Wheezing / labored breathing has me perplexed

[Gtown Farmer]

Hello folks,

Once again I find myself coming to this forum of brilliant hen owners. Here's the latest puzzle. I have a beautiful Araucana named Bernzie who about 3 weeks ago started with labored breathing and wheezing. No discharge from the sinuses, no mucus in the throat, just wheezing. Her appetite is great and she was still scratching around with the others. I took her in to spend the night and applied Vet RX. The next day, she seemed fine, still breathing heavily, but normal otherwise. I took her to the vet and he guessed it may have been the start of a respiratory infection and put her on antibiotics. Today was the last day of the 7 day course of medication and she's still doing the wheezing. However, still eating and drinking well.

I'm thinking of de-worming as a second option (?) Can anyone advise?

I should add that I live in the Northeast and have been having terribly cold weather and LOTS of snow. The hens live in a draft-free house. I installed a panel heater which keeps the house about 15 degrees higher than the outside temperature and shuts off automatically at 45 degrees. They have a large run that I covered in plastic on all sides to keep it free of snow. Their water is heated and they eat free-choice.

I have another problem now -- reintroducing her to the flock after 7 days away. I put her back in the run today and all went pretty OK. One of the birds was chasing her quite a bit and grabbed a couple of feathers. Most of the others don't seem to notice that she was gone at all. I put her in about 30 minutes before roost time and went back right before dark and they were all on the roost, so fingers crossed... If anyone can help with either or both of these issues, I would appreciate it. Thanks!

 

[jerseygirl1]

Have you tried vitamins anda electrolytes in her water?

 

[Gtown Farmer]

Hi. Yes, I tried the electrolytes in the water. I purchased a drench today which I will try tomorrow.

 

[Gtown Farmer]

Can anyone else make a suggestion?

 

[Chickenaddict]

Well Because of the temp swings this year a few of my smaller serama hens had a similar issue. I brought both in the house and gave them Duramycin-10 in their water for 7 days. Wheezing is gone and both girls are back to normal.

ETA: in my hens case I think they got pnemonia when the temps went down to -30 outside and we lost power in the whole neighborhood for 5 hours. They had been in a heated garage coop that stays 50 degrees at all times provided the power doesn't go out.

 

[Gtown Farmer]

Thanks for the advice. Duramycin, is that an antibiotic? Is it the same as Teramycin? She was just on a 7 day course of Baytril while living in the lap of luxury at the vet. Would I start another course of antibiotics so soon? Any other suggestions/experiences would be appreciated.

 

[Gtown Farmer]

I've come to terms with the possibility that Bernzie has a respiratory infection and simply needs another course of antibiotics. What else could it be? I called a vet (a different one this time) and he prescribed Baytril for 7 days. I'll keep people updated on her recovery.

Oh, and the re-introduction went just fine. I think it was because I put her back in right before bedtime.