Hen making weird noises as she breathes through her nose, is otherwise healthy. Advice needed!!

[K-12 Chickens]

Last night Goldie was making no noises at all. Now this morning when I went to let the hens out of the coop, I heard a strange "hahhhhhhhh"(think of a regular chicken noise amplified in a long tone) and discovered it was coming from Goldie. She is acting just fine otherwise and is eating, drinking, walking around, etc. Her eyes are bright, comb healthy red, feathers as gold as usual. When she pecks for sunflower seed the noise stops almost completely. None of the other hens are doing this. If this is a sign of illness I need to know ASAP and what the possible cures are. If this is not a sign of illness, I need to know what else this could be. Please reply!

 

[oliv]

HI
in your opinion is the noise an upper or lower respiratory noise..(pick her up and put your ear on her,(throat, chest back(i know that is unusual but without a stethoscope..) is there any chance she has something stuck in her nostrils, is there any discharge coming from her nostrils.. is she doing any head shaking? chickens are susceptible to respiratory infections, whilst you figure out whats wrong i suggest you quarantine for safety's sake..
let me know if i can help more.
olive.

 

[oliv]

also, is she mouth breathing at all?

 

[K-12 Chickens]

She does do some slight head shaking occasionally, but I don't think that has to do with her problem(?). I don't see anything coming out or inside her nostrils. In my opinion I think the noise is coming from her upper respiratory(through her nose). She isn't breathing through her mouth. I listened to her again as she walked around with the other girls and at sometimes it sounds as if she is deliberately making the noise because sometimes the noise will almost completely stop for a few minutes, but I'm not sure. It doesn't sound like she's wheezing. I will post if she stops making the noise.

 

[K-12 Chickens]

I've listened to her some more and I think the noise might be coming from her chest as she breathes. Again, she is perfectly fine otherwise; there is nothing coming out of her nose or mouth, she's not mouth breathing, she's very active and bright-eyed. Last night I had not noticed ANYTHING.

 

[oliv]

its tricky, respiratory problems in chickens can be benign or vicious, do almost nothing or knock out your whole flock in a week. whilst most sickness will come from new introduced flock members they can also be picked up easily from wild birds and due to the nature of chickens they are particularly susceptible to this form of transmission. in all cases the best thing to do is quarantine straight away, a vet visit is a very good idea but if you cant do that, separate from flock and observe, see if it gets any worse, any new sick chook behavior, bad poo, lack of appetite, sneezing, discharge or mouth breathing and vet, straight away.. you might gain a bit more information by and I'm sry to say it, but chasing her a little, just to see if when stressed any of those symptoms exacerbate rapidly, if the wheezing gets much worse when stressed then the condition underlying might be chronic.
best of luck.
olive

 

[K-12 Chickens]

This morning the noise was loud, but now it has calmed down. She is on the nest and I am hearing nothing whatsoever. I even put my ear up to her (then she pecked my ear ring!

) and I heard nothing but her usual little clucks and normal breathing. She doesn't appear to be straining to breathe at all.

 

[oliv]

excellent, maybe it was just some grain up her nostrils hopefully the sound doesnt come back.
best of luck.

 

[K-12 Chickens]

This morning Goldie isn't making noises at ALL.