Wheezing on inhale and exhale, gurgling

[Spyrling]

Hi all,

My 12 week old faverolles pullet started wheezing yesterday while free-ranging. I found her far away from the rest of the flock. When they saw me, the flock came into the run for their usual goodies. This pullet eventually came over but didn't enter the run, which was odd as she is normally one of the first in line for treats. When I got closer, I noticed the audible wheezing. It's on both inhale and exhale, and worsens when she's exerting herself or anxious. She's able to stand up and walk a little but appears quite tired and prefers to lie down. The wheezing has been continuous since at least 4pm yesterday.

I've isolated her and given her some plain yoghurt, which she is happy to eat. When swallowing, she makes a strange gurgling sound. I don't see any obstructions in her throat. She's drinking water with a bit of Avi-Vital mixed in.

No sneezing, coughing, discharge, watery eyes or swelling but seems lethargic from having to work harder to breathe.

https://imgur.com/ZNSvQia

Is this a respiratory illness? I'm really worried about it spreading to the rest of my flock. Even if she recovers, can she still infect the others?

 

[AGstudy]

I had a hen who was wheezing from alot of mucus. I gave her some diluted lemon juice with a syringe to thin it out. (I would taste it before to make it just stronge enough to cut through the gunk). That worked. She fully recovered.

I have also had a hen who had trouble breathing when she broke a rib (their ribs are hollow and part of their respiratory system). I kept her confined for several days (I think it was 5days) until she improved. She also fully recovered.

 

[Eggcessive]

Is she still wheezing this morning? Has she any mucus or eye bubbles today? Chickens can sometimes get a small piece of feed into their airway/trachea, and it will cause a sound called stridor. Usually, when the object is coughed up and swallowed, the stridor will go away in a few hours.

 

[Spyrling]

Yes, she's still wheezing but now with sneezing and thin discharge, so looking less like an obstruction and more like a respiratory infection. No eye bubbles. She's reluctant to move around too much but eating well. I've fed her scrambled egg and more yoghurt. I'll try the diluted lemon juice and see how she goes.

 

[Spyrling]

Just a quick update- she's recovering. Wheeze is still present but less severe than before. After a couple of days of Oxymav B and VetRX, tuna and yoghurt, she is now standing up more, wandering around the enclosure, and generally more alert.

 

[Spyrling]

Another quick update in case it helps someone else. The pullet seemed to go downhill after the last post - after 5 days of continuous wheezing, she had lost so much weight and energy, we decided to cull her.

Yesterday, we had the same symptoms crop up in our rooster: very loud wheeze, lethargy, gurgling sound, etc. We took him to the vet who prescribed the antibiotic Tribrissen. Within a few hours of the first dose, the wheeze had mostly cleared up and he was much more energetic. He still has a few more days to finish the course of antibiotics but things are looking good so far.

Hope this is helpful for someone else.