Brahma hen was coughing blood, jaundiced looking comb and eye area, and refusing food

[RaelynnMistral]

I am a first time chicken owner, with 3 light brahmas, about 5 months old. None of them had been laying yet, but were showing laying behavior.
One suddenly started coughing about 6 days ago, and her beak had blood all over it. Coughing fit lasted about half an hour, then stopped, so I quarantined her and she went to sleep. About 2 hours later, she started coughing blood again, this time for an hour.
Her comb and wattle were almost white, and she was breathing fast and shallow, open beak.

I was able to get her to the vet a few hours later. Fecal came back negative for any parasites, but we were sent home with dewormer for all of them and an antibiotic for the sick one while a swab for ILT was sent out. We were told we didnt have to keep her quarantined.

Almost a week later and we know it isn't ILT, there's been no more coughing or breathing trouble, the area around her eyes is a yellow/brown bruised color, and her comb and wattle are orange instead of the red it was. She's only eating and drinking small amounts. And she also started laying. Confirmed one egg, but possible two eggs in a day, both hard shells and normal shaped, albeit a bit small.

The vet is going to have me bring her back if she isn't totally improved in a few days, but I was hoping to get some insight from y'all while we wait to see what will happen.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Welcome To BYC

Can you post photos of her, her face, eyes, etc.?

Any lesions or canker inside the beak?

Could she have eaten/ingested something sharp that would have cause some bleeding? A staple, small nail, something metal?

What's her crop like, is it emptying?

Pullet eggs will be small for a while, it's good that she's able to lay.

I'd try to entice her to eat. Try offering bits of egg or sardines along with her normal feed to see if that's of interest to her.

@LaFleche any ideas?

 

[LaFleche]

Welcome to the BYC community!

suddenly started coughing about 6 days ago, and her beak had blood all over it. Coughing fit lasted about half an hour, then stopped,

Could be a ruptured blood vessel/ aneurism.

About 2 hours later, she started coughing blood again, this time for an hour.

Under pressure/with her moving around it may have started to leak again.

None of them had been laying yet, but were showing laying behavior.

Showing laying behaviour means hormonal changes that affect blood vessels. And she may have started to feel some contractions = pressure.

Her comb and wattle were almost white, and she was breathing fast and shallow, open beak

Blood loss can be significant, I would feed her small pieces of raw beef liver mixed with scrambled eggs and a poultry vitamin containing B complex, A, D, E and electrolyte to help restore the loss. Mix in some milk thistle ( capsule) to support liver function.

In case it indeed turns out to be an aneurism there is not much more you can do for her than keeping her calm and resting and trying to substitute the blood loss.

Your vet can scan for any foreign object like nail, staple or similar as suggested by @Wyorp Rock .
And if there indeed such an object is causing the bleeding, feeding natural sauerkraut can help to move the object along safely as sauerkraut will wrap itself around the sharp object thus preventing it from further cutting or piercing into the tissue.

 

[LaFleche]

Another thought:

Could she have gotten into some rodenticides?

 

[Bawkbok]

Welcome to BYC and congratulations on your first flock.
I'm sorry to hear about your Brahma.
I'm happy you were able to find vet care.
The BYC experts here are helping you.
I wish you the best and hope she recovers.

 

[RaelynnMistral]

Here are some pictures if how she's looking today--I didnt think to take any when they were really bad. Still some of the bruise color showing around her eyes. Please ignore the cat hamming it up in the background.

She really couldnt have gotten into anything--the girls are (unfortunately) still inside chickens. I underestimated how long building a coop would take

The vet didnt see any lesions or cuts in her mouth or throat when he looked. How would I tell if her crop was emptying?

An aneurism is something I never would have thought of!!

 

[Bawkbok]

How would I tell if her crop was emptying?

Pretty girl. You would feel her crop first thing in the morning before she eats anything. It should feel flat and empty. As they eat throughout the day it should then feel round, full, like a bump in their chest (right side). Depending on how much they eat, you can actually see the crop extending visually without feeling it. Food is processed overnight which is why the crop should be flat in the morning. If it is not, you would then identify how it feels in the AM, hard, squishy, full, lumpy, etc.