Chicken making honking sound when breathing.

[LittleBird123]

My chicken is around 10 years old. It is wintertime and she has not been eating much, she will not eat her hen food and will only eat certain foods on her own. She had even started losing weight. I have been hand feeding her more food like egg and peas by pushing small pieces into her mouth and letting her swallow. This is the only way I can get her to eat enough food. I have been doing this for a few months and she just got back to a decent weight. last night I put a piece of egg into her mouth and she ate some peas, then she started making this honking sound when she breaths like she has some egg or something stuck in her throat. She was not gasping for air and she would still drink water normally. I tried to look in her mouth but I could not see anything. I did not feed her more and put her to bed with the other chickens. The sound seemed to go away once she settled down. Today I took her out of the coop and gave her some Nutri-drench, she was still making that noise though not as bad as last night. I also gave her some olive oil and massaged her crop in case that was the issue. She seems to be acting normally and even ate a small amount of bread (one of the few things she will eat on her own). I am still very worried, I don't know if there is still something stuck in her throat. Can she get it out herself? What should I do? Any advice would be helpful.

I have to go to work in a few minutes so I will have to reluctantly leave her until I get home tonight.

 

[Eggcessive]

Chickens can get stridor, a high pitched wheezing sound when something gets stuck in the airway. A small piece of feed, mucus plug, or swelling of the airway are the usual causes. Most times it goes away in a few hours after a good cough. If it remains, then there is a chance it is caused by a respiratory disease. I probably would not force her to eat, but offer some wet chicken feed made more interesting with a few bits of scrambled egg or tuna. If she is drinking well, she probably will take what she feels like eating. Here is a video of how stridor sounds in post 1 of this thread:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/silkie-w-possible-stridor.1218528/

 

[LittleBird123]

Chickens can get stridor, a high pitched wheezing sound when something gets stuck in the airway. A small piece of feed, mucus plug, or swelling of the airway are the usual causes. Most times it goes away in a few hours after a good cough. If it remains, then there is a chance it is caused by a respiratory disease. I probably would not force her to eat, but offer some wet chicken feed made more interesting with a few bits of scrambled egg or tuna. If she is drinking well, she probably will take what she feels like eating. Here is a video of how stridor sounds in post 1 of this thread:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/silkie-w-possible-stridor.1218528/

When I got home she was in the coop and she was not making the honking sound. I brought her inside and offered her some peas and rice. She did not want any peas but ate a few grains of rice. I also offered her some bread and she ate some of it. I also gave her a little bit of olive oil again and massaged her crop. When she was inside she made a light, soft honking noise a few times. Her breathing is much quieter than yesterday. I am still worried, how long can it take for something like this to clear up? She does not seem distressed and is acting mostly normal, though she has been drinking more water than before. I can't tell if there is anything still in her throat. What should I do?

Also, she will not eat her hen food even if it is soft. she was eating egg for a while but she does not want it anymore. She was eating peas but she refused them today. She will usually eat bread. I am running out of foods that she will eat. Do you have any more suggestions for foods I can give her?

 

[Eggcessive]

I would stick to mostly chicken feed, wet or dry or both. Scrambles egg bits are good, but bread can get gummy in the crop and cause problems. Fluids are most important and she should eat when she gets hungry. Look for any signs of a respiratory disease, such as bubbles in a eye, as wollen eye, nasal drainage, or sneezing. At her age you should be very proud that she has lived a good long life. Not many reach 10. My little almost 9 year old bantam doesn’t eat a whole lot, but she maintains a good weight.

 

[dawg53]

Look inside her mouth, especially the roof of her mouth and the back of the mouth for any lesions. Have you noticed any head shaking or neck scratching, or rubbing her head on either side of her body and/or under her wings? Are there any chest feathers missing?
How does her crop feel in the mornings, it should be empty? Please answer in detail. Thanks.

 

[LittleBird123]

Look inside her mouth, especially the roof of her mouth and the back of the mouth for any lesions. Have you noticed any head shaking or neck scratching, or rubbing her head on either side of her body and/or under her wings? Are there any chest feathers missing?
How does her crop feel in the mornings, it should be empty? Please answer in detail. Thanks.

I did not seem any lesions but I will try to get a better look in her mouth when I get home from work tonight. She will occasionally shake her head but no more than usual. It does not seem like her crop is completely emptying. She was still making that light honking sound this morning when I was handling her. But I don't hear her make it much in the coop. She is still acting mostly normal. I gave her some nutri-drench and a bit of bread this mourning because she was acting hungry and that was all she would eat. I also gave her more olive oil and massaged her crop. I don't know why she is still making that sound, I am worried that there is still something in there. No rubbing head and no chest feathers missing. I am not sure what to do next.

I have to go to work so I will have to see how she is doing when I get back.

 

[LittleBird123]

Her breathing was pretty quiet when I got home. I saw her eating some seed but it seems like her crop did not fully empty from the small amount of bread I gave her this morning. I brought her inside and she ate a small amount of rice and a bit of tuna. I also gave her some lactated ringers solution orally and massaged her crop. She would still make an occasional soft honking sound though she seems to be a bit better. I don't know why she is still making that soft honking sound.

 

[dawg53]

It would be best to stop giving her bread. It can cause binding in the crop, gizzard and guts. She might have a slow crop or gizzard. The expanded crop could be pressing against her windpipe causing the sounds you're hearing. Try giving her plain tomato juice, hopefully it'll get things moving.