Just questions........

[GldnValleyHens]

No emergency, just a mild concern for my baby chicks arriving soon. I have an EE hen who has a history of respiratory illness, and I wonder if it could have been responsible for previous chick deaths. What does it mean when your hen has bubbles that look like frothy spit coming out of her eyes? She had this a couple times, and would sneeze and shake her head, flinging the bubbles. It seemed to happen after a rainstorm and the coop got wet. I would flush her eyes with water, and colloidal silver, and eventually it would go away. Other than this symptom she would be completely normal, and the bubbles had no smell like Coryza. No other hens have had this as far as I know.
Then something weird I have never experienced in my years of chicken keeping. Our Polish cockerel would lie down in the yard or under the porch, just lying there. He would rotate his head to one side, jerk it back and start the motion over. He did this repeatedly, then he would stop and act normal again. I noticed this several times and was completely puzzled by it. He acted sick and lethargic as he went through the head turning. He was killed by some predator before this mystery was figured out. Is this brain damage? Edna Mae the bantam had her head stepped on by my big stupid foot and I thought she'd die or be brain damaged but she was alright. ( She was always at my feet and I took a backwards step without realizing she was there) Thanks guys!

 

[Eggcessive]

The one with bubbles in the eyes could have mycoplasma gallisepticum or MG, a chronic respiratory disease that makes them carriers for life. I would keep this chicken away from new birds. MG is not alive after 3 days when the chicken is removed or culled, so if you culled this chicken, the new chicks should not get the disease if you wait a couple of weeks to introduce chicks.
The polish chicken could have been showing neurological symptoms from a head injury or soemthing else, but those types of neck movements sometimes are associated with adjusting the crop when there is food stuck inside. Sorry for your losses.

 

[GldnValleyHens]

The one with bubbles in the eyes could have mycoplasma gallisepticum or MG, a chronic respiratory disease that makes them carriers for life. I would keep this chicken away from new birds. MG is not alive after 3 days when the chicken is removed or culled, so if you culled this chicken, the new chicks should not get the disease if you wait a couple of weeks to introduce chicks.
The polish chicken could have been showing neurological symptoms from a head injury or soemthing else, but those types of neck movements sometimes are associated with adjusting the crop when there is food stuck inside. Sorry for your losses.

Thank you @Eggcessive. She had these episodes last year. I really like her as a hen because her namesake is Lucille Ball, but she is getting up in years (4) and doesn't lay much. I guess I should consider that, but it would be heartbreaking. If she has this, is it a fatal danger to young chickens? The previous youngsters I have now thrived, but several chicks died early on with some unknown causes.
I don't think it was adjusting the crop for the polish, because I've seen that before many times and it looks different. Guess I'll never know, wish I got it on video! It was so weird!

 

[GldnValleyHens]

@Eggcessive, ( and any others) I just recalled something. My bantam Edna Mae had respiratory distress a couple weeks ago. She was rasping, wheezing, and sneezing, and had a little mucus. I just read the signs of MG and it could very well be that, which means Lucy spread it. But all the hens are healthy and active, and after I moved her back outside from the garage she cleared up. I guess the fresh air helped?