Please help!

[Oreoandhens]

Hello. I really need some help as I have a poorly chicken and can’t figure out what is wrong with her. She is an exchequer leghorn who hasn’t been feeling herself for around 3/4 weeks. First I thought it might be the temperate outside. We are in the UK and the weather has been really up and down and really chilly some days. However all the other hens seems so be fine. She did suffer from mild frostbite on her comb which is healed up now. Every day she is huddled up and not moving much at all but still eating and drinking and loves her treats. I have isolated her at home today as in the morning she wasn’t coming out and once I picked her up her beak was open and she was sneezing as well as breathing quite heavy. Now she is inside in a cage she seems to be digging about and seems fine when a minute ago she was very lethargic and almost falling asleep while stood up. She also threw up clear liquid at one point. Her comb and wattles are very small and she is pale around her eyes. I have treated the whole flock for worms and coccidiosis recently. I just have no idea what is up with her? Any help would be appreciated

 

[Aapomp831]

Chickens do not vomit, so liquid coming out of the mouth leads me to believe there is an impacted crop issue. That would also account for the heavy breathing - take away food and water for 12 hours and check the crop. It should be flat and empty.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Does she lay eggs?
Photos of her poop?

I would re-check that crop to see that it's empty in the morning before she eats/drinks. Look inside her beak for any lesions, white or yellow pasty material.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

No she hasn’t laid any eggs yet as she hasn’t come into lay yet. Her poos are normal looking just very very small to her usual. I will check that. What would that suggest?

Spitting up water is not normal. Check the crop to make sure it's emptying overnight.
A crop that is not emptying needs to be addressed. It's often a symptom of something else going on.
You mention you de-wormed and treated for Coccidiosis recently - what did you use?

I may have missed the age - how old is she?

 

[Oreoandhens]

Hoping she gets better. She's beautiful Does she get probiotics with her feed? Does she have grit?

Thank you! She is the sweetest one so I’d hate to loose her. Yes she does and loads of grit too

 

[JDChickChat]

Hey. We are giving her some antibiotics for respiratory issues. She is very lively today and is eating as normal, non stop chatting however her tail is still low and I’m not a 100% sure she’s better yet.

that’s good! I agree with the others that it may be a crop issue. Try giving a bit of coconut oil or castor oil to help move things along.

 

[Oreoandhens]

Just keep in mind and aware that respiratory infections of poultry make birds lifetime carriers of the disease. These diseases are also chronic and can pass to the offspring, so it’s best that you NEVER sell or give away chicks or birds from your sickly infected flock as you’ll just give the disease to others. Keeping a closed flock until all your birds pass away on their own, is the best option or you could choose to cull.

Thanks for letting me know. She seems a lot better so I’m still not entirely sure what the issue was. I don’t intend to sell or raise chicks anyway

 

[ChickenBoyAfrica]

Deep breathing and sneezing are both symptoms of infectious bronchitis or IB . It might be that .

 

[Oreoandhens]

She is also shaking her head a lot. Do I need antibiotics for this?

 

[hannah and the chickens]

If you can, take her to the vet! They’ll know better whether she needs antibiotics and what kind. IF it is infectious bronchitis, you should see similar symptoms in the other chickens, too, because the virus spreads pretty fast. Are there any other symptoms like diarrhea? Has she laid an egg recently?

For the flu-like symptoms you could offer her some diced up onions and ginger mixed with some of her favourite snacks or oats, the essential oils could help if she has a runny nose. When my chicken was sick in November, I also made her herbal tea (we had a pre-mixed blend of thyme and sage at home but there are lots of other herbs that are supposed to help against the flu).