Chicken has sore throat?

[lplilg43]

Howdy, and Welcome to Backyard Chickens.

Happy to have you here with us. Enjoy your time here at BYC!
Best wishes for your hen!

Thanks for joining our community!

Thank you!

 

[lplilg43]

Welcome.
Open her mouth and see if there is something stuck in it.
Smell it too...report back if it smells nasty.

I just checked again - no masses, nothing stuck and no smell. I did notice that the tip of her tongue is black but it looks like natural coloring.

 

[lplilg43]

Hello and Welcome to BYC. So Glad that you have joined this community of poultry lovers. Have you tried raw eggs whipped up that are cold? Room Temp? Yogurt? Room temp mashed potatoes? Consume soup that is of different temps?

Hello! Thank you. I've tried cold scrambled and sunny side up eggs, pumpkin and pea purees, smashed fruit, and wetted crumble. I'm going to try the things you suggested.

 

[TwoCrows]

Hello and thank you. I've looked in her mouth and see no lesions or growths. The back of her throat may be a dark color but it also might be shadow or natural coloring? She is a Welsumer, so has dark colors.

Great, at least we can rule out things that might prevent her from swallowing! Does she show any other strange conditions that might indicate a stroke like hanging her wings, twitching, limping? I had an old hen that had a stroke and she became terrified of everything.

Is she your only bird or do you have others? If she's been bullied away she may be nervous around food. Have you tried other interesting foods just to see if she will eat anything? Other ways of feeding her...tubs, plates, bowls? Feeding her by herself somewhere other than her normal feeding spot?

 

[TwoCrows]

I just checked again - no masses, nothing stuck and no smell. I did notice that the tip of her tongue is black but it looks like natural coloring.

Can you get a photo of the tongue? Black tongue can indicate vitamin deficiency, maybe even a toxin in the feed like mold.

 

[lplilg43]

The combination of flavor and temp may be the key to getting her to eat if there are no lesions present and no infection in the throat. I remember having strep throat and even cool water was painful to get down. It's not good to give an antibiotic if an infection is not known. I'm not sure of what to give if she is in pain either.

She acts like she wants to eat. Even her very favorite, fresh corn, seems to hurt her. I'll keep trying different things. I just fear that there is something that I'm overlooking or not aware of that could alleviate the pain.

 

[lplilg43]

Great, at least we can rule out things that might prevent her from swallowing! Does she show any other strange conditions that might indicate a stroke like hanging her wings, twitching, limping? I had an old hen that had a stroke and she became terrified of everything.

Is she your only bird or do you have others? If she's been bullied away she may be nervous around food. Have you tried other interesting foods just to see if she will eat anything? Other ways of feeding her...tubs, plates, bowls? Feeding her by herself somewhere other than her normal feeding spot?

Thank you for working through this with me. She is my only remaining bird. None of the symptoms you listed but she is not roaming around foraging like usual (I'm guessing just because her mouth hurts) because she seems otherwise normal. I suspect she'll start to decline if I can't get enough food into her.

 

[N F C]

Good luck with your hen.

 

[lplilg43]

Can you get a photo of the tongue? Black tongue can indicate vitamin deficiency, maybe even a toxin in the feed like mold.

 

[lplilg43]

Good luck with your hen.

Thank you!