Hen appears to choke after taking water

[ehupladie]

I have a hen which appears to choke and gape after taking water. She has been wormed. and so have the others in the flock for Gape worm. The others do not exhibit any signs of worm or anything else.

She is generally happy and scratches around like they do. This is ongoing and has been so for about 4 weeks...

She appears also to have laboured breathing when resting and when walking her legs are raised up into her chest significantly higher than the others. Does anyone have any ideas what the problem might be?

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. It's really hard to pinpoint a specific disease that could cause all that. The high stepping walk could be neurological from something like Mareks, late aspergillosis, or from a toxin. The choking and gaping sound like a respiratory disease. Are there any other symptoms such as sneeze, cough, eye or nasal discharge, or facial swelling? Aspergillosis is a fungal respiratory disease from mold in the environment, that can cause gasping, increased thirst, and later on lesions in the lungs and air sacs, or neurological symptoms. MG, ILT, and other respiratory diseases can cause the choking and gaping. Have you tried giving antibiotics? What does the crop feel like first thing in the morning? Here is a link to read about the symptoms of those diseases:
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?A=3241&