Chicken making strange wheezing noises

[Tailwise]

Help!

I just woke up to my indoor chicken making the strangest wheezing noises on each breath, kind of like a rusty hinge... she's eating and drinking normally, but with the occasional sneeze. And the constant, hinge-y wheezing.

I'm really worried. She's a three year old silkie cross who's lived indoors for most of her life. This is the first time I've heard her do this. Does anyone know what's wrong with her?

 

[Tailwise]

This is what it sounds like: https://soundcloud.com/user-727507649/chickenwheezing

 

[Tailwise]

She's at the avian hospital now. They're putting her under so they can check down her throat with a camera, since they can't find anything else wrong with her but the wheezing.

 

[Eggcessive]

It sounds like stridor, a high pitched sound made during breathing when there is something obstructing the airway, such as food, a foreign object, mucus, or tissue. Some will improve within hours if they cough it up, but it also can be seen with a respiratory disease. Let us know what is found.

 

[Tailwise]

They didn't find anything. Strangely enough, after she came out of anesthesia, she'd also lost the wheeze. The current theory is that a sneeze or the surgery itself might have dislodged some seeds that were stuck in there, but it's still kind of a mystery.

 

[Tailwise]

And the hospital released her last night with a clean bill of health after a suspected airway blockage. She was a little bewildered and hoarse, but back to normal the next morning.