1-year-old Orpington snuffling/wheezing/thin, acts like a dog

[CombNWattles]

This is Egberta.

We purchased her with 6 others from Tractor Supply last spring. She has always been very friendly and curious, almost too friendly, running up to me like a dog and following me around. (I think it’s cute, but I’m worried she’s clingy because she’s unwell.)
I noticed a while ago that she snuffles and wheezes, especially after running, drinking, or being picked up. She is also thin, but she has gained a little weight as the weather warms up. We had a rough winter; the young birds had to adjust to living in close quarters with the bossy older ones, who kept them away from the
food at first. Sometimes Berta seems confused when I move near her to pick her up. She squats, and twitches her head from side to side like someone waiting for a bucket of water to be dumped on their head. She also runs really weirdly: she tucks in her head and ‘high-steps’. I used to have a buff Orpington named Thelma, and she had a floppy comb and ran the exact same way. I’ve had others with upright combs, who run/act normally. Are some Orpingtons just kind of weird? Is this a thing?
Berta seems stable; none of her ‘symptoms’ are getting worse, and she does all the normal chicken things.
Has anyone else have/had a ’weird’ Orpington?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I noticed a while ago that she snuffles and wheezes, especially after running, drinking, or being picked up.

Sometimes Berta seems confused when I move near her to pick her up. She squats, and twitches her head from side to side like someone waiting for a bucket of water to be dumped on their head. She also runs really weirdly: she tucks in her head and ‘high-steps’.

Can you get a video of her running and "high stepping"?
Upload video to youtube and provide a link.

Everything else sounds fairly normal. Some hens are just friendlier than others and follow you around for company, hoping for a treat or just because.

Snuffling and wheezing - when you pick her up, are you pressing her crop? After drinking, she's likely getting some water in her nostrils. After running...??? I don't know, could be right after being picked up or drinking?
Check her crop - is it emptying?

Squatting when you come near to pick her up is a reaction that a lot of hens have, they are submitting to be mounted/mated. It's normal.

She has a yellow beak and legs, what color is the skin underneath her feathers? Are you sure she's a Buff Orpington? Perhaps a Buff Rock instead.

 

[CombNWattles]

Can you get a video of her running and "high stepping"?
Upload video to youtube and provide a link.

Everything else sounds fairly normal. Some hens are just friendlier than others and follow you around for company, hoping for a treat or just because.

Snuffling and wheezing - when you pick her up, are you pressing her crop? After drinking, she's likely getting some water in her nostrils. After running...??? I don't know, could be right after being picked up or drinking?
Check her crop - is it emptying?

Squatting when you come near to pick her up is a reaction that a lot of hens have, they are submitting to be mounted/mated. It's normal.

She has a yellow beak and legs, what color is the skin underneath her feathers? Are you sure she's a Buff Orpington? Perhaps a Buff Rock instead.

Wyorp Rock, thank you for your reply!

I’m working on the running video. I’ll also try to get a video of the snuffling/sneezing. Her crop was full (felt like a beanbag) this afternoon when I picked her up; I’ll check it first thing in the morning tomorrow. She has yellow skin, not pink like my other BO, so she’s either not pure-bred or a different breed altogether. Tractor supply mixes the chicks up sometimes…

I don’t think I’m squishing her crop; it seems like the physical pressure of being picked up makes her wheeze.
When I pick her up her keel feels very bony, hardly any padding on either side. She is very lively; if it were worms or a respiratory infection making her thin, would she be lethargic as well?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Wyorp Rock, thank you for your reply!

I’m working on the running video. I’ll also try to get a video of the snuffling/sneezing. Her crop was full (felt like a beanbag) this afternoon when I picked her up; I’ll check it first thing in the morning tomorrow. She has yellow skin, not pink like my other BO, so she’s either not pure-bred or a different breed altogether. Tractor supply mixes the chicks up sometimes…

I don’t think I’m squishing her crop; it seems like the physical pressure of being picked up makes her wheeze.
When I pick her up her keel feels very bony, hardly any padding on either side. She is very lively; if it were worms or a respiratory infection making her thin, would she be lethargic as well?

Look forward to the videos.

You pick her up and it makes her wheeze. Does she have any bloat or feeling of fluid/tightness like a drum in the abdomen below the vent between her legs?

She's laying eggs right? What are those like?


When you pick her up, place a hand on her abdomen between her legs to help support her, see if she still wheezes. Sometimes if they have some fluid in the abdomen the pressure of being picked up can make them cough or wheeze.

 

[CombNWattles]

Hello, Wyorp Rock,

Sorry for the long delay. I’m still working on getting the videos
Here’s a picture of what I’m pretty sure is her egg. It seems normal to me aside from some small calcium deposits on one end:

I felt her abdomen and it seems soft, not tight or water-balloony. It seems that when I pick her up slower/more carefully she wheezes less. This could be because she’s less startled that way.
I’m wondering if she has a respiratory infection, because of the sneezing/thinness; also one of my older hens has ‘bubbly’ eyes, and I read that these can all be symptoms.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hello, Wyorp Rock,

Sorry for the long delay. I’m still working on getting the videos
Here’s a picture of what I’m pretty sure is her egg. It seems normal to me aside from some small calcium deposits on one end:
View attachment 3822687

I felt her abdomen and it seems soft, not tight or water-balloony. It seems that when I pick her up slower/more carefully she wheezes less. This could be because she’s less startled that way.
I’m wondering if she has a respiratory infection, because of the sneezing/thinness; also one of my older hens has ‘bubbly’ eyes, and I read that these can all be symptoms.

I'm glad she's laying eggs.

It's possible that she may have respiratory illness since you're seeing some symptoms in another hen.
Bubbles in the eyes could indicate Mycoplasma.

Symptoms can be treated with Tylosin.