Sick Hen? Need Advice....

[Chickinn]

Hi Everyone...
We purchased 4 Araucana Hens 3 weeks ago. We were told at the time that they were 23 weeks and had just started laying. When we got them home I noticed one of them had a lower pitched "voice" than all of our other chickens. I didn't really think anything of it and from time to time she would make odd noises. At first I thought she might be a he and might have been trying to crow. Now that she is getting used to it here she comes around us a lot more. I don't know if she has been doing this all along or if it is just getting worse. She makes grunting noises usually when she is eating or drinking and she makes a sound like she is clearing her throat. She also sneezes but she doesn't have any discharge at all from her nose, mouth or eyes. She doesn't breathe with her mouth open or seem to have trouble breathing. I am concerned that she may have a respiratory illness that she will transmit to the rest of the flock. What would you all do? Would you cull her? Would you try to give her some antibiotic and see what happens. She is eating well and doesn't seem to feel ill at all. She hasn't lost weight, she is one of the biggest hens that we have. I don't think she is laying and that concerns me. I did catch her in the nesting box once but I don't think she layed an egg.
Thanks in advance for your help and advice!
Aimee

 

[Sally Sunshine]

sorry I cant help! but I can wish you luck and send you up a bump! Good Luck!

 

[soler]

Don't cull her.

If they all came from the same place, they would all have been exposed to any infectious illness.

She sounds overall healthy - 3 weeks is quite a bit of time to show symptoms without getting worse, that makes me think it's not something too bad.

Could she just have a little cold? maybe some vetrx could help her. Does she sneeze a lot or just occasionally? Perhaps she just has a lower voice and is a noisy eater!

23-26 weeks is not that old - they either haven't started laying or are going to start soon, so i wouldn't worry too much on that side.

 

[Chickinn]

Thank you! She does sneeze quite often. She was in the nesting box this morning but didn't lay an egg. She seems healthy otherwise. I will check into vetrx!

And thank you for the bump Sally Sunshine

 

[Sally Sunshine]

Thank you! She does sneeze quite often. She was in the nesting box this morning but didn't lay an egg. She seems healthy otherwise. I will check into vetrx!

And thank you for the bump Sally Sunshine

 

[soler]

I don't have the chicken healthbook on me right now - i'll check it when i am home tomorrow night, see if there is anything that sounds like those symptoms. She almost sounds like she has allergies?

I wonder if it could be gapeworms, but usually they would show a struggle breathing, look like she's gasping etc:
"The first sign of gapeworm normally comes when the chickens fail to eat, and cough a lot, and stretch their necks in an effort to get air into their lungs. Additionally a chicken may also have their eyes closed for most of the day. If a close examination is undertaken there will also likely to be signs of inflammation within the trachea. If the problem though is not dealt with quickly suffocation could be the end result. Gapeworm though normally proves to be more of an issue in young birds, and death is more common than in adults.
Gape worm is more common in birds that are allowed to run wild as confined breeding normally comes with regular cleaning programs for the chicken’s environment. The use of some insecticides will kill off the hosts that can transport the gapeworm larvae."

if you have any old golf balls lying around, sticking one or two in the nests helps them figure out where to go when the laying process starts!

 

[Chickinn]

Thank you all for your help. I bought some vet rx but she sounded better yesterday afternoon so I didn't give her any. My husband let them out this morning and said she sounded bad again then by the time it warmed up today and I got home from work she sounded better? I'm just going to see if she gets over it in the next few days. I suppose the vetrx couldn't hurt anyway.....