Chicken making weird noise. Possible congestion?

[Rallen6]

I have a brand new hen I purchased on Sunday and when I brought her home and removed her from the box I feel like I heard two little coughs or sneezes. I didn’t think much of it because she had just been in a box and thought maybe it was a fluke. I wasn’t expecting it and it kind of caught me off guard so I wasn’t quite sure what I had heard. Last night I startled the hen when I went to close the coop and she made some kind of cough or sneeze that sounded very congested. I just went out and caught her to check on her and once I caught her she was breathing with this rattle sound that I was able to get on video. She is behaving normally and eating fine. No draining from the nose or eyes. What could this be? Do I need to treat my other birds since they have all been exposed to each other? If so what do I treat with and how?

 

[Eggcessive]

That sound is called rales or crackles, which is from fluid or mucus in the airways. It can happen if crop contents come back up into the throat with a crop problem or squeezing the crop. But most times it is caused by a respiratory infection or disease. Sneezing, coughing, bubbles or foam in one eye, eyelid or facial swelling, or nasal drainage may or may not be seen. Respiratory diseases in chickens may be from viruses, bacteria or mycoplasma, or mold fungus. Make sure that your coop has good overhead ventilation, and minimize dust. Dust in feed sometimes can cause irritation. Sometimes the stress of a move can bring about symptoms if the hen has been exposed previously, or if someone already in your flock has exposed her to something.