Chicken - Mouth breathing / Slight pale comb

[farmland5]

Hello,
We have young Wyandotte hens that just recently started laying eggs about 2 weeks ago

We noticed today 1 hen that is slightly opening her mouth a tiny bit when she inhales and every few minutes she stretches her neck and opens her mouth wide. Her comb is slightly more pale than the other hens. Other than that her behavior is normal.

I was a away the past few days. I discovered this morning that the kids have been feeding the hens a bunch of dried whole corn kernels in their feed.

We brought the hen to the vet, but the vet admitted they have limited knowledge of hens. They said the heart and lungs sounded normal but noted that when the hen was taken out of the oxygen room that she started open mouth breathing again. The offered to either do x-rays or send her home with antibiotics and anti-inflammatories.

The chickens are in a coop plenty large for them with hemp bedding and pine chips bedding. Its been cold and windy and we are refortifying their outside run, so they have not been outside in 2 months. The ventilation seems okay in the coop but could be more.

The suspicion is fatty liver, egg yolk peritonitis or a respiratory virus (although that is less suspicious because the chicken hasn't been outside and the others are all healthy).

Any suggestions? Any at home therapies for these problems? Could it be parasitic?

 

[Farmgirl283420]

Hello,
We have young Wyandotte hens that just recently started laying eggs about 2 weeks ago

We noticed today 1 hen that is slightly opening her mouth a tiny bit when she inhales and every few minutes she stretches her neck and opens her mouth wide. Her comb is slightly more pale than the other hens. Other than that her behavior is normal.

I was a away the past few days. I discovered this morning that the kids have been feeding the hens a bunch of dried whole corn kernels in their feed.

We brought the hen to the vet, but the vet admitted they have limited knowledge of hens. They said the heart and lungs sounded normal but noted that when the hen was taken out of the oxygen room that she started open mouth breathing again. The offered to either do x-rays or send her home with antibiotics and anti-inflammatories.

The chickens are in a coop plenty large for them with hemp bedding and pine chips bedding. Its been cold and windy and we are refortifying their outside run, so they have not been outside in 2 months. The ventilation seems okay in the coop but could be more.

The suspicion is fatty liver, egg yolk peritonitis or a respiratory virus (although that is less suspicious because the chicken hasn't been outside and the others are all healthy).

Any suggestions? Any at home therapies for these problems? Could it be parasitic?

Sorry your hens not feeling well! I’m sorry I can’t help but maybe @azygous @fluffycrow or @Eggcessive could help?

 

[azygous]

The corn may well be the culprit, especially if grit is not easily accessible. The open beak with the extended neck is often a sign of a crop issue. All that dried corn would require a lot of grit in the gizzard to grind it up and digest it. Probably her digestion has slowed way down because the gizzard is impacted.

There are several things you can do, ranging from simple and easy to more complicated and difficult. First thing is to provide grit. It must be around an eighth of an inch in diameter and have sharp edges or you can buy it. Offer the hen a fourth of a cup of water with Epsom salts (magnsesium sulfate) dissolved in it as her only drinking water today. It will help push the corn through her gizzard. It will also help counteract any yeast that may be getting started in her slow crop.

If that doesn't help, come back and we'll talk about what else to try.

 

[farmland5]

The corn may well be the culprit, especially if grit is not easily accessible. The open beak with the extended neck is often a sign of a crop issue. All that dried corn would require a lot of grit in the gizzard to grind it up and digest it. Probably her digestion has slowed way down because the gizzard is impacted.

There are several things you can do, ranging from simple and easy to more complicated and difficult. First thing is to provide grit. It must be around an eighth of an inch in diameter and have sharp edges or you can buy it. Offer the hen a fourth of a cup of water with Epsom salts (magnsesium sulfate) dissolved in it as her only drinking water today. It will help push the corn through her gizzard. It will also help counteract any yeast that may be getting started in her slow crop.

If that doesn't help, come back and we'll talk about what else to try.

Thanks! How much epson salt should I put in the 1/4 cup of water?

 

[azygous]

I'm sorry, I typed faster than my brain. One teaspoon of Epsom salts to one-fourth cup warm water.