Wheezing/Hoarse Chicken

[ame0910]

Hi all, kinda strange question to run by anyone who has more experience. I noticed this morning that one of my 6 month old hens was a little wheezy. I thought I saw some dried blood under her nose, but couldn't get a clear picture of it unfortunately. There's also a lot of runny green poop under all the perches I have, so I wonder if it's related and if everyone has whatever this is. She's acting fine, eating and drinking and laying and running around with everyone else. Although this afternoon when I came back from work she was wheezing worse, sounds almost hoarse, and it sounds like little popping air bubbles in her throat. She's also moving her head forward when she tries to take a deep breath like she's adjusting her crop. I've felt her crop and it feels normal. I did recently add a new bird to the flock from a family friend, but she was quarantined for over a week and showed no signs of illness. I know its difficult to provide a diagnosis with such little information, but I wonder if anyone has any ideas or experience about what it could be? I'm heading to the store currently to buy electrolytes and amoxicillan but I know neither of those will do anything against this if it's a viral infection. Is it possible she's (and by extension, my flock) have infectious bronchitis or even scarier, laryngotracheitis?

 

[Eggcessive]

Does she have any nasal drainage, bubbles or foam in one or more eyes, or any swelling around an eye or on the face? It can take days to a couple of weeks for respiratory disease symptoms to show up after being exposed by a carrier. Symptoms may point to which kind. Crop problems may make one sound rattly, if the crop contents come back up into the throat. It can also make one adjust the crop a lot if something is nit going down. How does her crop feel—empty, full, squishy, firm, doughy? Can you check it again first thing in the morning to see if it has emptied overnight?

 

[ame0910]

No nasal drainage, after a closer look tonight no blood or other discharge from the nose or eyes. Comb is bright red, she’s not puffing up. Her crop feels very firm at the moment, and when offered food and water she eagerly went after both. I got a video, it doesn’t show the “hoarseness” I heard bc she’s not doing that now, but it does show her wheezing/adjusting her crop. I smelled her breath (wild thing to do by the way) but not extremely odorous. Basically exactly what I imagined chicken breath to smell like. She’s active still, but I’ve brought her inside for monitoring overnight. I’ll check her crop again in the morning, if it’s still firm and she hasn’t been able to move anything down what would the next steps be??

 

[Eggcessive]

Her crop would normally be mostly empty in the morning. If not, you can offer some chilled coconut oil cut into small pieces to peck, about a tsp twice a day. If the crop is full and firm, you can massage it to help break up an impaction. Offer lots of water. If her crop is squishy, then that would be a crop going sour, and it is treated with antifungal (medistatin or miconazole/monistat) medication given orally. Here is a good article to read:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

 

[ame0910]

Oh my god thank you! I feel better having a plan of action and will follow up in the morning. I appreciate you so much!!