This was several years ago, but it is still interesting so I thought I'd share. Sunshine was my favorite hen. A super friendly RIR that loved to sit on my shoulder, parrot-style and loved to nap on my lap. One day she was more insistent than ever..pecking at my pants leg and following me. I finally got down and let her sit on my lap. Her breathing was awful! So labored and scratchy. To my husband's chagrin I took her to a vet thinking maybe I could just get an antibiotic. I had toooo...
She was my favorite. Long story short ... the vet was not able to help. She had fluid throughout her lungs, but unrelated was the laugh we got when she brought in the xray. Lower down in her intestine you can see all the screws clear as a bell that she had picked up free ranging on our acre of land! The vet said probably all the hens looked like this as they enjoy eating shiny things. Apparently chickens are not able to pass this stuff through so it continues to build up over time. Here is a picture of Sunshine in the car going to the vet and the xray
