Well this can't be good.

Date sort Score sort
eleaserek

eleaserek

Songster
7 Years
Mar 17, 2015
257
36
146
Billings, MT
My 8 month old brahma seems to be congested maybe? I noticed yesterday she was not as active or interested as usual when I tossed a handful of scratch out. Then today I picked her up to check her over since she didn't seem improved. And she seemed to really struggle for breath. She did this kind of gasp where she stretches her neck out. Once I put her down it's not as exaggerated, but she still sounds congested.
She does not have any visible mucous and her cloacal slit looks normal. I live in MT and it's quite cold at the moment. 13F right now with a low around 0 I believe. Should I bring her in? Antibiotics? This is the first time in almost 2 years of chickens I've had a sick one :( advice is greatly appreciated.
 
I doubt your girl has a respiratory illness. Her comb is nice and red, indicating good oxygen levels in her circulation.

She sounds as if she could have an obstruction in her crop. First, try gently massaging her crop in a circular and downward direction. If that doesn't improve things, try introducing some olive oil into her crop. You can soak a small piece of bread in the oil and have her eat it. Then do the massage again.

If she isn't eating, you can use a syringe to very gently squirt a small amount of oil at a time into the right side of her beak. Be very, very careful or she might aspirate the oil. Then do the massage again.

If this doesn't improve her condition, then she may have gape worm.
 
Thank you both so much. I did set her up inside last night. Her crop feels normal as far as I can tell, though it's been pretty empty since I brought her in last night. She's drinking well, but only eats a couple bites and loses interest. I'll try some olive oil and see if that helps. If she had an obstruction would I feel it as a lump? What would be the course of action if it was gapeworm?
 
Ok, her crop is definitely not hard. In fact it's pretty squishy since she's drinking lots of water, but not eating much. Her breath doesn't smell far as I can tell. If she had a sour crop, it would be a pretty noticeable smell, right?

She does seem to itch at her face quite a lot...I don't know if it related or not though...she seems pretty content to just hang out in the kennel. I let her out and fed her a few mealworms, which she ate with gusto. Then she proceeded to drop a load that I caught (thankfully) on an old newspaper. It's really watery and doesn't seem very well digested...maybe someone can learn something from it...
1f615.png
I am so at a loss here.
400


400
 
She seems the same today. At first I thought she was getting better, but as soon as I picked her up she started that stretched out neck gasping/rattling. Should I treat her for gape worms? What is the medicine and dose?
i think I'll call around and see if there are any vets that will look at her. I don't think there are, but it's worth a shot.
 
eleaserek said:
She seems the same today. At first I thought she was getting better, but as soon as I picked her up she started that stretched out neck gasping/rattling. Should I treat her for gape worms? What is the medicine and dose?
i think I'll call around and see if there are any vets that will look at her. I don't think there are, but it's worth a shot.
Click to expand...

How is your hen doing? She looks to have a small worm in the brown part of her dropping. Did you have a vet check her? Sorry that you didn't get any more response earlier. SafeGuard liquid goat wormer or fenbendazole horse paste 1/4 ml per pound of weight given orally for 5 straight days will kill most all worms including gapes. Let us know what the vet said.
 

Similar threads

Chickentender333
    • Like
Please help a newbie out
Replies
2
Views
687
Eggcessive
Eggcessive
V
    • Sad
Injured hen - Fox Attack
Replies
5
Views
1K
LuciferRoo
LuciferRoo
K
Chicken i thought was egg bound?
Replies
7
Views
1K
Wyorp Rock
Wyorp Rock
R
Mouth open, difficult swallowing
Replies
1
Views
630
Eggcessive
Eggcessive
R
Mouth open, difficult swallowing
Replies
1
Views
661
Eggcessive
Eggcessive

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom