Wheezing Wyandotte

[eikome]

I have a 24 week old Wyandotte pullet that is wheezing loudly and repeatedly sneezing. She was absolutely fine yesterday, no wheeze, no sneezes. Right now she sounds like a honking goose with every breath. Breathing seems slightly labored.

Eating, drinking, pooping and acting normally. Might be a tad fluffed up, but it's cold out so hard to say. No mucus in mouth, nostrils or eyes. Crop feels squishy and not filled (checked in afternoon time). No unusual smell. Belly feels normal.

I gave her some vetRx on her beak & under wings, but I'm worried about the sudden severeness of her illness. Should I consider giving her an antibiotic? Which would be best? Unfortunately, no poultry vets around me to take her to.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sometimes it is hard to tell a bacterial respiratory disease (MG or coryza) from a viral one, such as infectious bronchitis (IB) or ILT. The symptoms sometimes give a clue, but testing can identify it. Antibiotics do not treat viruses or fungal disease, but Tylan (tylosin) or doxycycline can help treat symptoms of MG. Look for small bubbles in a watery eye, or swelling around an eye which is common with MG. She may get better on her own in a few weeks if she has IB. IB is one that may spread like wildfire through a flock, while MG may affect only one or two. Here is where to get tylosin for the water if you are certain you are dealing with MG, and dosage is 1 tsp per gallon of water for 3-5 days:
https://www.jedds.com/shop/tylan-soluble-100-g/
This is a good link where you can compare symptoms of the different diseases above:
https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

 

[eikome]

Sometimes it is hard to tell a bacterial respiratory disease (MG or coryza) from a viral one, such as infectious bronchitis (IB) or ILT. The symptoms sometimes give a clue, but testing can identify it. Antibiotics do not treat viruses or fungal disease, but Tylan (tylosin) or doxycycline can help treat symptoms of MG. Look for small bubbles in a watery eye, or swelling around an eye which is common with MG. She may get better on her own in a few weeks if she has IB. IB is one that may spread like wildfire through a flock, while MG may affect only one or two. Here is where to get tylosin for the water if you are certain you are dealing with MG, and dosage is 1 tsp per gallon of water for 3-5 days:
https://www.jedds.com/shop/tylan-soluble-100-g/
This is a good link where you can compare symptoms of the different diseases above:
https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

Thank you, this is all very helpful! I will look out for the symptoms you mentioned before I start treating her. Hopefully it's something she can recover from easily.

 

[eikome]

Update: I checked on miss wheezy Wyandotte today and she's completely fine. No more wheeze or sneezing at all. Like nothing ever happened. Go figure.

I'm thinking maybe she got something stuck in her throat that was causing the wheezing and she was sneezing trying to get it out? Maybe the vetRx helped reduce inflammation enough for her to shake it loose? Or it was just a super quick viral cold? Do chickens get colds?

Whatever it was, I'm just happy she's back to her normal self!

 

[Eggcessive]

You are right, they sometimes get a piece of food stuck in the airway, and that can make them have stridor or wheeze, and sneeze trying to dislodge it. Glad that she is back to normal. If she had had a virus, she would have been sick for several weeks.

 

[noregerts]

I was SO glad to see your post! For a couple of months, one of my black Australorps has days exactly like you described, wheezing and sneezing! Then some days, not at all and overall health seems fine otherwise. I looked in her mouth and didn’t see any obstruction. None of my others have the symptoms. Weird!!!