Sick or Allergies? Edited I really need help it’s gotten really bad!!!

[Wyorp Rock]

I went out and my poor sweet hen Jessie looks uncomfortable. Her face seems to be swollen and she is breathing through her mouth even though her nose does not appear to be clogged. My hen who gets hot the easiest is not panting which makes me think she is not panting because she is hot. Sometimes she will breath through her mouth and sneeze a few times before going back to normal. Do you think she’s allergic to something or sick? I don’t think she has a runny nose I’m not sure if she has diarrhea. I would really like some advice she is such a sweet girl and one of my original chickens!

Would a picture be ok? I don’t have you tube. As much as I hate to separate her I agree with you so I’ll have to do that. How do I get her to open her beak and keep it open? Last year her face also looked to be swollen and none of the other chickens seem to have any of the symptoms that she is showing. Thanks for your quick response and advice!

So shortly after I posted I saw Jessie poop and it was normal. After weeks of looking to be sick none of the other birds seem to be sick like her. She acts like a normal chicken just breathes out her mouth and is pale. Here’s a picture of her. I’m at a loss of what to do I put some RX in her water she got rather swollen last summer too.

Is she starting to molt?
You mention that last year she also looked swollen, could be something to do with molt or the time of year if she was swollen around this time last year? Maybe an irritant or something blooming that she may be sensitive to.

 

[Farmgirl283420]

Is she starting to molt?
You mention that last year she also looked swollen, could be something to do with molt or the time of year if she was swollen around this time last year? Maybe an irritant or something blooming that she may be sensitive to.

Yeah it would make sense. Some of my Chickens have already molted and some are molting but it doesn’t look like she is. Although maybe she just loses her feathers slower.

 

[Farmgirl283420]

I just brought her inside and she’s terrible! She’s full on panting and wheezing. There’s like a clicking sound when she breathes. Her whole body is moving with her breathing. She’s really swollen and right now laying down in the brooder bin I have her in. Her comb is powdery white I’m not sure what that means. Someone who was helping me looked in her mouth while she was panting and said they thought they saw a white spot on the side of her mouth. Can someone please help me?!?! She’s one of my original hens and very special to me.

 

[Farmgirl283420]

 

[Farmgirl283420]

@Eggcessive @azygous @Wyorp Rock

 

[azygous]

How old is she? Have you ever had any chickens go lame for no apparent reason? How about this hen? Does she have any balance issues?

When a chicken breathes with their beak open, it doesn't mean they are struggling to breathe. They do that when hot and when they feel stressed. The clicking sound she makes when breathing, on the other hand, does indicate pulmonary issues, not necessarily from upper respiratory causes. The pale comb indicate she is either low on hormones due to molt or from old age.

 

[Farmgirl283420]

How old is she? Have you ever had any chickens go lame for no apparent reason? How about this hen? Does she have any balance issues?

When a chicken breathes with their beak open, it doesn't mean they are struggling to breathe. They do that when hot and when they feel stressed. The clicking sound she makes when breathing, on the other hand, does indicate pulmonary issues, not necessarily from upper respiratory causes. The pale comb indicate she is either low on hormones due to molt or from old age.

I did have my Daffy go lame to what I believed to be water belly. Jessie just died I’m heartbroken this was the third chicken I’ve lost and she was one of my original four. She would have been three in February. I just hope she had a good life.

 

[azygous]

I'm so sorry. There's a chance this hen had reproductive cancer. If she was a production breed, it's all the more likely that cancer killed her.

 

[Farmgirl283420]

She was supposed to be a jersey giant she was from Tractor supply and she was eating some treats before she died.

 

[Themellowyellows]

I am so so sorry to hear this. I feel even worse that this is your 3rd chicken that passed. Its hard with chickens, especially with sick ones. Usually seeing there breathing through there entire body means there times up, nothing can turn it back.