Vomiting chicken

[Cyan Night]

My production red just starting acting very strange. I received her about a week ago from a neighbor, so she's been seperated from the others. She's about three months old. A while ago I noticed her with her mouth open, moments later she threw up what looked like water. She's also scratching at her throat. I checked down her throat and noticed that it doesn't look like she has a tongue, but the passage looks clear. She's been on medicated starter feed and every now and then I give her a few mealworms. The clear liquid looked like water at first, but then she shook her head and it was almost gelatinous. It also smells. What could this be? Any help and advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[Eggcessive]

I would check again for the tongue to make sure it is there--compare it to one of the others. Your chicken might have sour crop. Here is some info on it: http://www.tillysnest.com/2012/01/crop-issues.html

 

[rbaker0345]

Can you open her mouth and take a picture?

 

[Cyan Night]

Thanks, eggcessive. I'm thinking maybe she ate something too quickly and/or water went down the wrong pipe because she's looking pretty good now.
And I can try to get a picture, but she doesn't like to make things easy.

 

[Eggcessive]

I don't know a whole lot about chicken anatomy, but it seems that chickens throw up fairly easily, especially if their held with their head slightly the same level or lower than the body. There may not be a sphincter between the esophagus and the crop, and water can just roll out. Since the crop contents smelled bad, that can be a good sign of sour crop. She may have felt better after throwing up, so watch her over the next few days for a round squishy crop early in the morning when it should be empty. Nystatin or Medistatin (available without a prescription online) can treat it.