Chicken sneezing and breathing loudly

[SeaEagle]

This is an issue for my 4 year old Australorp. She has been struggling with on and off crop issues (particularly sour crop) due to pendulous crop, which I am now managing with a crop bra. Over the past year, she has begun to sneeze, with quite noticeable breathing, which I originally thought was part of her sour crop symptoms, and would resolve with the crop issues (at the time I was quite inexperienced in crop problems) - which I now realise is not the case.

I have taken her to the vet for this issue, and the vet suggested that she had pneumonia (could this have been caused by asphyxiating fluid from her sour crop?) and prescribed a course of antibiotics, as well as anti-inflammatories. when the course was finished, she did seem to make an improvement and appeared pretty normal and healthy for a couple of weeks, however her symptoms returned, so we received another course of antibiotics and anti-inflammatories. We have just finished this course, however she is still sneezing, and her breathing is returning to its previous louder and more pronounced and wheezy state. None of my other chickens are showing similar symptoms.

When not struggling with crop issues, the chicken is a very healthy weight, and also looks very physically healthy (large, red comb and wattles, glossy feathers, etc.). Her poos look pretty normal, and she also has typically continued to eat and drink pretty normally (eating mash/grain, food scraps, and yoghurt for probiotics and crop problems), apart from some days when she was sneezing a lot and sounded very unwell, which was before the first antibiotics course. I haven't been giving her any supplements or anything in her water currently. Our bedding is straw
NOTE: I forgot to add originally, however she is not laying, and has not laid for a year, maybe more now.

Ideally I would like to avoid taking her to the vet again, as it isn't really affordable for us to continue do so, particularly if it doesn't resolved the issue, however I do understand that some issues might be unable to be resolved without it. Our vet is also not a chicken vet, so while she does try her best, she has been wrong in the past about these issues. If anyone has any idea what the problem might be, as well as any treatment, that would really be appreciated.

I can also try and get a video of her later, however it isn't super regular currently.
Sorry for the massive paragraph

 

[Debbie292d]

Hi,

After two courses of antibiotics, depending on what they were, I'd not think she'd have pneumonia.

She does need a long course of probiotics now though. You can get powdered probiotics for their water which is probably the easiest way. I'd alternated that for their water every other day for a couple of weeks. That might also help crop and digestive issues.

I'd also throw in a couple days a week of putting Poultry Cell, Nutri-Drench or the like (vitamins/minerals) in their water too.

As for the sneezing, has the straw been replaced lately? It could have something causing allergic-like symptoms. Many times, one chicken can be affected by something, and the rest aren't.

 

[SeaEagle]

Hi,

After two courses of antibiotics, depending on what they were, I'd not think she'd have pneumonia.

She does need a long course of probiotics now though. You can get powdered probiotics for their water which is probably the easiest way. I'd alternated that for their water every other day for a couple of weeks. That might also help crop and digestive issues.

I'd also throw in a couple days a week of putting Poultry Cell, Nutri-Drench or the like (vitamins/minerals) in their water too.

As for the sneezing, has the straw been replaced lately? It could have something causing allergic-like symptoms. Many times, one chicken can be affected by something, and the rest aren't.

Thanks so much for the reply!
I am also beginning to think that it isn't pneumonia, however the antibiotics still seemed to have an effect while she was on them, it just didn't seem to last at all, which is what's really confusing me.
I'll also definitely look at getting some powdered probiotics, and adding vitamin supplements to their water.

As for the straw, I don't think it is related to that, as their bedding has been replaced multiple times throughout the illness (although they do need to be cleaned now, which could maybe be worsening the symptoms). Her symptoms also just seem more severe than what could be caused by a reaction to old bedding.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

4 year old Australorp. She has been struggling with on and off crop issues (particularly sour crop) due to pendulous crop, which I am now managing with a crop bra. Over the past year, she has begun to sneeze, with quite noticeable breathing, which I originally thought was part of her sour crop symptoms, and would resolve with the crop issues

she is still sneezing, and her breathing is returning to its previous louder and more pronounced and wheezy state.

When not struggling with crop issues, the chicken is a very healthy weight, and also looks very physically healthy (large, red comb and wattles, glossy feathers, etc.). Her poos look pretty normal, and she also has typically continued to eat and drink pretty normally (eating mash/grain, food scraps, and yoghurt for probiotics and crop problems), apart from some days when she was sneezing a lot and sounded very unwell

she is not laying, and has not laid for a year, maybe more now.

What does her abdomen feel like? Any bloat or feeling of fluid/heaviness?

I agree, with 2 rounds of antibiotics, depending on the medication and dosing, if she has Pneumonia, it should have cleared up by now.

She's not laid in a year or more. Did the gurgling/breathing/sneezing start after she stopped laying eggs?

 

[SeaEagle]

What does her abdomen feel like? Any bloat or feeling of fluid/heaviness?

I agree, with 2 rounds of antibiotics, depending on the medication and dosing, if she has Pneumonia, it should have cleared up by now.

She's not laid in a year or more. Did the gurgling/breathing/sneezing start after she stopped laying eggs?

Her abdomen feels pretty normal, with none of those signs.
I believe that these symptoms did begin showing up after she stopped laying, however I couldn't say for certain.