Hiccup and stretching neck out/open mouth breathing

[Ashley18]

Hello, I recently got a 15 week old lavender australop. Shes Beautiful! A few days after bringing her home she started sticking her neck out and almost gasping for air. Now she's making a weird hiccup noise and then stretches her neck out and opens her beak. She's eating and drinking and seems ok other wise. She might be a bit lethargic but the lady I got her from says she's always been that way. I've never had a chicken do this. Any info would be much appreciated! I'll try and post a video

 

[azygous]

Post your video to You Tube and then copy the URL and post that here. Your video will embed.

Stress from being in a new place, temp changes, new soil, etc. can contribute to a chicken acting "off".

Please be specific as to how many days after you brought her home did her symptoms begin? What has she been eating? How much? Is she being picked on? Is she being bullied away from the feeder? Has she had access to a compost pile? Has there been insecticides used in the vicinity?

 

[Ashley18]

Post your video to You Tube and then copy the URL and post that here. Your video will embed.

Stress from being in a new place, temp changes, new soil, etc. can contribute to a chicken acting "off".

Please be specific as to how many days after you brought her home did her symptoms begin? What has she been eating? How much? Is she being picked on? Is she being bullied away from the feeder? Has she had access to a compost pile? Has there been insecticides used in the vicinity?

Thank you.

5 days. Poultry grower and scratch. They're free fed. Shes not picked on or bullied off feed. They free range a bit so can get into all sorts of bugs and greens. No insecticides no.

 

[chicks4life19]

She may just be trying to get the food down her esophagus. Does she act this way after she eats?

 

[Ashley18]

She may just be trying to get the food down her esophagus. Does she act this way after she eats?

Most times yes but she also does it when she's laying down and roosting. I treated with ivermectin topically and it seems to have started after that a. Lastnight I heard her doing it a bit for the first time while they roosted for the night.

 

[Ashley18]

 

[Ashley18]

 

[Ashley18]

Hello, I recently got a 15 week old lavender australop. Shes Beautiful! A few days after bringing her home she started sticking her neck out and almost gasping for air. Now she's making a weird hiccup noise and then stretches her neck out and opens her beak. She's eating and drinking and seems ok other wise. She might be a bit lethargic but the lady I got her from says she's always been that way. I've never had a chicken do this. Any info would be much appreciated! I'll try and post a video

 

[azygous]

I see normal, if a bit quirky, behavior. The minor symptomatic behavior we are seeing is of no concern at this time. However, being new to the local soil, she could be fighting a strain of coccidia she was not exposed to where she began life. At five days, if she was fighting coccidiosis, she would be be beginning to display loss of appetite, drop off of energy levels, and her poop might be loose.

In a few more days, if she loses her appetite, becomes lethargic to where she mostly stands still or moves very slowly, and her poop becomes scant and watery, then you might suspect a case of coccidiosis.

If the sneezing and coughing becomes chronic, along with a discharge from eyes and nares, and perhaps swelling of the face, you might suspect a respiratory illness.

Just keep an eye on her behavior. But there's nothing I see right now to be worried about.

 

[Eggcessive]

Hopefully this is just something temporary. This sounds like sneezing and snicking that may occur from irritation from something in the environment, but it also can be a sign of a respiratory disease called infectious bronchitis, if she sneezes every few minutes. If she develops foam or bubbles in an eye, or a swollen eyelid or face, that can be something like mycoplasma (MG.) IB is a virus that lasts about a month, and tends to spread to most of the flock. Most grown chickens get by with no issues, although it can cause wrinkled egg shells and other shell abnormalities. MG can be treated by certain antibiotics, such as Tylosin (Tylan,) tetracyclines, and a few others. The flock should be closed to new birds for a year after the last chicken becomes symptomatic. If MG symptoms are seen, the flock should be closed permanently, no birds in, no birds out for the life of the birds.