Small chicken has trouble breathing and is gurgling!

[SquishyBerri]

Hey! So recently one of our smaller babies has gotten sick. She is half a year old but still half the size she is supposed to be. She is a buff cochin bantam. We think she is so small because her and her brothers got coccidia but we treated them. Anyways, it's winter now and there is snow on the ground and we found her in the coop like normal but she was shivering even though nobody else was. Probably cause she's so small. So we brought her in and she started having breathing troubles. She started sounded gurgly and seems to have to work hard to breath. She has been in the house for a few days now and we thought maybe she got sour crop. Because her crop always felt mushy and we thought maybe the liquid from her crop was spilling into her lungs somehow? We smelt her crop and it's not yeasty and we tried to make her puke but nothing came out. She poops normal and drinks normal and seems like she is very interested in food still but only eats a little bit at a time. She has lost some weight now... any thoughts??

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She started sounded gurgly and seems to have to work hard to breath. She has been in the house for a few days now and we thought maybe she got sour crop. Because her crop always felt mushy and we thought maybe the liquid from her crop was spilling into her lungs somehow?

she is very interested in food still but only eats a little bit at a time.

Do you have photos of her and her poop?

I'd re-check her crop first thing in the morning before she's had anything to eat/drink.
It should be empty/flat, if it's not, then I'd begin treating the crop.

Sometimes you will hear some gurgling when there's a crop problem, it's possible she aspirated fluids. Once you detect odor, then there's an infection, so often it's best to treat as sour.

Crop problems can be a symptom of other underlying conditions like worms, Coccidiosis, reproductive disorders and infection, so consider getting a fecal float to see if worms and coccidiosis are part of the problem.

Look her over really well for lice/mites while you examine her.

See that she's eating her normal feed, drinking well. A treat of egg to entice her would be good too.

 

[SquishyBerri]

Thanks for the response! Nobody is home rn so we can't take photos but we think we ruled out sour crop bc she shows no signs of it other than a squishy crop and gurgling but the crop might be bc she drinks so much water. Her poop looks totally normal and healthy still. But we can check fir worms!

 

[Eggcessive]

You should check the crop in early morning when she hasn’t had water or food for 8-10 hours. It should be empty and flat. Drinking a lot of water might indicate she has a crop issue.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thanks for the response! Nobody is home rn so we can't take photos but we think we ruled out sour crop bc she shows no signs of it other than a squishy crop and gurgling but the crop might be bc she drinks so much water. Her poop looks totally normal and healthy still. But we can check fir worms!

Squishy crop with gurgling and drinking a lot of water usually = a crop problem.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

I'd re-check her crop first thing in the morning before she's had anything to eat/drink.
It should be empty/flat, if it's not, then I'd begin treating the crop.

Sometimes you will hear some gurgling when there's a crop problem

Crop problems can be a symptom of other underlying conditions like worms, Coccidiosis, reproductive disorders and infection, so consider getting a fecal float to see if worms and coccidiosis are part of the problem.

 

[teach1rusl]

If the gurgling you’re hearing sounds like mucus in the chest, then I’d look at starting her on oxytetracycline (la 200 or one of the other brands).
I know I have “something” in my flock, as a few years ago I had four birds come down with a respiratory issue that involved mucus/gurgling. All responded to oxytetracycline injections every third day (SC), and none died. But it scared me, so I actually sacrificed a bird from my flock for a necropsy, and MG/MS tests were negative. The pathologist said that since it was oxytetracycline responsive, it was a form of flu.
Something flared back up this past month, and one girl started gurgling. I’ve tried the oxyt orally this time, every other day, and I’m not hearing the gurgling now (she’s on day 7). It’s worth a try anyhow, if you think the gurgling is mucus related….