Backstory: ~3 year old Buff Orpington hen adopted just under 1 week ago along with her two coop mates (~3 yr and ~6yr hens). These girls were surrendered to our local chicken rescue and spent just under 2 weeks there separate from general population. While the two 3 years old were definitely skinny and all three were a looking sad and pathetic looking, everyone was eating, drinking, had normal stools, and seemed bright and active. They moved into our quarantine coop/run separate from our girls and had been doing fairly well for a few days. I did find what I thought was a lash egg one morning. Unfortunately this was before the camera was hooked up so I don't know who "laid" it.
The issue: After the usual nightly check on the chicken cameras, I noticed one of the new girls seemed to be breathing strangely. She wasn't open mouth panting but seemed to be breathing heavier that usual with pronounced filling of what I think are her air sacs on the side of her neck? It almost looked like she swallowed a balloon that was inflating/deflating on the sides of her neck and under her chin as she breathed. She seemed to be having difficulties settling down but when she did finally settle on the roost bar, her breathing looked much heavier than it should (her whole little body was moving). I brought her inside, the odd breathing continued, and I could hear a very faint clicking noise. She seemed bright enough during the day, exploring the little quarantine run with the other two, eating, drinking, and dust-bathing like a fiend. She does have kind of funny eyelids, almost like there was a little cut in the top that healed. She's a scrappy little thing.
The vet visit: As things definitely seemed weird, we took her to an emergency hospital. While the vet on staff wasn't an avian/poultry vet, she did have experience with chickens during her time in general practice. She said the breathing did seem more labored/pronounced than normal but her eyes and nostrils looked clear with no discharge, she had a small amount of material in her crop and seemed well hydrated, however her abdomen felt firmer than she thought was normal. They took x-rays and the vet felt that her lungs/air sacs looked normal but there might be a mass in her abdomen that could be causing discomfort.
And now: I asked the vet if she felt this was respiratory or due to the mass and she said it's hard to know given how prevalent respiratory diseases are in chickens. She sent her home with Doxycycline (antibiotic, respiratory) and Metacam (anti-inflammatory, pain relief), recommended keeping her separate for one week to monitor her progress and to keep an eye on all the other girls. I'm sending the x-rays out for review by an avian/exotic radiologist but we likely won't get the results for several days.
Questions: I'd love to know what people think of all this? Of course I'm concerned about respiratory due to the high likelihood of it spreading and have been and will continue to take all possible precautions looking after the two sets of girls (well, now three as one is inside). If it is respiratory, are there suggestions on what I can add for the other girls to try boost their immune systems and hopefully help fight off any infections? If it isn't respiratory and is discomfort due to an abdominal mass, any suggestions there on what to look out for (other than the breathing) to indicate her quality of life is no longer adequate? Have people seen the odd neck-balloon breathing with either respiratory illness or discomfort?
After the vet tech almost had a finger taken off feeding this little hen blueberries, our girl has now been affectionately nicknamed Pancake. I've attached a couple of pictures - her being a good girl at the vets, and then jpeg versions of her x-rays. I do have the DICOM files if anyone wants them.
Thank you all!
The issue: After the usual nightly check on the chicken cameras, I noticed one of the new girls seemed to be breathing strangely. She wasn't open mouth panting but seemed to be breathing heavier that usual with pronounced filling of what I think are her air sacs on the side of her neck? It almost looked like she swallowed a balloon that was inflating/deflating on the sides of her neck and under her chin as she breathed. She seemed to be having difficulties settling down but when she did finally settle on the roost bar, her breathing looked much heavier than it should (her whole little body was moving). I brought her inside, the odd breathing continued, and I could hear a very faint clicking noise. She seemed bright enough during the day, exploring the little quarantine run with the other two, eating, drinking, and dust-bathing like a fiend. She does have kind of funny eyelids, almost like there was a little cut in the top that healed. She's a scrappy little thing.
The vet visit: As things definitely seemed weird, we took her to an emergency hospital. While the vet on staff wasn't an avian/poultry vet, she did have experience with chickens during her time in general practice. She said the breathing did seem more labored/pronounced than normal but her eyes and nostrils looked clear with no discharge, she had a small amount of material in her crop and seemed well hydrated, however her abdomen felt firmer than she thought was normal. They took x-rays and the vet felt that her lungs/air sacs looked normal but there might be a mass in her abdomen that could be causing discomfort.
And now: I asked the vet if she felt this was respiratory or due to the mass and she said it's hard to know given how prevalent respiratory diseases are in chickens. She sent her home with Doxycycline (antibiotic, respiratory) and Metacam (anti-inflammatory, pain relief), recommended keeping her separate for one week to monitor her progress and to keep an eye on all the other girls. I'm sending the x-rays out for review by an avian/exotic radiologist but we likely won't get the results for several days.
Questions: I'd love to know what people think of all this? Of course I'm concerned about respiratory due to the high likelihood of it spreading and have been and will continue to take all possible precautions looking after the two sets of girls (well, now three as one is inside). If it is respiratory, are there suggestions on what I can add for the other girls to try boost their immune systems and hopefully help fight off any infections? If it isn't respiratory and is discomfort due to an abdominal mass, any suggestions there on what to look out for (other than the breathing) to indicate her quality of life is no longer adequate? Have people seen the odd neck-balloon breathing with either respiratory illness or discomfort?
After the vet tech almost had a finger taken off feeding this little hen blueberries, our girl has now been affectionately nicknamed Pancake. I've attached a couple of pictures - her being a good girl at the vets, and then jpeg versions of her x-rays. I do have the DICOM files if anyone wants them.
Thank you all!
. Not sure exactly what my next steps will be.
