Sick Chicken? Rattling?

[cwalker13]

Hi all,
We are new to chicken diseases but have had chickens for over a year now. Here’s the situation. We own three chickens and we got three more recently. They are in the same pen now but are separate from each other. All of them came from the same local farmer. There is a cream leg bar in the newest group that has little bit of a rattle/gurgle. It doesn’t happen constantly but it does happen when she’s running around. Almost like something is in there but not a constant noise. She doesn’t have runny eyes or a runny nose.


From the forum post:

1. What type of bird , age and weight: Cream Legbar, 9 months, 4-5 pounds (I think) She is definitely a smaller breed.
2) What is the behavior, exactly. Occasional coughing. Rattling/gurgling when she runs around. uncoordinated. She almost seems like she has bad vision or can’t see as well as others. Maybe she is just a little dumb?
3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms? Not sure. We have had her for a week.
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. Not sure.
7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all. She has been drinking a lot of water. More than the others. Can’t tell if she is eating her feed but she does like little treats we give her.
8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc. Can’t tell. Some of the new birds have a little bit of watery poop.
9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far? We thought maybe something was in her throat. So we gave her a little olive oil and bread and massaged her crop. This didn’t really help and she didn’t eat much of the bread in the first place.
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? Not sure how serious it is.
11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.
12) Describe the housing/bedding in use. Right now the three new birds are in our temporary coop. Its on the ground with no floor. We were only going to keep them separate for 7-10 days. They have a lot of wood chips maybe 4 inches. We made a little roost in the temp coop but the new birds haven’t been using it.


Please let us know what you think it could be!!!
Pictured are the temp coop and the chicken in question!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

We own three chickens and we got three more recently. They are in the same pen now but are separate from each other.

Occasional coughing. Rattling/gurgling when she runs around. uncoordinated. She almost seems like she has bad vision or can’t see as well as others. Maybe she is just a little dumb?

She has been drinking a lot of water. More than the others. Can’t tell if she is eating her feed but she does like little treats we give her.

Have you checked to make sure that her crop is emptying completely overnight - full at night/empty in the morning before eating/drinking.

How old are they supposed to be? Uncoordinated movements and possibly not being able to see well is concerning. Offer her some poultry vitamins to see if those help. It's possible it could be nutrition related, but disease like Marek's does come to mind.

Is this her in the photo below? Was she with a rooster? Check her and the other new birds for lice/mites. If you find any, treat with a Permethrin based poultry spray or dust. It's never a bad idea to have a fecal float to check for worms too.

 

[cwalker13]

Have you checked to make sure that her crop is emptying completely overnight - full at night/empty in the morning before eating/drinking.

How old are they supposed to be? Uncoordinated movements and possibly not being able to see well is concerning. Offer her some poultry vitamins to see if those help. It's possible it could be nutrition related, but disease like Marek's does come to mind.

Is this her in the photo below? Was she with a rooster? Check her and the other new birds for lice/mites. If you find any, treat with a Permethrin based poultry spray or dust. It's never a bad idea to have a fecal float to check for worms too.

View attachment 1312767

Hi,

I don’t know how to check her crop to make sure it is emptying. Any suggestions how to do this? I have a hard time figuring out if its full or empty.

They were born last summer. So 9 months old.

She just kind of gets lost. Its a little like she can’t see. So we will open the coop up and she will be by the entrance way but can’t seem to get out. Almost like she has bad eye site. She definitely seems different than the other two hens we got. She seems more relaxed but initially wouldn’t leave the coop even tho the other two birds were out foraging or pecking for treats. Now she comes out a little bit on her own and will follow one of the other hens around. She walks a little strangely sometimes and pulls one foot up at a time to move but then when she is chased around she runs like there is no problems.


Yes the close up picture is the hen in question. And the one with the arrow. She was with roosters leading up to when we got her. So she definitely has some messed up feathers.

We will get some poultry vitamins and start checking for mites, lice and a fecal float.

Thank you for your help so far!

 

[Chasingcars]

Lots of great advice but Regarding mites there are lots of options, some people swear by using hard hitting chemicals that work quickly, personally I wouldn’t use permethrin as it’s a very harsh chemical and I like organic eggs and manage my flock without chemical pesticides.
I do have have spray my birds weekly with a homemade spray to prevent mites in the summer and Im rigorous in my fortnightly coop cleaning but I’ve never had to use chemicals and have a happy mite free flock for 12years.
Vitamins for new birds is always a good way to go ...hope it’s an simple as that and she’s just one of those dozy birds we all have in our flock ..

 

[cwalker13]

Lots of great advice but Regarding mites there are lots of options, some people swear by using hard hitting chemicals that work quickly, personally I wouldn’t use permethrin as it’s a very harsh chemical and I like organic eggs and manage my flock without chemical pesticides.
I do have have spray my birds weekly with a homemade spray to prevent mites in the summer and Im rigorous in my fortnightly coop cleaning but I’ve never had to use chemicals and have a happy mite free flock for 12years.
Vitamins for new birds is always a good way to go ...hope it’s an simple as that and she’s just one of those dozy birds we all have in our flock ..

We are also concerned about our eggs. What kind of spray do you make? Where do you spray/how do you use it?

Should we keep the chicken in question separate from the others? We are worried that when we introduce her to the others it will be that more difficult in terms of pecking order and we were going to try to introduce 3 to 3.

 

[Chasingcars]

Hi there...
Spray bottle...
10floz water
Finely minced garlic clove
1tsp Lavender
I spray every hen, paying attention to vent, under wings & a general spray every week from spring onwards or when introducing a new hen..
For infestation or for a new chicken being introduced I spray every other day for 3wks.
I think as they all smell the same it also helps with introductions..I wouldn’t separate her if you haven’t seen any mites, just start spraying.
I work a bug maintenance system I suppose ...
Coop is cleaned fortnightly using a mixture of warm water, cooking oil and washing up liquid..you can add a couple of drops of lavender mint or tea-tree ( also in a spray bottle)
I leave then coop all open to dry off.. then I dust all edges with Diatomataceous earth using a dustpan brush dipped in it ..I also add a handful of DE to the sawdust bedding and dust bath area.

I plant mint near the coop in pots so I can move them around, also deters bugs and rats!

It sounds high maintenance but once you’ve made the sprays it’s the same as using a chemical spray ..I just don’t like the idea of chemicals in me, my hens, garden or eggs.
And it’s all very cheap...
Works for me!

 

[cwalker13]

Hi there...
Spray bottle...
10floz water
Finely minced garlic clove
1tsp Lavender
I spray every hen, paying attention to vent, under wings & a general spray every week from spring onwards or when introducing a new hen..
For infestation or for a new chicken being introduced I spray every other day for 3wks.
I think as they all smell the same it also helps with introductions..I wouldn’t separate her if you haven’t seen any mites, just start spraying.
I work a bug maintenance system I suppose ...
Coop is cleaned fortnightly using a mixture of warm water, cooking oil and washing up liquid..you can add a couple of drops of lavender mint or tea-tree ( also in a spray bottle)
I leave then coop all open to dry off.. then I dust all edges with Diatomataceous earth using a dustpan brush dipped in it ..I also add a handful of DE to the sawdust bedding and dust bath area.

I plant mint near the coop in pots so I can move them around, also deters bugs and rats!

It sounds high maintenance but once you’ve made the sprays it’s the same as using a chemical spray ..I just don’t like the idea of chemicals in me, my hens, garden or eggs.
And it’s all very cheap...
Works for me!

Thanks so much! We will check her soon for mites and start a spraying regiment. Thanks so much for the thorough response.

Now if we can figure out our chicken's rattling noise...

 

[Eggcessive]

Permethrin is very safe for chickens. The only reason I would not use it in my coop would be if I had bees. Mites can kill chickens or make them very anemic. There are all sorts of “natural” solutions for many chicken problems, but there is very little research with positive results on those products. Permethrin is recommended by most vets and if you Google “mites and lice in chickens” you will find a lot of good information. Note that you could be seeing lice instead of mites, and those links, especially TheChickenChick has pictures of what they look like. She has some other products listed as well, such as spinosad, to use.

 

[Chasingcars]

Permethrin is very safe for chickens. The only reason I would not use it in my coop would be if I had bees. Mites can kill chickens or make them very anemic. There are all sorts of “natural” solutions for many chicken problems, but there is very little research with positive results on those products. Permethrin is recommended by most vets and if you Google “mites and lice in chickens” you will find a lot of good information. Note that you could be seeing lice instead of mites, and those links, especially TheChickenChick has pictures of what is looks like. She has some other products listed as well, such as spinosad, to use.

There are hundreds of licensed and considered safe chemicals in use both in animals and humans .
I have researched extensively over the last 12years and have had positive and negative personal results hence my continued use of several natural non chemical sprays that I have positive results using.

I talk from my own experience of managing lice , mites and rodents using non chemical methods but I do appreciate many keepers prefer the quick hit chemical route rather than a weekly deterrent / maintenance routine.
It’s great we have so many choices and can choose what works for us, ethically , environmentally and financially.

I choose to live as organically as possible, being mindful of my own health and that of my family and animals, as well as the earth we live on.
I do not want to breathe in chemicals or eat them hence keeping my hens healthy using natural methods whenever possible.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hi,

I don’t know how to check her crop to make sure it is emptying. Any suggestions how to do this? I have a hard time figuring out if its full or empty.

She just kind of gets lost. Its a little like she can’t see. So we will open the coop up and she will be by the entrance way but can’t seem to get out. Almost like she has bad eye site. She walks a little strangely sometimes and pulls one foot up at a time to move but then when she is chased around she runs like there is no problems.

The crop is on the right side of the chicken - at night it should feel firm and full - if you run your hand down her breast, you should feel a "lump" each chicken goes to bed with various stages of "full", but you should notice she has food in the crop. In the morning, take her out before she eats/drinks. Re-check her - the crop should feel flat or empty.
The crop is like an expanding pouch, it should feel pliable under the fingers and it your hen should not indicate that feeling/touching or massaging the crop is painful. Here's a very good link with photos http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2014/06/chicken-anatomy-crop-impacted-crop-sour/

If you have a video of her actions, that would be great - upload videos to youtube or vimeo, then provide us a link - the BYC video button does not work.
I would like to see the walking strangely.

Have you tried gently waving a hand or holding treats to one side of her face or the other to see if she can follow it? The poor eye sight is concerning.