Help! Beauty has a limp comb and breathing problems.

[Beauty the pretty chicken]

I have a chicken who yesterday we found standing outside with a limp comb. The comb doesn’t look pale, but when I came back the next day (today) it was breathing really fast and I could hear little noises with the breathing. It didn’t leave the coop that it lives in and it was sitting in the lowest rafter. When I tried to pick it up, it started wheezing and having trouble breathing. I offered it food and water but it was uninterested. Her name is beauty, she’s a hen, she’s about 2 and a half years old, and it’s had good health for most of its life. I thought that it might be a impaired crop, but they don’t tend to have access to long grass or anything like that very often. Does anyone know what it could be and what I should do?

 

[picklestheduck]

What is her crop like? Hard? Squishy? Large? Is it emptying overnight?
I’ll tag some folks who can help more than I.
@Wyorp Rock
@Eggcessive
Any thoughts?

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

Is her belly hard and swollen? Is her bum dirty with pasty yellow poo? (Like she had diarrhea)

Check for fly-strike if you haven't already.

Hugs to both of you...

 

[Eggcessive]

Do the noises sound like crackles or wheezes?You will need to handle her some to check her crop to feel if it is empty, full, hard or squishy. It should feel firm in the evening after eating all day, and then empty by the next early morning before she eats or drinks anything. Let us know what you feel. Has she been laying eggs recently? Can you see anything inside her beak, any nasal drainage, or sneezing?

Her comb may be normal, but make sure that she is not dehydrated. Offer water from a small cup or scoop and get her drinking. Electrolytes can be good to offer, Gatorade, Pedialyte, or even a small amount of sugar in the water would do.

 

[Beauty the pretty chicken]

Beauty is no longer with us.

I would like to try and make it so that if another chicken gets sick (like this one or not) I can help them to the best of my ability. If anyone can help me out that would be great.

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

Beauty is no longer with us.

I would like to try and make it so that if another chicken gets sick (like this one or not) I can help them to the best of my ability. If anyone can help me out that would be great.

I am very sorry for your loss, when you are feeling up to it, please post more information on her symptoms and, if you have any images, please upload them.