has anyone seen a chicken fill up with air like a balloon, alive?

[Bayford21]

i had a dog kill one bird and injure 2 others, now the little roo is filling with air on the right side. it has been going on a week.Every morning I stick a needle in and let air out, he is not sensitive at all on the skin. I think his lungs may be leaking air? I don't know why else he would fill with air? he is eating walking and using bathroom fine.

 

[Kelsie2290]

Wonder if it is sub-cutaneous emphysema? They seem to treat it pretty much like you are doing.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/171121/deflating-subcutaneous-emphysema
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/publications/6/diseases-of-poultry/223/subcutaneous-emphysema
http://ijasvm.com/ijasvmadmin/upload/IJASVM_5113cbc51d31b.pdf
http://www.pjbs.org/ijps/fin1339.pdf

 

[Eggcessive]

It does sound like sub-Q emphysema or a leaking air sac. Sometimes the air will re-absorb by itself, or taking some air off with a needle occasionally works. Hopefully it will heal up soon.

 

[Bayford21]

Update: he is doing a lot better I poked him with needle everyday for a week and seems better, I just found it strange that it was immediately after a dog attack where 2 injured one dead.

 

[Kelsie2290]

Glad to hear your boy is doing better. It probably was connected to the dog attack, even if the dog did not actually get a hold of him and cause a wound (that you could find), he could have injured himself while in a panic.

 

[Bayford21]

Thanks I have never seen anything like it, swelled up like a ballon literally I assumed his lungs somehow were leaking. Its been a few days with no air, seems a lot better

 

[Eggcessive]

Thanks I have never seen anything like it, swelled up like a ballon literally I assumed his lungs somehow were leaking. Its been a few days with no air, seems a lot better

It usually happens due to trauma near the air sac that is leaking, for instance, the chest or neck. Air sacs are all over their body. He may have run at the dog or away from it hitting something. Here is a link with a picture: http://www.thepoultrysite.com/publications/6/diseases-of-poultry/223/subcutaneous-emphysema

 

[BCMaraniac]

Update: he is doing a lot better I poked him with needle everyday for a week and seems better, I just found it strange that it was immediately after a dog attack where 2 injured one dead.

He was most likely involved in the attack. If he is small then the dog could have gotten hold of him enough for one of the canine teeth to puncture the skin in the area of the air sacs and they began leaking under the skin.....or even broke a rib without puncturing the skin which did the same thing.

The condition he has is commonly called a wind puff or subcutaneous emphysema. This happens sometimes to young cockerels after they are caponized because the abdominal cavity is entered and the air sac is opened. Using a needle to release the air is exactly the right thing to do. It is amazing that when you puncture the skin to let the air out, it doesn't seem to bother them one bit. Just remember to keep the area that you are having to puncture clean because the repeated punctures can cause and infection that is known as a canker......think a bumblefoot infection on their side, which will enlarge and extend into the abdominal cavity.....much worse than bumblefoot.....more often than not the bird has to be culled.

Sounds like he is better.....just keep an eye on the area where you punctured for any sign of infection.

 

[Bayford21]

Thank you yeah that makes perfect sense, he is only like eight weeks old, I did notice he had no feeling in the skin when I punctured it. I used a 16 gauge sterile needle. He is a lot better now