Something's not right

[amanda1]

My 8 month old crested cream behaves differently than the others. She has had poopy butt problems for months now. I have noticed when she breathes her throats goes in and out, as if she's exherted, but she breathes like that all the time. Sometimes I hear a clicking noise when she's breathing. When I listened to her chest, there is a "squash, squash" noise instead of a normal strong heartbeat. She always seems more tired than the rest, although yesterday I saw her run to catch up with the others. She is the youngest, so for a while I've believed she is just a bit behind. But now I'm getting concerned. She acts as if she wants to lay, but has not yet laid,an egg. This has been going on for about 2 months. No one else is behaving this way. Any advise, suggestions, etc. would be appreciated. Thank you.

I tried posting a video of her breathing, but have been unable to upload it.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

My 8 month old crested cream behaves differently than the others. She has had poopy butt problems for months now. I have noticed when she breathes her throats goes in and out, as if she's exherted, but she breathes like that all the time. Sometimes I hear a clicking noise when she's breathing. When I listened to her chest, there is a "squash, squash" noise instead of a normal strong heartbeat. She always seems more tired than the rest, although yesterday I saw her run to catch up with the others. She is the youngest, so for a while I've believed she is just a bit behind. But now I'm getting concerned. She acts as if she wants to lay, but has not yet laid,an egg. This has been going on for about 2 months. No one else is behaving this way. Any advise, suggestions, etc. would be appreciated. Thank you.

I tried posting a video of her breathing, but have been unable to upload it.

You can put your video on youtube and then give us a link.

Can you take her to a vet?
What type of food/treats do you feed?

Taking a fresh poop sample to your vet for testing of worms and cocci would be a good idea.

Check her crop at night to see that it is full and then first thing in the morning before she has had anything to eat or drink it should be flat.

A poopy butt - is this accompanied by diarrhea or does she have a lot of fluff where the poop just accumulates? Any discharge coming from the vent? Feel her abdomen to see if it has any swelling or feels like it is fluid filled.

The breathing is concerning, clicking could be an indication of respiratory illness or air sac infection. I'm not a vet or expert, so I can't say exactly what a heart is supposed to sound like, but heart problems could cause difficulty breathing as well. If you have a vet that can examine her that would be best.

Let us know how she is doing.

 

[amanda1]

It won't let me upload. We have poor internet access.

Her breathing is often open-mouthed and even when her mouth is closed you can see her inhaling by watching her throat and waddles. They are in constant motion as if she is taking extra deep breaths. She is not making a wheezing sound, nor is there any discharge from her eyes, mouth, or nostrils. I will try to feel her crop tonight and again tomorrow morning. The poop probably isn't an issue, we had another one with poopy butt all the time. She does have normal poop to, but her feathers are currently a mess. One reason I haven't cleaned her up was because it's been too cold.

The sound I heard when listening to her insides concerns me the most. I listened to a couple of the others and heard a heartbeat. That is not what I hear when I listen to her.

Someone else recommended VetRx . I am going to call the place I got her and see what they have to say, pending their chicken person is in today.

Thank you for all the advice. Please keep it coming!

 

[Eggcessive]

She could have a heart murmur that you are hearing. I am definitely not a vet. I doubt if there is much that can be done about that, but you may want to worm her for SafeGuard or Panacur horse wormer--1/4 ml per pound of weight given orally 5 days in a row. That would treat capillary and other hard to treat worms which might cause problems breathing. I would pull off or trim any poop or feathers until you get her bottom washed off. Flies can lay maggot eggs in there.

 

[sassysarah]

has she ever laid an egg before?

 

[sassysarah]

I'm guessing worms, if she lays an egg and it comes out with poop on it she probably has worms, or if she dosen't lay, her egg could be stuck.

 

[Eggcessive]

She has not laid an egg yet. I have had the occasional hen who has consistantly pooped on her egg, and I really don't think worms has anything to do with that problem. It can cause diarrhea though, but so can many other things.

 

[sassysarah]

Her egg could be stuck if she has not laid yet. Did you get her has a chick?

 

[sassysarah]

If you got her has a chick what did you feed her?

 

[amanda1]

I got her at one day old. She has not yet laid any eggs. We fed her organic starter grower from a local producer. She has never been vaccinated. I spoke with her breeder and he thinks she will lay in the next few weeks. He also thinks she may have a slight infection or "cold" although they say chickens can't get colds. He confirmed there is not a lot of information out there since most research money goes into managing large flocks and not your typical backyard chicken flock. I bought some VetRX today and plan on treating her with that before they roost tonight. I also got some Durastat with oregano add to everyone's water, starting tomorrow since I have been giving them a three day regime of probiotics for poultry. I'm curious to hear what, if anything, people think of Durastat. It is 50 percent table salt! It said it encourages them to drink--I guess so! I got it because it was advertised as an alternative to antibiotics. The breeder said he only antibiotics as a last resort. She definitely sounds congested, but I believe it's been going on for a while now, so I hope it is treatable. Thank you for your suggestions!