Breathing difficulties

[Mimi13]

This morning I noticed my CW, Blanca, breathing very strangely, very noisily, with little sneezes interspersed.

A little background: I have a free range flock of 35 and 12 3-wk old chicks inside. I have been keeping chickens for three years and have no history of any respiratory disease in my flock.

Blanca is a 1 year old hen that began having reproductive issues (the first that I was aware of) about two weeks ago with a soft shelled egg. I had to help her “deliver” the remains of the egg. This morning there was evidence on the droppings board of one of the girls laying a partial soft shell. I cannot be positive it was her though.

Anyway, I quickly began searching in “The Chicken Health Handbook” for anything and came across some information stating, “It (salpingitis) usually results from a respiratory infection, ...” If so, what kind of RI might she have?

The only thing I noticed this morning is the breathing noise/sneezing. I have not noticed any nasal or eye discharge/bubbles, coughing, gasping. She was not making this noise first thing this morning when I fed.

The sneezing throws me if her labored breathing could be from a partial egg shell that might still be lodged. Possibility?

I’m at a loss. I do have a cage I can put her in in my sunroom, but that would then put her “inside” the house where the 3 wk old chicks are. She wouldn’t be near them, but still. I have no idea what this is or what to do.

Honestly, my plans were to put the 3 week olds out in their protected run this week, but now I don’t know.

Any and all advice needed please!

ETA: I have on hand Tylan 50 and also Oxine. I have thought about going ahead and giving her a breathing treatment with Oxine.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

How is she doing now?
She may be experiencing Stridor - inhaling a piece of food or it could be from mucous or swelling of their airway from inhaling something.
If it's Stridor it will usually clear up in a few hours or by morning - sometimes they are able to cough or sneeze to clear it.

If it continues, then you will want to examine her more closely - look inside the beak, throat/airway for anything that may be obstructing them.
It could be respiratory disease, but I would wait and see.

Hens that have reproductive issues like Salpingitis, Internal Laying, Egg Yolk Peritonitis, cancer and tumors can sometimes have difficulty breathing. Inflammation/swelling and/or fluid in the abdomen (Ascites) can press upon the internal organs, lungs and air sacs.

You ask about Salpingitis. This is an inflammation of the oviduct - most of the time the first "symptom" you would see would be a "Lash Egg" which is a basically layers of caseous exudes (pus and egg material), if laid it does look somewhat like an egg, but you will know the difference. Salpingitis is associated with birds that have a history of Mycoplasma and Infectious Bronchitis. It can also be caused by E. Coli.

Keep us posted.

 

[Eggcessive]

Agree, that it sounds like stridor and sneezing, which might be due to mucus or swelling in the trachea or airway. Infectious bronchitis, MG might be possible. Here is some reading about respiratory infections:
https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

 

[Mimi13]

I don’t like what I see or hear from her. I have her inside in a crate with wet mash and water. She obviously has not eaten or drunk anything today. When I got her several hours ago, I gave her a dose of Nutri Drench and then some water via syringe. She does not want anything.

I draped a sheet over her cage and turned on the humidifier with Oxine. I thought it couldn’t hurt. To look and listen to her you’d think she absolutely cannot breathe. I would say she’s struggling to breathe now.

However, the strangest thing happened. She burped on two occasions. I immediately smelled of her breath to see ignorance it had an odd odor, but it didn’t. When I gave her the drops I did not squirt directly in her mouth, I let the drops fall in the front section of her beak, simply because she doesn’t close her mouth. She appears to be completely stopped up and not be able to breathe. I think that’s also why she has not eaten or drunk.

I initially checked her over on the outside. To begin with I thought she possibly had a puncture to her lung or something of that sort. I have not checked inside her mouth but I will. When I gave her water she was able to swallow and her tongue seemed to work normally.

When I mentioned salpingitis, I was grasping at straws. I have never seen any lash egg. Nor does she have ascites. As a matter of fact I was shocked at how thin she is. She has always been on the larger side of most of my birds.

I am going to read about stridor now. I’m not sure how I could see if her esophagus was swollen or not.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would try to get her drinking some fluids. Since the stridor can be from swelling, mucus, or a piece of food stuck, many notice that it goes away within a few hours or by the next morning. I had a hen get this every now and then when she had eaten scratch grains or chicken feed. After she would have a good cough, it cleared. If she has a virus or bacterial infection, it may last longer. The oxine and humidifier are a good thing to try. Have you ever seen any chickens with a respiratory infection before, or have you added any new birds recently?

 

[Mimi13]

I would try to get her drinking some fluids. Since the stridor can be from swelling, mucus, or a piece of food stuck, many notice that it goes away within a few hours or by the next morning. I had a hen get this every now and then when she had eaten scratch grains or chicken feed. After she would have a good cough, it cleared. If she has a virus or bacterial infection, it may last longer. The oxine and humidifier are a good thing to try. Have you ever seen any chickens with a respiratory infection before, or have you added any new birds recently?

No, I have not ever had or even seen a chicken with respiratory problems before. Just the occasional sneeze during an over zealous dust bath.

I don’t have any new chickens except my 3 week old chicks. They have been in my house the whole time. I did plan on putting them outside in the coop/run this week, but I guess this has put a hold on that.

 

[Eggcessive]

How does her crop feel? It is empty and flat, or full and puffy or hard?

 

[Mimi13]

How does her crop feel? It is empty and flat, or full and puffy or hard?

Completely empty.

 

[Eggcessive]

You can tube feed her if you can get some aquarium air tubing and a large syringe from your feed store. But before that I would try getting her to try some very watery chicken feed or a little scrambled egg, and drop some water onto it if she will take it. Some chickens will take water if a spoon is placed next to the side of the beak. Here is some info on tube feeding:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/updated-go-team-tube-feeding.805728/

 

[Mimi13]

You can tube feed her if you can get some aquarium air tubing and a large syringe from your feed store. But before that I would try getting her to try some very watery chicken feed or a little scrambled egg, and drop some water onto it if she will take it. Some chickens will take water if a spoon is placed next to the side of the beak. Here is some info on tube feeding:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/updated-go-team-tube-feeding.805728/

I will try feeding her first. Although I will say she doesn’t want to eat or drink because she can’t breathe when she does.