Wheezing, labored breathing but no signs of infection

[DecaturB]

Video:

(Feathers are wet in the video above - not discharge)
I have a bantam easter egger just over a year old who started wheezing this morning with occasional neck strain and coughing. I checked her for any visible worms or mites and she is clear. No discharge from the nose, eyes, or mouth. The throat itself looks clear and I didn't detect anything in the windpipe that would be blocking her air.

I'm really lost on what could be causing her so much trouble. She sounds like she is struggling to breathe. She didn't eat or drink much today but did let me syringe feed her some water and some olive oil. It's tough to say when her appetite went, she's been broody for the last 2 weeks before this started. She was free ranging and taking snacks yesterday though.

I isolated her and tried to feed her some egg yolk and oregano with some durastat treated water. I'm getting some VetRX for general respiratory health and some dewormer. Any other suggestions or have you seen this before?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

How is she doing now?
Have you added any new chickens to your flock recently?
Any swelling of the abdomen?

It sounds like Stridor which can be some swelling from mucous or getting a piece of food stuck in the airway (aspirated food). Hopefully it will clear up in a few hours.

If it has not cleared up, the it could be respiratory illness or if she's got swelling/fluid in the abdomen that could also cause it.

 

[DecaturB]

She made it through the night isolated but is still very labored in breathing. I have syringe fed her water but no food and she's not interested in eating I've looked down her throat and ran my hands along the length of the trachea but no obvious blockages.
No new chickens recently, nothing changed up in their environment. No swelling and she is a bit light in weight. She has been going in and out of broody spells all summer and when this came on she was in the middle of one so she had already slowed down on eating for the past week. I'm waiting for a store to open to buy some VetRX but wheezing is her main symptom - no sneeze or discharge.

 

[Eggcessive]

Where are you located—Alabama? I just wondered if you were near where an out break of Newcastles disease is going on. Have you wormed your chickens recently? She is really gasping for air. There could be mucus or swelling in her airways. It is hard to know if she has a virus, bacterial infection, or perhaps gapeworms, which is pretty rare. Feed stores do not sell many antbiotics for bacterial respiratory diseases, but Tylan 50 and 200 injectable can sometimes be found in the cattle medicines. They sell Terramycin Scours tablets for cows which can treat chicken MG also, but pricey. Those can treat mycoplasma or MG. Have you added new birds recently, or have you had any respiratory infections or sneezing in your flock before? I hope that you can help her. Vet Rx is just some herbal oils in camphor, and would be similar to Vicks, so it may not help. Many people buy it and use it though. Let us know how she is doing later with an update.

 

[DecaturB]

I'm in Georgia. I haven't wormed recently, I give lots of fresh oregano and ACV in water which seemed to be preventing but my first thought (even though rare) was gapeworm. I thought there may be swelling in her throat but see nothing. She is also able to swallow the water I've given her without choking or gargling up so her throat isn't totally occluded.

I'll check for Tylan at the feedstore I'm going to today, they are further from Atlanta and carry more supplies for poultry. Thank you for the suggestion! I'm trying to get in touch with the couple of vets that see chickens around here but no one is open until Monday and she is really struggling to breath. Will update with her progress I'm just hoping she can pull through.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm sorry she's not improving, I was so hopeful that you would report that she was better.

I agree with @Eggcessive you can try the Tylan to see if that helps, it's worth a try.

She's been broody off/on - does she resume laying eggs in between? By chance does she have any swelling or fluid in the abdomen? Just trying to think of anything that may be causing her distress.

 

[DecaturB]

Very sad to report that my sweet girl passed this morning. GA offers a free necropsy service for backyard flocks so I'll be taking her tomorrow to confirm what the cause was.

My suspicion is that she succumbed to Marek's. My maran passed in December and was confirmed so my all my flock was exposed. She's the second one to be affected. I think the stress of going in and out of broodiness all summer may have finally taken a toll and weakened her immune system. She went broody 4 times and always slowed down on food/water during those times, but she always resumed laying after her break. Thanks for the advice everyone. Bummer for sure, but she was spoiled rotten for her short time. Here she is as a little nugget.

 

[Eggcessive]

So sorry for your loss. If you get a necropsy please let us know what it shows.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm sorry for your loss

Please let us know what you find out.

 

[DecaturB]

As an update, the necropsy came back as cardiomyopathy with some pneumonia. Very strange, they did explore for Marek's but no signs.