Chicken with a cold?

sydneymarie

In the Brooder
May 1, 2018
6
1
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I have noticed one of my RI Reds has been not acting herself lately, maybe for a little over a week. She stays in a nest box in the coop all day, and when I open the top to check on her she puffs up at me almost like she is broody (but she doesn’t ever sit on eggs). But instead of a clear squawking, it’s more of a raspy, almost congested sounding squawk. She is not sneezing either, it is just this congested noise. Her comb sometimes looks a little less red than usual if I don’t force her out of the coop during the day, but it goes back to normal after she’s eaten and had some water. I think she does occasionally come out on her own and she acts like a normal chicken when she is out for the most part. Sometimes she will lay on the ground almost in protest of me taking her out it seems. I’m not sure if she has been laying eggs, but she doesnt have any blockage. Nobody else in the flock is exhibiting any symptoms like this, but I put her in her own pen with some food and water tonight since she still seems under the weather. Does anyone have any suggestions or home remedies for a congested chicken that I can try before taking a different approach?
 
I think that she is broody. They don’t have to sit on eggs, but some will sit on nothing. Put an egg in front of her, and see if she pulls it under her. Check for a bare chest where she has pulled out her own feathers. Also check her crop to see if it is full and puffy. That can be sour crop or just a slow crop from being broody, but it may cause a change in the voice. Has she been molting recently?
 
Yes I think they’ve been molting, but I’m a first time chicken owner and they’re about a year old. I’ve noticed more feathers on the floor of the coop but nobody has lost a noticeable amount
 

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