Gurgling when breathing

[mustangsaguaro]

I have a hen that is acting really depressed. She is going thru her moult and it has been going on for about a month now. She has lost a lot of weight and when she breathes she has a gurgling sound. This morning I gave her a small amount of organic cat food and notice when she went to swallow she did a weird thing w/ her neck to get the food down. I read on the forum somewhere that it's possible she could have gaping worm (is that it)? I looked down her throat and couldn't see anything. Right now I do have her by herself w/ food and water. I will check later to see how much she has eaten/drank. In the meantime what should I do for her? Could this depression and loss of weight be due to moulting. I've had her for about a year and when I got her last year she was at the end of her moulting so I don't know what she acted like at the beginning. The gurgling really bothers me. What can I use to treat that. I need something natural. I will NOT give antibiotics. So anyone who has a natural/wholistic remedy I could give pls. post.

Thanks
Kim

 

[annmarie]

If your hen is molting it's normal she wouldn't be acting herself. I don't think it's a good sign that she's losing weight though, but are you sure she's actually losing weight and doesn't just look thinner due to her loss of feathers? My hens get a sort of scrawny look when they're molting. I don't know much about gape worm but someone here will. You can certainly do a search on it using the search function and I'm sure you'll get a lot of information. I'm not sure what else could be causing the gurgling/swallowing problem. All I know is that if she's going through a hard molt, extra protein is important. Try tuna, scrambled eggs, plain yogurt...
Good luck and I hope someone else can be more help!

 

[WoodlandWoman]

Mustangsaguaro, can you edit your thread title to something like "Gurgling when breathing?" I think that may get you more of the help you need on this thread. I'm sorry I don't have experience with the illnesses that can cause that symptom. I know there are others that will help, if they see it.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

I'm glad you changed the title. I hope someone with more experience with chicken diseases will see this. I'm concerned this might be a respiratory problem of some kind. How is she feeling today?