Hen heavy breathing with beak open, walking in a crouch

[JanetR]

One evening about 2 weeks ago I noticed a 2 1/2 year old hen was breathing heavily with her beak open after she jumped up on to the roost. The next morning she was still breathing the same and was huddled in the corner of the pen and didn't want to go out and free range. I brought her in the house, thought it was something respiratory but there's no discharge, cough, etc. After 3 days she was breathing through her nostrils but I can see her body move when she breathes in and out. While she was in the house I noticed that she walks like a sumo wrestler, legs bent and throwing her body side to side. If I pick her up and put her down her legs straighten and she'll take a couple normal steps but then goes back into a crouch.

I put her back outside but yesterday noticed that she doesn't even try to jump to the roost (18" above the floor) so I brought her in again. She hardly moves and just seems unhappy although she is eating and pooping. Also she is not laying and all the others are.

Anyone have an idea???

 

[Judy]

Does her abdomen or underside seem larger than normal, perhaps fluid filled? Honestly, the walk sounds like she may be an internal layer, but really, anything we say is just guesswork. Have you checked her for eggbound, put a finger up her vent a little way to see if you can feel an egg? She could have some sort of cancer, or maybe something like heart or liver disease. Does her comb look normal? Have you ever wormed her? if so, with what?

There are lots of threads here on all these subjects. Here are a couple of links.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/762242/update-advice-needed-eggbound-prolapsed-hen/0_20

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/639749/timeline-of-internal-laying-update/0_20

 

[JanetR]

Compared to my other Australorp her abdomen might be slightly larger and is firm, not squishy. I checked for an egg and did not feel anything. Her comb seems shriveled-is that possible? It's much smaller than in photos from last summer. Her wattles are bright red, the comb less so and the skin on her face is a pale pink.

Thank you for the links. Prolapse is not the problem. I can see the similarity between her symptoms and those of internal laying. I'll see how she is in the morning.

 

[JanetR]

No change from yesterday, abdomen is the same. She has never been wormed.

 

[Judy]

I wasn't thinking of prolapse, but thought she might be eggbound. The shriveled comb might indicate dehydration or malnutrition, or might be a symptom of something else. (I don't mean to imply you might not be feeding her enough! There are other causes --she might not be able to absorb the nutrients from her food for some reason, for example.)

Internal layers typically have a fluid filled abdomen, and indeed, people sometimes drain them with a needle. But maybe she can be an internal layer and have an abodomen lke that, too; I don't know.

Since she has never been wormed, if she were mine, I would probably try worming her. Worms can make them very ill if they are infested enough. Besides eating the nutrients in the food, they can damage the intestinal wall, causing infection, etc. Valbazen works in a way that doesn't overwhelm them with toxins from dead worms, or clumps of dead worm bodies, so that is what I would use. The dose is 0.5ml per large fowl bird, repeated in 10 days. I don't know that this is the best advice. Some may say it's not a good idea to worm a sick chicken, and I won't argue with that. It's just that there is really no way to be certain what is going on -- even a vet might not be at all certain -- and to me it's worth a try.

 

[JanetR]

Thanks for the advice, Judy. I will try worming. I don't think this is something she's going to snap out of on her own so it is worth a try.