Hen sounds like she is wheezing, a cold maybe?

[pooponshoe]

So far I have been fortunate with illness but last night I went to check and one I could hear her breathing was labored, any thoughts?

 

[Tuffoldhen]

A cold maybe?..sneezing?...Try a clove of mash garlic in the waterer...or mash in some cottage cheese for just her...

 

[hencackle]

Since it's always so hard to pinpoint what is causing problems in chickens--there's so many things!--I suggest adding apple cider vinegar to the drinking water. It must be raw, unpasteurized, unfiltered apple cider vinegar. Use a plastic waterer, not metal. Braggs is a good brand. Unless you have a large grocery store that carries organic stuff, you will have to get it from a health food store.

Why use ACV? It is supposed to help "cut" the mucus in the respiratory tract. Also, it helps hens absorb calcium from their diet. Don't give ACV to your chickens all the time, they will need a break from it.

Shake up the bottle and measure out 1-2 teaspoons ACV for one gallon of water. If you want, you can add that clove of garlic to the waterer too.

 

[dlhunicorn]

What is the age of your bird?
What is the weather like where you are at?
Do you give a (vitamin/nutritional) supplement?
What are you feeding?

Vitamin A deficiency occurs easily and is often assoc with respiratory symptoms...
In cold weather a birds resources go primarily to controling temperature and staying warm and they also will eat less... this means deficiencies can occur easily which compromises their immune system and allows pathogens (often naturally resident in the gut flora) to overwhelm the bird and make them ill.
A good nutritional supplement during times of cold stress in the winter will go a long way to helping your bird keep themselves healthy and fight off pathogens. Avia charge 2000 (purchase online from McMurray or Strombergs) or one of the Rooster Booster general nutritional supplements will help .

 

[pooponshoe]

I Live in NE Part of Florida, near Jacksonville. Our low's have been lately in the 30's-40's at night. She is a plymouth rock, about a year old, she is not sneezing that I am aware of. She eats layer crumbles and some scratch. Do chickens get colds?

 

[hooligan]

When was your flock last wormed, could be gapeworms.

From UPC:

Gapeworms lodge in the trachea and sound like a respiratory infection (audible phlegm). Without treatment for gapeworms, birds can suffocate to death.​

 

[Tuffoldhen]

Yes, chickens catch colds....

 

[dlhunicorn]

ah... well they can get upper respiratory infections ... however they can also have cardiac problems in relation to cold stress which may be producing the symptom you are noticing (I don;t know as you can hear and see her and I can not) as cold stress can exacerbate respiratory and cardiac insufficiency...
considering the breed, why dont you bring her into a more warmer temp stable place and separate her so you can observe her more closely...stop giving sratch and perhaps mix some cooked oatmeal into her feed and offer her some live culture yogurt and add a bit of ACV (applecider vinegar) to her waterer and monitor her symptoms further. A good poultry supplement might also help (put in feed not waterer)... this might be just enough to help her through this...

 

[hooligan]

If it is a URI, my thoughts are with you as I have two here that I have to give meds to 2x a day and since they are in the house I am realizing how stinky some chickens can be!