Pullet breathing sounds like a squeker toy *update*

[Suess hens]

I have brought her in already, put her on teramyacin (which she isn't exactly drinking readily), and put lights on her. She is on the sun porch, and I can't get her to just relax in the lights and be happy with food and water. She has lived outside since she was 2 weeks old. She is the friendliest of all our girls, loves to be held and "talks" with me. I just want to ensure her health and keep her going (she is my daughter's chicken)

*update*
this morning she is back to normal. I started to think about the ate something bad idea. Her crop was pretty full, a little hard, and she got really loud when I was feeling it. I checked on her last night and she was quiet until I stuck my head in the coop with a flash light. This morning she sounds completely normal and is pecking away at the ground. Now I just need to figure out what she got into that upset her crop.

 

[tim_TX]

Has she been in a dusty environment, such as when you are replacing litter in your coop? This can cause respiratory problems. You might try adding a little sugar to her water and/or electolytes to see if this entices her to drink.

Another thing to watch out for is string, such as from a feed bag. For whatever reason these look like tasy little morsels to a chicken, and once eaten they can lodge in the throat and cause breathing difficulty. Open her mouth and see if you can see anything. Certain worms can also obstruct breathing.

If its none of the above, then I'm afraid you might have a disease on your hands. I'd purchase a copy of the chicken health book and keep it around. Its an excellent source of information.

 

[Suess hens]

No dust. I clean their coop while they are free ranging just for that purpose. It has been abnormally cold and I thought that might have been the cause. I will go look in her mouth. She is definitely not a happy chicken inside by herself.
Before i brought her in she was acting like her normal self, even chasing one of the younger chickens around--her favorite past time. No one else is having this issue. But it was raining and this one chicken just had to stand in it. She is a light brahma, and usually in picture perfect health...just right now she sounds like something the dogs want to play with.

 

[tim_TX]

Here are a couple of links to poultry diseases. The second link allows you to search by symptom.

http://msucares.com/poultry/diseases/diseases.html
http://www.msstate.edu/dept/poultry/diagext.htm

If its a virus, antibiotics will not work.

Good luck.

 

[Suess hens]

Thank you for all of that. She has no discharge from her nose. She is upset to be away from her family. She is acting normal..except sounding weird. And she won't eat and drink inside. I took her back out with the plan to pen her up separate but in the sun to stay warm...she rushed to her sisters and immediately began eating and drinking with them. ARG! to the chickens. Nothing seems to have the symptom of sounds like a dog squeaky toy. I did look in her mouth and had a very hard time. I can't see anything. But if someone is going to eat string it would be her; she eats anything and everything. I'm wondering if in her picking she ate something that is stuck or irritating her throat? It doesn't sound as bad as it did when I first heard it, and it is worse when she is flustered. Could she be voicing frustration? She was in the nesting box when I went to let them out and that was when I noticed the breathing.