Help! My Buff Orpington hen is sick!!

Moragirls

In the Brooder
Jan 17, 2019
13
23
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Hello

I have a Buff Orpington hen she was very healthy and all of the sudden she is now breathing and making a load scratchy sound. I opened her beak to see if she had some sort of signs of canker but is all clear. When she would inhaled I can see a circle airway opening and closing. Her comb is a bit lighter than her usual red comb. No wateryo or swollen eyes or foaming in the mouth.

I have quarantine her and brought her inside into a doggy cage to keep her warm. I am in North Carolina and we’ve had frosty mornings but no lower than freezing temperatures.

This is my first flock and I have 4 beautiful hens.

Please help we have fallen deeply in love with our girls and would hate to loose her.

I have attached a picture of her of this past summer. She is much bigger now and with a beautiful big comb.
 

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Hello

I have a Buff Orpington hen she was very healthy and all of the sudden she is now breathing and making a load scratchy sound. I opened her beak to see if she had some sort of signs of canker but is all clear. When she would inhaled I can see a circle airway opening and closing. Her comb is a bit lighter than her usual red comb. No wateryo or swollen eyes or foaming in the mouth.

I have quarantine her and brought her inside into a doggy cage to keep her warm. I am in North Carolina and we’ve had frosty mornings but no lower than freezing temperatures.

This is my first flock and I have 4 beautiful hens.

Please help we have fallen deeply in love with our girls and would hate to loose her.

I have attached a picture of her of this past summer. She is much bigger now and with a beautiful big comb.
Hi, She is beautiful. Well, I am not a chicken expert (yet) and I'm not sure who is still awake. Let me see who we can muster.
@MissChick@dee I think is still here.
 
I think you did the right thing to bring her in to monitor. Does she have any other signs of illness? How is her poop? How long has she been breathing skratchy for? Is she eating and drinking ok for now? Kind of strange questions for the late hour.
 
I think you did the right thing to bring her in to monitor. Does she have any other signs of illness? How is her poop? How long has she been breathing skratchy for? Is she eating and drinking ok for now? Kind of strange questions for the late hour.

I was about to ask the same questions?
Has she been wormed? I have never had this issue but I read something once about worms can cause breathing issues.
 
I think you did the right thing to bring her in to monitor. Does she have any other signs of illness? How is her poop? How long has she been breathing skratchy for? Is she eating and drinking ok for now? Kind of strange questions for the late hour.
No other signs she is walking and eating like her usual self. Her poop is a bit watery but over all it looks the same no foul smell. She started today with the scratchy breathing and has not stopped. She was fine yesterday, I went in the morning to pick up my eggs and she was not making any weird breathing sounds.

She is beautiful and so loving ... I hate to see her sick

I have been with her all afternoon and been trying to research but than again this is my first time handling a sick chicken.
 
I was about to ask the same questions?
Has she been wormed? I have never had this issue but I read something once about worms can cause breathing issues.
She has not been dewormed .. her stool looks normal a bit watery but I don’t see any signs of worms..is there any other way to tell if it is worms ?
 
:( Oh no... I will probably monitor her over night and see if I can call a vet tomorrow (if I can find one )

When I brought her in a made a her some mashed strawberries to see if she had lost her appetite but she ate it all.

Thank your for help.. I will update you in the am :)
 
Well, it does sound like parasites or worms and that is where I would start because it is easy enough and quick enough and cheap enough. Do you have corid on hand? If not, get some asap. I would start there. Liquid is 2 tsp per gallon mix with water. You can use an old milk jug. I use a juice container and mix accordingly. This needs to be given to all of your girls for 5 days with no other water available to them. It also needs to be a fresh batch every day. I have had great results with a corid drench with my sick chickens. I'm in the tropics and we get some nasty parasites. Make sure you shake your product well b4 each use.
 
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