,or Penicillian human med?

 

[kellim]

I just wanted to write that I had a roo that was very sick with pneumonia and was wheezing terribly. He was extremely sick and we tried the terramycin and i helped a little but not that much. We went and bought Tylan 50 injectable at our TSC and gave the med this way: for a bantum it suggests for bantum 1/4 cc for 3 days and for regular sized chicken 1/2 cc for 3 days. I talked to Wes and he told me that since my roo was so sick that I could give 1/2 cc for up to 5 days if needed. I didn't really notice a difference til day 3 and then I kept giving it to him until day 5. Today he is a perfectly healthy roo and he was literally dying. He couldn't stay awake for more than 3 minutes at a time. Also, to give him a little strength I fed him canned cat food and also mixed chick started with vitamin and electrolyte water while he was sick too. This worked for us. I am so glad I tried to treat him and did so so agressively. Just wanted to give you a little hope, and suggestion as for meds. Hope everything works okay.

 

[spook]

I too have a link open around here regarding wheezing hen, I am in Maine and the weather hasn't been the worst, but I used Tarramycin and asprin for the girls, I give it to Frieda directly by dipping bread into the liquid I mixed up, then they all get some and I fill their water dish with it. Its frustrating, seems as though this is a common problem and I wonder why?
Sorry you lost a biddy from it, sad.

 

[Jenski]

cactus-hen, any update on your girl's condition? Did you try more meds?


Jen in TN

 

[cactus-hen]

My vet returned today and I got some baytril for Daphne. First injection this afternoon. She is still lethargic and does not want to eat or drink much. I have given her yogurt, scrambled egg, pedialyte, and her regular oats and scratch. She seems calm and does not appear stressed. She does appear to have lost weight but is hanging in there. Thanks for you concern. I'll keep everyone posted.