Chicken puffed up, salivating, and twitching. Is she okay?

[The Chicken Fan]

I have a chicken that's about 20 weeks old. She just started laying about a weeks ago.

She is doing some weird stuff and I'm wondering if this is normal?

This morning when she came out of the coop it looked like she was salivating. This huge gob of drool was hanging from her beak and then she swallowed it. She also positions her head back so her neck is all puffed up. She is also doing this weird twitching thing in her neck. I'm saying she's twitching because it looks like that and non of my other girls are doing it.

This is my first time with chickens! I would hate to loose one of them because they have grown near and dear to my heart!

Please help!

 

[MrsBrooke]

I am very sorry to hear of your troubles.

I would isolate this chicken for further observation. Dog crates in the garage or bathroom work well... Someplace quiet, dim, and warm.

Is she still eating and drinking normally? Any changes in poops? Is she hunched and puffed?

Have you checked your girls for lice and mites lately? When was the last time you wormed your flock?

Is it possible she got into some kind of toxin, like herbicide, pesticide, Styrofoam, or peeling lead paint?

Does it look anything like this:

?

MrsB

 

[Eggcessive]

I would check her crop now to see if it feels empty, large and puffy, hard, or squishy like a balloon. Sometimes chickens can eat long strands of grass, or large pieces of food and get them stuck in the crop, causing impacted crop. If those things rot in the crop, or the crop is not working, then they can develop sour crop. If something is stuck in the crop, they may move their necks trying to adjust the crop or get the obstruction to move, and since there is no valve on the crop fluid or saliva can fall out if the head is down. You may want to separate her in a pen while you are figuring out what is going on. I haven't treated crop crops myself, so I will give you some links to read about crop problems:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/impacted-slow-and-sour-crops-prevention-and-treatments
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/04/answers-from-chicken-vet-on-impacted.html
http://www.tillysnest.com/2012/01/crop-issues.html

 

[The Chicken Fan]

Thank you so much for the advice! She shows the symptoms but does not have sour crop. I've separated her and given her water and bread with oil. Do you know how much bread and oil I should give her?

 

[Eggcessive]

I would not use oil since it can cause lipid pneumonia if she vomits and chokes. Water is always the best thing to flush out the crop, and then massage. Colace (doccusate sodium) capsules are also sometimes used. Here is a good thread to read about crop flushing--Casportpony has given some good pointers: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/977889/how-to-flush-impacted-crop-w-water