What is my Silver Lace Wyandotte doing?

[ImAChick]

Mostly chicken behavior.

VIDEO

Skip to 0:33

 

[sourland]

Slightly choking on the dry feed as she was rushing her eating.

 

[ImAChick]

Slightly choking on the dry feed as she was rushing her eating.

Oh thats what that is? How can I get her to stop?

 

[Hen Pen Jem]

Greetings ImAChick,

It's hard to say what is causing the hen to cough in the video. But, here are some suggestions. The hen appears to either have something stuck in its trachea, respiratory infection, gapeworm is also a possibility, or was in congestive heart failure.

All of these are fatal if not attended to.

If there was something stuck in the trachea, a seed, pebble etc. Then, it only affected the one hen.

Infectious respiratory disease is a great concern for the rest of the flock. You mention on the video post, that the hen died that night. If that is correct, necropsy would have been a good idea. If another hen shows any kind of respiratory symptoms, you will have to treat the whole flock. If this happens, you should have a vet help you. But, if that is not an option BYC members can offer suggestions.

Gapeworm is another infectious and fatal condition. A fecal float test on the flock will rule that parasite out. Call a vet and see if they will do a fecal float for your flock.

Congestive heart failure can be the result of some infection, disease, or genetic heart condition. If it was infection or some disease process, you should have noticed illness in the hen for some time, before. Or, she may have been born with a heart problem. In this case, this would be isolated to that particular hen.

The Video
That was a really good video of the flock and the sick chicken. While watching the video, I didn't notice any signs of illness in the rest of your flock. I did notice that the hen that was coughing, was really enjoying her feed. When a chicken is very sick with some infection or disease, they will usually stop eating and drinking days or even hours before death. Your gal may have just been unlucky and got something stuck in the trachea or had a bad heart.

These are my thoughts on your hen's health issue. I hope I have been helpful.

So sorry your dear hen passed away.

God's Blessings to your flock for good health.

 

[ImAChick]

Greetings ImAChick,

It's hard to say what is causing the hen to cough in the video. But, here are some suggestions. The hen appears to either have something stuck in its trachea, respiratory infection, gapeworm is also a possibility, or was in congestive heart failure.

All of these are fatal if not attended to.

If there was something stuck in the trachea, a seed, pebble etc. Then, it only affected the one hen.

Infectious respiratory disease is a great concern for the rest of the flock. You mention on the video post, that the hen died that night. If that is correct, necropsy would have been a good idea. If another hen shows any kind of respiratory symptoms, you will have to treat the whole flock. If this happens, you should have a vet help you. But, if that is not an option BYC members can offer suggestions.

Gapeworm is another infectious and fatal condition. A fecal float test on the flock will rule that parasite out. Call a vet and see if they will do a fecal float for your flock.

Congestive heart failure can be the result of some infection, disease, or genetic heart condition. If it was infection or some disease process, you should have noticed illness in the hen for some time, before. Or, she may have been born with a heart problem. In this case, this would be isolated to that particular hen.

The Video
That was a really good video of the flock and the sick chicken. While watching the video, I didn't notice any signs of illness in the rest of your flock. I did notice that the hen that was coughing, was really enjoying her feed. When a chicken is very sick with some infection or disease, they will usually stop eating and drinking days or even hours before death. Your gal may have just been unlucky and got something stuck in the trachea or had a bad heart.

These are my thoughts on your hen's health issue. I hope I have been helpful.

So sorry your dear hen passed away.

God's Blessings to your flock for good health.

I noticed that my 2 SLW (Silver Laced Wyandottes) are both having some issues so I don't think we are going to get more. I remember with my chick who passed away was doing the same thing. She wouldn't drink or anything, when we gave her food and water, she always did put her head up and open her mouth as if she was trying to breathe. This might be the same thing with my hen, possibly slow growth or a infected area somewhere. She just turned a year old 3 days ago. The rest of our flock seems to be doing better, I just didn't know if anyone could help me with her. Thank you for helping a little bit. I will have to check that out right away. Everyone thinks its a dry cough and so she is fine but I have seen some stuff and it doesn't look right.

 

[aart]

Looks like she's chocking after gobbling feed.
Do they always have feed available?
Looks they all are diving in.

Same bird as here?:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/what-is-wrong-with-my-silver-laced-wyandotte.1452937/

 

[ImAChick]

Looks like she's chocking after gobbling feed.
Do they always have feed available?
Looks they all are diving in.

Same bird as here?:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/what-is-wrong-with-my-silver-laced-wyandotte.1452937/

They have feed available 70% of the time but they eat it until it's dust. And it's my other SLW that is doing that. It's weird how my only 2 Silver Laced Wyandotte are having some problems. She does choke after she eats the food but that's when we give them more. They both lay eggs (the one that chokes is just now laying). I don't understand why she is doing that, could it be she ate a few large stones and have that stuck in her throat?

 

[aart]

I don't understand why she is doing that, could it be she ate a few large stones and have that stuck in her throat?

Is she making that choking motion all the time or only when she's eating?
I've had a few that eat to quickly and end up coughing and sneezing like that.

 

[ImAChick]

Is she making that choking motion all the time or only when she's eating?
I've had a few that eat to quickly and end up coughing and sneezing like that.

Actually when she wasn't eating she started to make that same sound. This was about 20 minutes ago.

 

[Hen Pen Jem]

The fact that the second hen is having the same symptoms is not good. It is not a coincidence that two hens are sick with the same symptoms. This is something infectious, and the rest of the flock can be at risk.

If you are not experienced at treating your flock for illness, you should seek the help of a veterinarian. Find a vet that will help you figure out what is going on with your chickens. Or, you could take a chance with BYC member advice for treatment.

At this point if it is something infectious, the rest of the flock have been exposed. The sick chickens have coughed, drank water and pooped in the same area.

If you want BYC member input on a possible diagnosis and treatment, you should open a thread in Emergencies / Diseases / Injuries and Cures.