Noisy Breathing

[Evadig]

A few of the hens seem to have developed a cough, Ms. Rose being the worst - she is breathing noisily. I just found and removed a bunch of gunk out of her nares. Nobody seems to have nasal discharge. What might be causing this, and how to treat it?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

A few of the hens seem to have developed a cough, Ms. Rose being the worst - she is breathing noisily. I just found and removed a bunch of gunk out of her nares. Nobody seems to have nasal discharge. What might be causing this, and how to treat it?

Have you had respiratory illness within your flock before?
Have you added new birds within the last 30days?

You removed gunk from her nares - was it pus or just debris/dirt?

What's the inside of her beak look like - any mucous, yellow or white material inside the beak?

You have more than one hen that is coughing? Have you added any new dusty bedding to the coop, anything moldy (hay, feed)?
How's the ventilation in the coop and is there any strong ammonia odors?

What do their crops feel like?

I know - I'm asking a LOT of questions, just trying to nail down a few things. Sometimes coughing can be from respiratory illness, crop problems and/or environmental among other things.

 

[Evadig]

Have you had respiratory illness within your flock before?

No respiratory illness since I got the first birds three years ago.

Have you added new birds within the last 30days?

No; last time was about three months ago.

You removed gunk from her nares - was it pus or just debris/dirt?

It was brown, mostly like a dried rubbery substance but some liquid.

What's the inside of her beak look like - any mucous, yellow or white material inside the beak?

Inside looks normal from what I can tell. No mucus but she sounds congested like when you have a lot of phlegm from a cold.

You have more than one hen that is coughing?

Yes, at least three.

Have you added any new dusty bedding to the coop, anything moldy (hay, feed)?

No dusty bedding, and I haven’t seen any mold anywhere.

How's the ventilation in the coop and is there any strong ammonia odors?

Ventilation’s very good - it’s open on all sides, though in the winter I cover three sides in plastic. No ammonia smell.

What do their crops feel like?

I didn’t think to feel anyone’s crops. I’ll do that this morning and report back.

I know - I'm asking a LOT of questions, just trying to nail down a few things. Sometimes coughing can be from respiratory illness, crop problems and/or environmental among other things.

You’re good .

Other information:
My sister says that Ms. Rose has an odor coming from her nose and she was hunched in a corner all day yesterday.

The other coughing hens also sound like they have phlegm down their throats. They don’t seem sick otherwise, but I did notice a few had runny droppings.

 

[coach723]

When there is a bad smell it can be infectious coryza. If vet care is an option they can culture or do a PCR test to see if that is what it is.
More info on infectious coryza here:
https://www.msdvetmanual.com/poultry/infectious-coryza/infectious-coryza

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Yes, at least three.

My sister says that Ms. Rose has an odor coming from her nose and she was hunched in a corner all day yesterday.

The other coughing hens also sound like they have phlegm down their throats.

Look inside the beak again, have your sister help. Look to make sure there's no mucous, lesions, yellow or white pasty material inside the beak or down the throat. Also be sure to look at the roof of the beak to see that the Choanal Slit is clean looking (like in the photo below).

Re-check the crops.
Look inside ears for any infection.

It may be you're dealing with respiratory illness, possibly infectious Coryza if there's a bad odor. Could be something else, hard to know without testing.

Since you have 3 with similar symptoms, you may want to go ahead and treat them with Tylosin to see if that helps. While Tylosin is mainly used for Mycoplasma, it's relatively easy to find and is tolerated well.

Have they been dewormed?

 

[Evadig]

When there is a bad smell it can be infectious coryza. If vet care is an option they can culture or do a PCR test to see if that is what it is.
More info on infectious coryza here:
https://www.msdvetmanual.com/poultry/infectious-coryza/infectious-coryza

Vet isn’t an option, unfortunately.

 

[Evadig]

As of now there’s three coughing/sneezing hens and a rooster. Only Ms. Rose is acting sick. She is sitting in a corner. She did eat raspberries today.

The rooster woke up lethargic and has been standing by himself in a corner all day. Some coughing and sneezing.

I checked a few crops, they seem normal.

The mouths look normal I guess but there seem to be some extra white bumps along the top. Where the slit is in the picture in your post @Wyorp Rock. I tried to take a picture but they wouldn’t stay still long enough.

They haven’t been dewormed recently as I haven’t seen any worms in their droppings. Did I mention nearly everyone has diarrhea, though?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

As of now there’s three coughing/sneezing hens and a rooster. Only Ms. Rose is acting sick. She is sitting in a corner. She did eat raspberries today.

The rooster woke up lethargic and has been standing by himself in a corner all day. Some coughing and sneezing.

I checked a few crops, they seem normal.

The mouths look normal I guess but there seem to be some extra white bumps along the top. Where the slit is in the picture in your post @Wyorp Rock. I tried to take a picture but they wouldn’t stay still long enough.

They haven’t been dewormed recently as I haven’t seen any worms in their droppings. Did I mention nearly everyone has diarrhea, though?

When you can, try to get photos of the inside of the beak. You may want to have your sister help with that too.

Since symptoms are getting worse, I'd treat with Tylosin and see if that helps.

It may be that they have something else that the Tylosin won't touch, but it's a start.

Work on them drinking well and eating their normal feed. Check your feed just in case it has gotten moldy or rancid. Is it hot where you are - duh, your local says Blue Ridge Mountains, so yes, hot and humid. If you have electrolytes, provide those in addition to having a water station with just plain cool water.

The lethargy is concerning. Did Ms. Rose lay an egg today? Could she also be having a hard time laying an egg in addition to whatever respiratory problems she's having?

It's been 3 months since you added new birds to this group or you got new birds 3 months ago and have recently added them to this group. Again with the questions.

 

[Evadig]

When you can, try to get photos of the inside of the beak. You may want to have your sister help with that too.

Alright, will try tomorrow.

Since symptoms are getting worse, I'd treat with Tylosin and see if that helps.

It may be that they have something else that the Tylosin won't touch, but it's a start.

Will this be in the normal pharmacy?

The lethargy is concerning. Did Ms. Rose lay an egg today? Could she also be having a hard time laying an egg in addition to whatever respiratory problems she's having?

She doesn’t lay but one or twice a year since she had egg-binding (twice) a while back, so I don’t think she’s struggling with an egg.

Stan the rooster was also lethargic - tail down and head tucked, and he did not fly off the roost as usual when I came near. Still crows, though.

It's been 3 months since you added new birds to this group or you got new birds 3 months ago and have recently added them to this group. Again with the questions.

It’s been three months since I added the new birds to this group.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

You'd have to order the Tylosin unless you have a Vet that can write you a script.

It's concerning that the rooster also has his tail down.

Do you have photos of him and of her now along with photos of the poop?

https://jedds.com/products/tylosin-powder?_pos=1&_sid=5276c47b5&_ss=r