Panting Araucana

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chickenfan

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My beautiful 7-month old Araucana was fine yesterday, but this morning she was not with the other birds and lethargic so I have brought her into an unheated room (with a window open) in a catbox. It has been desperately windy and rainy in my garden this week. She was eating and drinking this morning, but breathing a bit heavily so the vet has put her on Tylan in case of a respiratory infection. I am very worried as she has spent the whole afternoon breathing very fast with her mouth open and her wings away from her body. Does anyone have any ideas what could be wrong?
 
That is the action of a very stressed or overheated bird Chickenfan. Could be a reaction to the Tylan? The important thing is to make sure she is drinking. She will need at least 30mL a day which may mean syringing it slowly down into the throat in 5mL doses with the head upright to avoid it getting into the air ways. You could try re-introducing her to the other birds and see if that calms her down and she drinks on her own.

It is important that chickens are kept out of the wind. It ruffles the feathers and breaks the insulation layer. It is also important they stay dry if possible because when they sit wet in the coop overnight that is when respiratory infections can develop, because the air is so damp. We have adjustable vents so that in hot weather or when they are wet plenty of air can get through the coop. We made a mistake last week. We had the vents shut down because it was so windy and cold and didn't reset them when it warmed up and calmed down. Within two days we had 3 chesty birds in 3 different coops. The vents have been reset to full open and they have all recovered without medication. Respiratory infections can set in very fast and when they do can damage the lungs and make them prone to illness permanently (the vet told me).
 
Birds which pant and hold their wings away from their body are hot...to check whether this is because she has a temperature check underneath her wings and compare with your other birds. It could also be she is overheating due to being inside and stress, or a combination of these factors
 
Thankyou Chris and Foxy. I've taken her back to the vet today, and she has a temperature of 41.6, which he said is a moderate, not high temperature for a chicken and a slight chest noise. She has no outward signs of a respiratory infection. Difficult to know whether its a reaction to the Tylan or whether she ought to complete her 3-day course of this. She is not breathing as fast as yesterday eve, but still feels hot with her wings out and has her mouth open periodically. She's drinking lots, but not eating. I'm worried about putting her back with the others if she is infectious. She seemed happier in the box than out in the wind when I brought her in yesterday. Its wild weather where I live up on Dartmoor and I need to move to a more sheltered place.

Thank you very much for all the tips about avoiding respiratory problems and keeping them out of the wind and dry. They did get very wet this week and we have had 70mph gusts, but the house is well-ventilated Eglu. My other birds like the small wooden Flyte So Fancy shelters, so I'll try and get one of these.

Thank you again.
 
Pom is no longer panting but is very quiet with tail and wings drooping and is not eating and drinking so I'm very worried about her. I will syringe fluids into her. Vet offered Tylan injection yesterday in case it might work better, but I've had a chicken collapse after an injection before. She has now had three days of drinking Tylan. Does anyone have ideas about invalid diet? She is a wonderful bird and I don't want to lose her.
 
Look at her skin on her neck Chickenfan. If it is loose and saggy she is dehydrated. The vet will have electrolytes that can be added to the water which will help greatly. We fed our cockerel crushed rearer pellets dampened and rolled into balls. After every 5 we syringed water. He had 40 balls a day in two sessions and had extra water several times in-between. We did that for three months until we established the problem (Carbon Monoxide poisoning). It is best as a two person job. Wrap her wings in a towel. With a hand behind the head gently prise open the beak with finger and thumb and hold the top beak open, not the bottom which is hinged and can be damaged. Massage the crop when you can to encourage eating and watch the poos carefully. Green is an infection unless already on antibiotics, as that has the same effect. Probiotic yoghurt after antibiotics helps restore the gut flora and improve digestion but first she has to be eating on her own. Fingers crossed for you both.

Has she been wormed? An unlikely cause at her age though.
 
Thank you very much Chris. You are obviously a wonderful poultry-carer. I am wondering now if she is having trouble laying her first egg. Her sister has just laid her first enormous egg - far too big for a little bird. She is still distressed but has no signs of respiratory infection. She was living with a cockerel when I bought her at 17 weeks. Could he perhaps have done some damage?
 
Vet didn't have electrolytes so I've been giving her a low dose multimineral dissolved in water and massaged her crop. She's lost a huge amount of weight in the 4 days she has been ill, but has had some dried mealworms today and a little yogurt. The reason I thought she might be eggbound (she hasn't laid an egg yet) was because she appears to be straining occasionally and is only passing tiny droppings (with difficulty). Her sister laid her first egg today which was very large. She's been back to the vet and there's no chest noise or signs of a respiratory infection. I can't feel an egg, but she seems fleshy near her vent.

I can't think she is low in calcium if she hasn't started laying yet as she's been on good food. She was very well until last Friday. Most of the time she is just standing with her wings and tail drooping and her mouth open. I've tried gently massaging the fleshy/muscle area and holding her over a steam bath.

Very happy Christmas to you all.
 
I was giving it some thought yesterday Chickenfan and considered the same possibility as you -egg bound.

It would explain the rapid onset of the symptoms and the apparent stress. If her vent is constricted she would only pass tiny droppings and would struggle to do so. We have a bantam that was the same several times a few months ago. Eventually the eggs burst and I managed to extract the shell without injuring her. She was at the end of the laying season so fortunately the shells were thin. The previous time we had this problem it caused a prolapse because the breaking egg became entwined with the vent. I wonder if some vaseline in the vent would help? Is her abdomen swollen?

I doubt Calcium is an issue. If she was low on that any egg would have broken with all the straining and handling.
 
Thanks so much for your trouble Chris. I guess I'll keep on with the steam and lubrication then and not take her for calcium injection? I just wish the vet was able to help diagnose. I hope you have a very happy Christmas, and thank you for replying at this time.
 
I can assure you it's no trouble at all Chickenfan. I just wish I could resolve the problem for you. Feel free to post anytime over Christmas and I will try to help. Christmas isn't the grand event here that it is in the UK. There is no Boxing Day and if Christmas day falls at a weekend you don't get a weekday off instead -the difference is we have Public holidays here not Bank holidays. So the dates are fixed, although there are more of them so it works out about the same number of days off work.
 
Thank you Chris. I spent the morning taking her to the lovely poultry vet who works for the British Hen Welfare Trust. She x-rayed her as she said it wasn't an egg but could feel a hard lump. Poor Pom had a tummy full of blood and very large liver tumor and has now been put to sleep. She hasn't seen anything like it, and thinks not Mareks or Leukosis, so she's sending samples of the liver and gut to a specialist poultry lab in Scotland.

Have a lovely day tomorrow.
 
So sorry to hear your news, Chickenfan. My thoughts are with you & Pom.
At least she was blessed with a good quality of life in her time with you.

All the best,
Icemaiden
 
Very upsetting indeed Chickenfan and my sympathies go to you. At least you now know it wasn't contagious. The lab results may reveal the exact cause of the problem, perhaps just genetic.
 
At least you know now. Poor little thing - we don't always think of them suffering the same health problems we do.
 
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