Wheezing, Gasping, Liquid Poop

[FinleyMcChicken]

She is pooping but its almost all liquid with a spot of white.

No new chickens and they're in a protected run so nothing new has been introduced to them.

It feels like her crop has gone down since last night, but still has some food in it. And she's not hacking or coughing, just gasping for air almost.

When I checked her vent there was something hard 1 inch in and I know she hasn't laid in a few days maybe since Saturday or Friday.

Treatments have been all over the place--I checked the vent so I gave her some oil up the vent. I also gave her some oil in her mouth and massaged her crop last night. I added apple cider vinegar to her water but then I read if its sour crop then that could be bad, so I removed that. I was going to give her an epsom salt soak but now have been suggested not to--I have no idea what to do now.

 

[azygous]

My money is on severe crop and perhaps gizzard impaction. The "gaping" is a common symptom of an extremely uncomfortable crop. The "wheezing" sound I believe isn't her respiratory tubes, but her voice box. The crop is probably causing the sound in her voice box when she breathes.

She needs treatment for impacted crop immediately. I detailed the entire treatment in this article. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/ You will probably need to follow up with the treatment for sour crop, as well. The hard lump you think could be an egg is probably her gizzard which is impacted as well. This girl is critical and close to death.

Has she been getting into long stemmed grass or hay? Has she had access to proper grit? Has snow made access to bare soil impossible for the past few weeks?

 

[FinleyMcChicken]

Update: NOT egg bound lol just laid an egg and is still wheezing, gasping so I'm leaning towards Wyorp Rock and thinking respiratory?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Did her breathing get worse after being handled yesterday when you notice her sneezing or did it get worse when you administered oil?

@azygous makes a very good point - crop issues can cause respiratory distress, it is a very good idea to treat the crop if it is not emptying properly. Even if she has a respiratory illness, a slow crop is going to exacerbate symptoms.

 

[rebrascora]

I would say probably not gape worm. Firstly gapeworm is quite rare and secondly I believe it is usually more raspy whereas that looks and sounds like she is struggling to inflate her lungs. The movement/heaving at her back end may be her rear air sacs trying to make up for a respiratory obstruction elsewhere in her system or it may be related to a problem with her reproductive system..... When you say you can feel something during an internal exam, where did you feel the hard object (directly ahead, above pressing down or below?)and was it blocking the passage or could you move your finger past it? Did she poop after you removed your finger and if so, what was it like?

Can you see any plaques or lesions inside her mouth or top of her trachea from opening her mouth and looking inside? Does her breath smell bad?

Does she have any abdominal swelling?... between her legs and/or around/below her vent? Compare with a healthy hen if you are unsure. Does she feel unusually heavy or unusually lightweight?

How is her body condition? Feel her breast area to assess this.... is her breast bone is sharp under the skin or does she feel reasonably well padded.

What do you normally feed them, including main feed and type and quantity of treats? Do they normally free range?

Has she ever been lame? She has her eye nearest the camera closed in the video. Are they both closed? What do her eyes look like when they are open.

Have you added any new birds to your flock in the past few months?

I would start by giving her a direct dose of Nutri Drench. She will probably benefit from being brought into a warm environment and maybe even give her a heat pad. I have read of people using an Oxine vapouriser with success on birds with respiratory problems but the slow crop and liquid poop point to this being more than just a respiratory problem.


The things that are running through my mind are:-

A bacterial or possibly fungal respiratory infection plus another gut related issue.
A reproductive issue which has caused swelling in her abdomen resulting in constriction of gut and therefore digestive tract stopped back resulting in slow impacted crop. Swelling also restricting inflation of lungs/air sacs and elimination of solid waste.
Ascites (which could be due to reproductive or other issue) having the same effect as above.
Marek's disease causing multiple issues like tumours in the abdomen and/or in the lungs or secondary infections in the respiratory system due to suppressed immune system.

 

[FinleyMcChicken]

@Wyorp Rock She's always been handled well, likes to be carried around so she her breathing didn't get any better or worse after being handled yesterday.

She's definitely not any better since laying the egg and is still gasping and craning

 

[FinleyMcChicken]

Took her to vet today--they did ultrasound and xray and didn't find anything. At first he thought it might be an impacted egg in the oviduct but since the xray and US didn't turn anything up he's treating her for pneumonia and hoping it doesn't turn out to be peritonitis. There were increased infiltrates in her lungs from xray (so that's why he's going pneumonia route) so 7 days of antibiotics and we'll see how she does.

Thanks for the all hands on deck replies I got, you guys definitely made me calmer!

 

[WVduckchick]

Took her to vet today--they did ultrasound and xray and didn't find anything. At first he thought it might be an impacted egg in the oviduct but since the xray and US didn't turn anything up he's treating her for pneumonia and hoping it doesn't turn out to be peritonitis. There were increased infiltrates in her lungs from xray (so that's why he's going pneumonia route) so 7 days of antibiotics and we'll see how she does.

Thanks for the all hands on deck replies I got, you guys definitely made me calmer!

Great job! Hopefully she responds well and heals up.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Took her to vet today--they did ultrasound and xray and didn't find anything. At first he thought it might be an impacted egg in the oviduct but since the xray and US didn't turn anything up he's treating her for pneumonia and hoping it doesn't turn out to be peritonitis. There were increased infiltrates in her lungs from xray (so that's why he's going pneumonia route) so 7 days of antibiotics and we'll see how she does.

Thanks for the all hands on deck replies I got, you guys definitely made me calmer!

I'm glad you were able to see the vet. Hopefully the antibiotics will help.

If you don't mind, what did the vet prescribe for the pneumonia?

 

[FinleyMcChicken]

If you don't mind, what did the vet prescribe for the pneumonia?[/QUOTE]


They gave me SMZ TMP which once I googled is Sulfatrim/Bactrim

She's doing a lot better, still wheezing slightly but eating, drinking and making coo-ing noises. Hopefully she keeps improving!!