Wheezing hen

[kjostran]

I have a hen that has been making a squeaking noise for a little while now. We had changed feed and she eats with a lot of enthusiasm. She dove in and came up covered in feed and coughing. That's when the noise started. Kind of a high pitched squeak. My daughter just brought her up to me saying she was breathing hard. I listened and she is wheezing quite a bit. I haven't noticed that she is off her feed at all and no diarrhea. She is also recovering from a particularly wicked molt and is covered in pin feathers. I'm worried about her not being warm enough along with a possible case of aspiration pneumonia. I'm new to chickens so I'm not even sure if that's possible. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

 

[ChickenGirl22]

Chickens can get pneumonia. I have never dealt directly with it before but I'd keep her warm and inside or quarantined from the others just in case.If I were you I'd also check her over to see if she's sick or injured in any other way. If she's not she might have inhaled some of the food, and you should probably get her to a vet before it scrapes her throat or does any permanent damage. I'm so sorry, I hope she's better from whatever's going on soon!

 

[cafarmgirl]

I have occasionally had a chicken get a bit of feed stuck in their throat and result it a high pitched, squeeking sort of cough. I have a couple of piggies who gobble their feed and they are the ones who do this once in a while. They usually are able to clear it fairly quickly. Although I had one bird get who-knows-what stuck in her throat while free ranging and she was honking all evening. Fine the next morning.

It can also be caused by progression of some kind of respiratory bug. I'd keep an eye on her and see if it either goes away or worsens.

 

[kjostran]

Thank for the advice. She is still squeaking away, although the only time breathes funny is when I pick her up. Im thinking I'm stressing her out. A call to a vet may be next. She is a funny thing I would like to fix her up.