3 year old hen with a strange breathing problem, please help

[TropicalChickies]

Welcome To BYC

If you feel Cleo's abdomen below the vent between her legs, does it feel bloated or full of fluid, tight like a drum?

Crop emptying overnight?

I'm not a vet nor expert, but your description, I would take a guess she's got some fluid accumulating in the abdomen. This can cause some of the symptoms you are seeing. Pressure on the abdomen from being held and pressure from roosting.
As for what's causing it...could be reproductive and/or organ failure.

If you feel fluid in the abdomen and she's in distress, then you can try draining it to give some relief, but it's not a cure, it's a supportive care measure. Some have success with giving a detox, you can check that out in this link. Both a video of draining and the instructions for detox are in the same link https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/advanced-stages-of-bumblefoot.1328711/post-21682693

Again, it's just a guess on my part that this may be her problem. I've had hens that had reproductive problems with fluid and they would become distressed with being held and in the last stages when they roosted. The would end up not roosting and choosing to sleep on the floor to give themselves some relief, but their breathing did become gargled at times. With fluid, reproductive issues, cancer, etc. sometimes the crop doesn't always empty well either.

The Doxy may not hurt, but you are right, it's more effective for respiratory illness, so it may not help with her symptoms.

Since you do need to treat her and stay on top of the fleas, wow what a battle you have on your hands! I would not hold her for treatment. Opt to stand her on a table so you can work on her and let her keep her legs under her. I stand them on a table, pull them into my body, then drape one arm over them, this allows me to control them while treating them. When you pick her up, put a hand under her abdomen (cup the abdomen) with your hand for added support while you move her. This may help with the breathing as well.

Hopefully others like @coach723 will chime in with suggestions. Others may recognize something else I haven't.

I do wish you and Cleo all the best. If you have photos of her and the rest of your flock, they will be most welcome.

Hi, thank you so much for answering so thoughtfully. Cleo's abdomen is fine. But her crop is a mushy and heavy. She's a heavyset girl, stocky, so it's not very noticeable visually, but now that just massaged her, I can feel the mushiness. There's not a bad smell, but it's definitely larger and mushy feeling.

So maybe she has a fungus? Should I try olive oil first?

Thank you for your advice. I will post a picture tomorrow morning. It's nighttime here now.

 

[TropicalChickies]

Hello, thank you for everything. The pic I shared earlier was from six weeks ago -- she hadn't started losing feathers yet and her comb was straight up.

These two pics are from early this morning. Feathers falling out and regrowing, (coated with liquid soap and vegetable oil to keep the fleas off) and her crop looked and felt like a half filled water balloon. And you can't see here, but her comb is a little deflated. Not horribly so, considering everything she's going through, but a bit flopped and less red than usual.

When I massage her crop like you describe in the article about your 12 year old hen, she expels a little gas but she really seems to like it.

I only fed her once, just before midday, some boiled egg with plain yogurt. Kept water with ACV near her all day.

I went out and got the Nyastin and started it tonight.

I'm mainly keeping her away from the flock because she is the oldest and molting with a lot of soft skin exposed and the fleas are targeting her. So she's in a safer place, with a platform high off the ground where she can sleep. But I take her out to mix with the others for short periods.

I appreciate your advice and thoughtful article. I'll update on how she's doing in a few days with hopefully good news.

 

[TropicalChickies]

Oh, and I gave her a teaspoon of palm oil this morning too. About an hour later, she had an oily poo -- guessing that's ok?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I would finish the course of Nystatin and see how it goes.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...with-medistatin-nystatin-no-℞-needed.1258934/

She may have a partial blockage too, hard to know. I'd let her eat like you have been doing, with soft easy to process foods.
Hopefully this will begin to resolve soon.

 

[TropicalChickies]

Thanks. I can't get this Medastin here, but I can get Nyastin oral suspension at the "human pharmacy." It's easier to get many prescription medications in South America. Just tell the pharmacist the problem. So that's what I'm giving her, 2 ml 2x a day, at 6 am and 6pm

She's doing well otherwise. Today she was active all day, until 4pm she came to me wanting a massage. She was gassy. I gave her a dropper of water with a bit of vinegar and the gas broke right up. I hope it resolves soon too.

Good morning! Cleo seems to have turned the corner. The mushy crop is going down. Yesterday it was much improved and today it's almost completely flat, like a water balloon that's almost drained. She has two more days of Nyastin. I'm giving her two very small meals now-- chick starter mash in the am after her medicine and a boiled egg with probiotic sprinkled on it at noon. Nothing in the afternoon to let the crop empty.

I let her eat with the others for company, but I put a big harvesting basket over her so she only eats her soft food.

I feel guilty that I should have caught Cleo's soft crop earlier, but I was so intent on keeping the fleas off...will be more watchful now

Incidentally, I had another hen who is about 2 yrs exhibiting symptoms of yeast--but on the other end-- with pasty butt/vent gleek with diarrhea for over a week. And very little appetite. Ruled out worms because they were all recently dewormed and tried the anti-yeast medication on her too for the past four days. Now she's much improved as well.

So I'm thinking the bout of hot humid weather took its toll, plus I found a bunch of rotted bananas from a fallen tree on the ground last week that the chickens had clearly gotten into. Banana peels, fermenting sugary fruit, hot weather...hmmm. Sounds like a formula for yeast overgrowth to me, so I'm hoping those were the causes and the girls will get better now. They are very much improved at any rate.

Thanks again for your help.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm glad to hear she's improving!

Good catch on the other hen too.

Sounds like you face some challenges with your climate, but you are winning!
Thank you for the update, keep me posted on how everyone is doing.

 

[TropicalChickies]

I'll tell Cleo she has her first BYC fan!

 

[TropicalChickies]

Hello,

Update: On Wednesday I gave Cleo an tiny Epsom salt flush. It appears to have really helped. I waited about five hours after her breakfast to let the crop empty some. I mixed half a tsp of salts in half a cup of water and carefully syringed 2 ml into her beak. Massaged the crop. Syringed another 2ml and massaged. Figured that was enough for now. Put her in the workshop to observe.

Ten minutes later she pooped out a foul smelling slimy brown green mush puddle. Egads, I'm not squeamish but this was pretty gross. Then she pooped another semi solid mass right after it, slightly less disgusting. Her crop immediately "degassed" and went flat against her chest. The sourdough smell from her beak -- gone!

Question: I haven't given her any more Epsom salt after that. Yesterday I gave water with a little electrolyte powder and probiotic. The instructions I found for the Epsom salt flush say to repeat for 3 days, but it doesn't seem necessary. Should I just keep it "in reserve" in case she gasses up again or repeat anyway?

 

[TropicalChickies]

So it seems the "partial blockage" theory might have been right. Whatever goo was in there was fermenting away. Maybe it had even worked further down in her system, but she appears cleaned out now!

 

[TropicalChickies]

So it seems the "partial blockage" theory might have been right. Whatever goo was in there was fermenting away. Maybe it had even worked further down in her system, but she appears cleaned out now!

And she is so happy! Running around like a little pullet, chatting away