Hen grasping for air

[RobotJINI]

Hello,

I went away one day for Christmas and left out food and water for the chickens. Today I come back the water is frozen and one hen is having a very hard time breathing. She is open gasping and stretching her neck for air. Her comb is discolored and a darker red. I tried giving her some water with oil and massaging her right below the neck in the crop area. First she seemed worse then instead of massaging her while holding her I did it while she was laying down. For an hour or 2 she seemed to not be great but better but now she seems ready to suffocate.

I do not see anything obvious when I look inside her mouth.

I'm not entirely sure I am massage her crop correctly.

 

[azygous]

It's logical to suspect a crop issue when a chicken is extending her neck and her beak is gaping. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/ Read this and it may fill in the gaps of your knowledge.

How much oil did you give her? What kind of oil was it? What does the crop feel like, soft, full and spongy, or hard and lumpy? Is there any odor?

 

[RobotJINI]

Its hard to tell how much oil I gave her with the water maybe 1/4th -1/2 a table spoon. Maybe 2 tablespoons total of water through a straw.

The oil was "olive oil" so probably canola oil.

The crop seems to be more full than it should after the night although I do not pick them up and feel it often so I'm not 100%

There may be a secondary lump halfway up her neck, its hard to tell when she is grasping for air at the same time.

She was almost suffocated to death probably an hour ago but whatever I was massaging seems to have made it better for now. She has almost normal color in her crop atm but is still grasping for air just not as intently and the wheezing sound accompanying it is much softer. As long as she doesn't take a turn for the worse again I will probably not interfere for a few hours.

 

[azygous]

Understanding chicken anatomy can mean the difference between life and death when manipulating the crop to avoid aspiration of fluid into the airway. This could kill a chicken instantly or set off a cycle of fluid in the lungs. I'm not insinuating you're doing it wrong. This is just information you can compare your technique to.

When massaging the crop, picture the crop "drain" being one-third of the way up from the bottom of the crop, not at the lowest point as you'd logically picture. You want to avoid manipulating the crop above this drain in order to avoid pushing the contents up into the throat and then into the trachea located in the center of the throat.

When giving fluids into the beak, it's safest to insert your syringe into the right side of the beak, directing the fluids along the right side of the mouth so that they run into the esophagus located at the back of the throat on the chicken's right side.

If the crop isn't emptying, try coconut oil if you have it. Measure out about a teaspoon and chill it to achieve a solid state, then slip the solid chunk of oil into the beak. It avoids getting oil all over the place, you included, and avoids having it go down the airway. Then do another massage, focusing on any lumps, trying to break them up.

If you've read my article I linked to, you'll know that the final option is to use a stool softener to break up any crop impaction too stubborn to give way with oil only. Try to resolve this before the end of the day as a crop disorder becomes more serious each day it lingers.

 

[RobotJINI]

Too be honest, her crop seems kind of empty. She was doing okay then stood up to take a runny poop and has been doing worse since Perhaps I will go get some coconut oil anyway that seems the safest bet.

 

[azygous]

The lower part of the system is the gizzard, and that also can develop issues. Sometimes, if gizzard impaction is suspected, more drastic measures may be called for such as a molasses flush. Try more oil and possibly a stool softener first, though.

 

[azygous]

One more thing. Offer her some grit (different from oyster shell). A chicken with impaction issues will crave grit and lots of water.

 

[RobotJINI]

I got her feeling better again with grit and some coconut oil. Color came back a bit and her gasping was less intense, after at least 1hr she finally decided to try and stand and now is starting to have bad breathing problems again. Last time she got worse was also right after standing.

 

[RobotJINI]

She seems to be having pain around the mid neck level because she flips out and tries to grab it.

 

[azygous]

If you suspect a blockage in her throat, which would be the upper neck as you described, have you pried open her beak wide and looked into the back of her throat for a foreign object or other crusty deposits?