Clear foamy type mucus from mouth and tail down...Please Help!

[JessHall]

Last night we were putting our chickens back in their coop from being out free ranging and we noticed one with her tail down. DH went to pick her up and she opened her mouth and clear fluid came out. Then she shook her head and more clear foamy type mucus came out. Then she seemed fine, we put her by herself last night and she seems ok this morning. I didn't want to think bad things last night so I thought maybe she needed to drink or something... but thinking clearly this morning, I'm pretty worried. What could be wrong?
She is a 10 week old Australorp.
I was planning on cleaning the coop out tonight... I noticed a bit of an ammonia odor last night.

Thanks

***Update**** Here are the questions from the Stickey
1) What type of bird , age and weight - Australorp, 10 weeks old, not sure about the weight.
2) What is the behavior, exactly - Out free ranging like normal but tail down.
3) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma - No
4) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation - Not that I know of
5) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all - Half chick starter, half lay mash, water, and whatever she finds when free ranging.
6) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc - Normal
7) What has been the treatment you have administered so far - None, just put her by herself
8 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet - I just need to know if this is dangerous for my other birds
9) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help - I don't have a pic

10) Describe the housing/bedding in use - They are in a coop with deep litter pine shavings.

 

[JessHall]

Anyone?

 

[Judy]

Sometimes a chicken will throw up a bit simply from being handled, especially if they have been drinking a lot (as in hot weather) and especially at the end of the day when they are full. If you don't see any further symptoms, I'd probably just keep an eye on them.

If the problem is continuing, it wold help if you would answer the rest of the questions ins the sticky at the top of this forum.

 

[HorseFeathers]

It could be a crop problem...

 

[Judy]

Quote:
True. You could see if it is empty first thing in the morning, and check out the FAQ page for sour/impacted crop if it is not. Of course, this would not be something that should threaten your others. But you might be able to resolve it just by measures like limiting feed and giving a bit of bread soaked in oil plus some yogurt for a few days.

On the weight, what they are looking for is how she feels -- does she feel noticeably lighter than others, does her keep bone stick out a lot more than the others, etc.

 

[dlhunicorn]

When a deep litter system isnt "working" properly (dry -no pathogens etc) this could well be the first sign of the consequences from that (you mentioned ammonia smell).
Personally I am not a fan of this method because when it goes wrong it does so often with great loss to your flock.

Separate your ill bird to a different area with clean dry pine shavings... give three drops of polyvisol in beak once a day in beak for a week then taper off the next. Add ACV to the water (fresh daily) if she is not panting or suffering from dehydration or not drinking sufficiently (then add electrolytes to the water).
If you have oxine then mist with that.
Monitor her closely for more symptoms .