Chicken can't swallow!

[sagealbright]

Hello,
My Barnevelder was diagnosed with IB back in August. We treated her and she seemed to get better and began laying. The only thing that was off about her was the fact that she never lost the bubbles in her eyes that was caused by IB. Today when I went out to check on her she was hunched over making a very weak clucking noise. I picked her up to look at her and it seemed like she was trying to swallow but couldn't. It looked like she either had foam or food at the corners of her beak. I took her into the "sick cage" we have in the garage and gave her water. That's when she did the strangest thing, she was trying to drink but all the water was running out of her mouth. Then when she would swallow I heard a really weird bubbling noise. I watched for for a few minutes and it seemed like she was so thirsty but she wasn't actually getting any water. She showed no interest in the food at all. Then she began shoving her entire face into the water trying to get a drink, but she would end up inhaling the water through her nose. She also keeps opening and closing her beak fast, it looks like she's trying to eat the air. But it doesn't look like gaping. I'm still fairly new to chickens so I have never seem anything like this before. I put electrolytes in her water and I'm not sure if I should start her on injectable Tylan again like I did when she had IB.

If anyone has had any experience with something like this please let me know. I'm really worried about her!

I'm going to try to post a video of her drinking so everyone can have a better idea of what I'm dealing with. Hopefully it works!
Sorry if her water looks dirty. She kept throwing the hay and food into it.

 

[sagealbright]

bump

 

[Eggcessive]

How does her crop feel--hard, soft, empty? Can you look into her throat with a light while someone holds her to see if there is anything stuck in her throat, including yellow patches of tissue? Usually, eye bubbles can be indicative of MG, which can be a secondary infection of IB. If she doesn't make it, I would get a necropsy done by your state vet, but you could also do one yourself to look for a blockage in the crop or digestive tract.

 

[sagealbright]

I'm not entirely sure how to check the crop. I always feel for it but I'm never sure exactly where or what it is. I'll try shining a light down her throat. I looked earlier and didn't see anything but I also didn't have a light with me. I'm not sure if the eye bubbles have anything to do with this or not since she has had them for so long and was acting normal but I'm keeping a close eye on her to see if anything changes. Every time I pick her up she puts her head down and falls asleep. Normally I can't even get near her. I was also making sure she didn't have any type of unusual odor since I read online that if something is stuck in the crop it may smell. So far no odor. Also waiting for her to poop to check if that is normal.

We donate all our birds to a local place to get necropsy's done when they pass. Last bird that passed with IB had what looked like tumors all over her lungs and throat. I'm hoping that isn't the case with this girl and she can be saved.

Thanks for your help Eggcessive.

 

[sagealbright]

Took a photo of the roof of her mouth. Throat looks fine but she looks like she has a big cut on the roof of her mouth filled with food or corn.

 

[Eggcessive]

That is a normal roof of the mouth in a chicken, which is normally cleft. Make sure that is corn and not yellow patches which could be canker or wet pox. Can you get her to drink water? The crop is just below the neck on the chicken's right side. You can pick up another chicken to check first and feel for it where it should be full in the evening. By morning, it should be empty. I would check to see if her crop is full and hard, or full and squishy in morning, which is abnormal.

 

[chickenchick12]

I have had chickens act like that before. They always seem to be sick with something. Soon after they die. I hope you have better luck than me with these symtoms.

 

[sagealbright]

Thanks again Eggcessive. I didn't realize it was normal since I never really looked in their mouth before! She's now laying in her water dish. I keep moving her and drying her off but she goes right back to it. She's also constantly trying to drink but like you can see in the video, it doesn't seem like she's getting any water down. I felt her crop and it is empty. She doesn't seem to be eating or even attempting to eat. I think it's painful for her.

Chickenchick12 - I hope I have better luck than you have too! I lost 7 birds in August to IB. I don't want to lose anymore!

 

[sagealbright]

Kind of worried it might be wet pox after doing some research. Hopefully I caught it in time and no other birds become infected.

She's looking worse and worse every

time I check on her.

 

[Eggcessive]

You may want PM Casportpony since she can give instructions on crop feeding, and she has experience with wet pox. Can you give her fluids with a syringe or dropper in the meantime? Have you seen any dry pox in your flock, and are mosquitoes still out where you live? Canker patches inside the beak can be yellow and painful also. Canker can be treated with Fish Zole or metronidazole, whereas pox is a viral that doesn't respond to antibiotics.