Wheezing - In and Out!

[Atlchick]

My 2-yr old Barred Rock is wheezing today. Inhale and exhale. No crustiness or running nose, although occasionally she does let loose with a tiny "sneeze" sound. She's walking around and eating/drinking like she feels OK otherwise. She's in a flock of about 15 others, no new additions.

I've got Tylan and Sulmet. I'm thinking I should remove her from the rest of the flock and treat with one of these . . . suggestions from the most experienced of you will be greatly appreciated. I love this little girl!

 

[Holly O]

Sorry I can't help.


Bump

 

[Wynette]

Think long & hard before you decide on antibiotics for respiratory issues. If you treat her, she'll ALWAYS be a carrier of whatever it wsa that she had. You should not hatch any of her eggs if you treat her, as it could pass down through the egg.

My personal suggestion would be to spearate her and begin a round of probiotics to see if that helps; First State Vet carries on specifically for poultry:

http://www.firststatevetsupply.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=188

Of course, the very best thing to do would be to take her to an Avian vet to get a confirmation of what she's got. GOOD LUCK!

 

[Ryu]

Wynette,
Why if you treat her vs. not treating her would she become a carrrier?


Atlchick,
I think this website is very helpful:
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/PS044

 

[Wynette]

Antibiotics do not "cure" viral issues, which most respiratory illnesses are. Which is why I suggested an avain vet, to know for sure.

If you give supportive measures and the sick chicken recovers, she has then built up a natural immunity to whatever it was that struck her in the first place. If she passes away, then she doens't have a strong enough immune system to fight off the illness. Antibiotics will "mask" symptoms and may allow her to recover, but they are somewhat of a crutch, so to speak, and since she did not naturally overcome the illness with supportive measures, she becomes a carrier that will expose any chickens she's put in with from now until she passes.

I may not be explaining it properly, but it's a VERY serious decision to think about when you are deciding whether or not to use antibiotics.

**I've asked an expert to please weigh in on this thread, so please watch for future postings, as I probably did not explain well enough what I am trying to say**

 

[dlhunicorn]

I am not an expert but I have read a lot of articles trying to understand as much as I can so I can take timely action to help the bird strengthen it own immune system (or keep it from deteriorating) in an effort to stave off illness.
Please read a few articles I have chosen (below) which I believe may help.
Not all (respiratory) viral disease will result in (recovered) birds being carriers (fowl pox is a viral disease and recovered birds are not carriers > there are viruses that cause tumors and cancers too) and though some may be very infectious > this does not mean a recovered bird will continue to shed the virus and infect others (which is basically what a "carrier " is).
There are some specific diseases (like MG) where this is so. however since the wildbird population is also carriers unless you want to isolate your birds in a closed non-freerange situation this is always going to be a risk to free range flocks.
Without proper diagnosis (which is sometimes difficult as often there are several things going on at once > i.e. the necessity of antibiotics to treat secondary bacterial infections) it is impossible to say whether your bird is going to pose a (carrier) risk to the rest of the flock. There may be other (primary) causes of what appears to be a (viral) disease but may actually be a deficiency (vit A )

... I say read read read and familiarize yourself not only with apparent symptoms but also general issues which can become BIG issues when there are stressors such as heat/cold etc. ... it is all so inter related really.
A birds (immune) system is totally dependent upon its nutrition and also on its ability to absorb that nutrition... one example: early disease challenge such as cocci (damages the intestines which are crucial to proper absorption of nutrients) for instance can be a determining factor of the long term health of your flock.

http://www.smallstock.info/info/health/poult-viru.htm

http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/t0756e/T0756E08.html
chapter on viral diseases incl symptoms and photos to help you differentiate

 

[Wynette]

Thanks for explaining SO much better than I did, Diana!