My hen is making a snoring noise. Is she ok?

[Minowsaurus]

I just got 6 hens on august 20th 4 are one year old and 2 are 12 weeks. These are the first chickens I've raised.

1) What type of bird , age and weight (does the chicken seem or feel lighter or thinner than the others.)
She's a Rhode Island Red, 1 year old, weighs about the same as the rest of the flock
2) What is the behavior, exactly. 3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms?
Last night, she was making sounds like a kazoo when breathing. I separated her from the others overnight and this morning she is still making the sound while breathing but it is quieter and sounds more like snoring. She occasionally sneezes.
4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms?
no
5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.
no
6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.
We got her only a few days ago so her environment has changed. We also changed her food from a mix of lentils, peas, and grains to a young chicken crumble because some of the chickens are only 12 weeks old but we have switched the food back now. Also, I replaced a bowl of water I had been using with an automatic chicken waterer that uses poultry nipples so maybe she wasn't getting enough water but I saw her drink from it once. (although now we have given her a bowl again)
7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.
She is eating and drinking normally.
8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.
normal
9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?
separating her from the flock, switching back to her usual food, giving her access to food and water during the night (usually the chickens are locked in the hen house without food and water from 8:30 pm to 7:30 am to keep them safe form racoons
10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet?
I would prefer to treat myself
12) Describe the housing/bedding in use
the 6 hens are in a 4' x 4' hen house with a 4' x 10' run. the hen house has a straw floor and the run is covered with composted leaves and grass clippings

 

[Maiahr]

Some of my hens are the same, I used an antibiotic once and some got healed. I am now using other antibiotics for the rest.

 

[coach723]

It sounds like it may be stridor, which is from a partially obstructed airway. It can sometimes be just from a bit of feed or something that gets lodged and it may resolve on it's own. Also possible that there is a respiratory infection/virus, so since she's a new bird I would keep her isolated until you know which, since that could be contagious. Have you looked in the mouth and throat as far as you can see to see if there is anything obvious?

 

[Minowsaurus]

Update: She laid an egg today. She's still making the noise but other than that seems to be fine (she's eating, drinking and pooping normally). I let her out into my backyard today and she was walking around and scratching and pecking at the ground.
I tried to look into her mouth but she kept pulling her head away. I am new to chickens so I have never tried to do this before. Do you have any tips on how to look?

 

[Minowsaurus]

This morning she wasn't making the noise when I went out but a couple minutes later she started making it again. She is still acting normal.

 

[coach723]

The stridor could have been caused by inhaling a bit of the feed, since you'd switched and the texture was different from what she was used to. She may have eaten quickly, or pigged out a bit. I'm a little confused about whether you have all new birds (to you) or if you are adding new birds to an already existing flock. If they are all new, then yes, I would put her back with the others if she seems fine. If you are adding new birds to others that were already there, then a quarantine period is always a good idea, to try to minimize bringing in any illness. The stress of moving will often bring hidden health issues to the surface. But that's your call.
I would also go ahead and switch to the crumbles. Feeding a whole grain feed can sometimes lead to deficiencies long term, as they can pick out the parts they like/favor and leave the rest. The crumble form doesn't let them do that.

 

[Minowsaurus]

I edited my last comment since she started making the noise again. The birds are all new to me and came from the same farm where they had previously been living together, along with other birds.

 

[coach723]

Ok, understood. If they were all together before, then no need to isolate. If you want to check inside her beak/throat, wrap her in a bath towel like a burrito to hold her wings in, with just her head sticking out. Wrap one hand around the back of her head to hold it and use the other to open the beak so you can look. Either pull down on wattles or lift the tip of the top beak to open it. If you have a helper to hold the bird that makes it easier, but you can do it alone. I had a roo last week with stridor for about 36 hours, it cleared up and he's fine now, it sounded truly awful. If it persists with no improvement, then a respiratory illness would become more suspect.

 

[Minowsaurus]

I looked down her throat but didn't see anything. I put her back with the rest of the flock.

 

[coach723]

I would just keep an eye on her. It may very well turn out to be nothing but a temporary thing. Just make sure she's eating and drinking, and everything else normal.