What on EARTH are these growths in her trachea?

[LiliesAtDusk]

I posted elsewhere a few days ago, but no luck.

I have a 2 year old cream legbar hen who has been gasping for about 5 days now. I noticed it when I let them out in the morning and brought her inside immediately because it was very hot and humid. I had a dream that night that I came home from work and she was dead, so it made my stomach drop to see. I used my phone flashlight to look down her trachea and I found these vascular white growths.

She’s been sneezing a bit. No bubbles coming from anywhere or any other symptoms, really. She’s eating less, but her appetite doesn’t seem to have changed. She just… won’t eat chicken feed for some reason. She’s been eating dog food and cat food and bird seed anytime it’s available, but won’t bother with any chicken feed that I offer her. Maybe she just associates the uncomfortableness of eating with her feed.

I know she had other parasites because I saw some live worms in her stool when I brought her inside, so I figured I could treat as if it’s gapeworms and go from there. I have not seen any gapeworms, but I can’t look because of those white growths. I figured if it was gapeworms, they would be lymphoid nodules and go down after treatment.

Since I had ivermectin on hand and knew that it would affect gapeworms, I gave her a dose of that the next morning until I could get the fenbendazole (since that’s more effective for gapeworms), which I got and gave her just now. I figured I’d see improvements by now after the ivermectin, but I’ve never experienced this before, so who knows?

I can’t tell if the growths got bigger from the first day or if I’ve just been looking at a different angle since (she does NOT tolerate the checks well, so it’s hard to find good positions). I wish I could attach videos… I might have to upload to youtube and link it here or something.

Had anyone seen anything like this? What else could it be? This hen is my little buddy and I’m absolutely livid that it had to happen to HER of all chickens. Her name is Hennessy

If she passes, I will definitely do a necropsy and see what the rest of her respiratory tract looks like. Until then, any help is appreciated

 

[sourland]

@dawg53 can you help here? Where are you located?

 

[Eggcessive]

It might be normal tracheal mucosal lining and mucus. Gapeworms are red Y-shaped worms, and only seen on a necropsy when the trachea is cut in half. I will tag @casportpony since she may have seen this. Respiratory diseases can cause gasping and sneezing, and increased mucus production. Infectious bronchitis virus is one that won’t cause eye bubbles or foam, but sneezing for several weeks.

 

[LiliesAtDusk]

It might be normal tracheal mucosal lining and mucus. Gapeworms are red Y-shaped worms, and only seen on a necropsy when the trachea is cut in half. I will tag @casportpony since she may have seen this. Respiratory diseases can cause gasping and sneezing, and increased mucus production. Infectious bronchitis virus is one that won’t cause eye bubbles or foam, but sneezing for several weeks.

Thank you! They’re making me very nervous because of how much of her airway they cover and the fact that they have little blood vessels, but I’ve been watching her comb color like a hawk for any signs that she isn’t getting enough air. I’ll take a weeks-long recovery from infectious bronchitis over her dying ANY day

 

[LiliesAtDusk]

@dawg53 can you help here? Where are you located?

I’m all the way up in nw Pennsylvania. I’d give anything for a livestock vet clinic that was accepting new clients so I could just go in

 

[Eggcessive]

Make sure she has good ventilation in her coop. Have you added any new birds recently from another flock? Symptoms from a carrier may cause symptoms in a couple of days to weeks. Usually with infectious bronchitis, there will be others sneezing in the flock over days to weeks. When mine had it years ago, sneezing and mild congestion were common in about half of the flock. They recovered in about 3 weeks. If you should lose a bird, keep the body cold and take or or ship it in to your atate vet lab for testing and a necrospy. Here is a list of state vets:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry...L5h4Xt137GBu32pWJZSRUY5DYhQyVrd4ODmF-Ab8otocc

 

[LiliesAtDusk]

Make sure she has good ventilation in her coop. Have you added any new birds recently from another flock? Symptoms from a carrier may cause symptoms in a couple of days to weeks. Usually with infectious bronchitis, there will be others sneezing in the flock over days to weeks. When mine had it years ago, sneezing and mild congestion were common in about half of the flock. They recovered in about 3 weeks. If you should lose a bird, keep the body cold and take or or ship it in to your atate vet lab for testing and a necrospy. Here is a list of state vets:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry...L5h4Xt137GBu32pWJZSRUY5DYhQyVrd4ODmF-Ab8otocc

I’ve only added chicks/ducklings from the farm store I work at (Family Farm & Home) and they were all very healthy for weeks after getting them home. One thing I DID just remember is that I had a duckling pass a couple weeks ago that was gasping for a few days and just died in my hands one day when she was like five weeks old. She was already two weeks old when I got her and only developed issues after two more weeks at my place. It had been weeks after she died and no one else seemed to have anything, so I figured it was just something wrong with that duckling. Now I’m not so sure

Thank you for that link!

 

[dawg53]

It's not gapeworms, if it were, other birds would be exhibiting symptoms. When worms are excreted in feces, they are either dead or dying, they cannot survive outside their host. Are you sure they wernt maggots?
If it was worms, you'll need to worm the rest of your birds with the fenbendazole.

White growths in the trachea or esophagus can possibly be a yeast infection which causes mucus build up in the throat, head shaking is possible to loosen/expel mucus.
You can give her an Epsom Salts solution, here are the instructions. See post #4.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/hen-trying-to-eat-but-cant.1598035/#post-27170402

If the Epsom Salts doesnt work, you can use Acidified Copper Sulfate. Here's a link, Post #4, go to the 2nd paragraph for mixing instructions:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/canker-or-fowlpox.1648534/#post-28263234

 

[LiliesAtDusk]

It's not gapeworms, if it were, other birds would be exhibiting symptoms. When worms are excreted in feces, they are either dead or dying, they cannot survive outside their host. Are you sure they wernt maggots?
If it was worms, you'll need to worm the rest of your birds with the fenbendazole.

White growths in the trachea or esophagus can possibly be a yeast infection which causes mucus build up in the throat, head shaking is possible to loosen/expel mucus.
You can give her an Epsom Salts solution, here are the instructions. See post #4.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/hen-trying-to-eat-but-cant.1598035/#post-27170402

If the Epsom Salts doesnt work, you can use Acidified Copper Sulfate. Here's a link, Post #4, go to the 2nd paragraph for mixing instructions:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/canker-or-fowlpox.1648534/#post-28263234

They were definitely not maggots. They were in a pile of poop that she dropped on my bedroom floor as soon as I set her down. She’s been passing dead, full-sized worms in her stool since. Might be rounds, might be cecals. They’re dead worms now, though, so I’m calling that a win. I dewormed everyone outside this morning.

I DID have a duckling pass that was gasping a few weeks ago, but no one else showed any signs after and no one but hennessy is now.

I will try the epsom salts to see if it helps.

Thank you!