chicken sounds like she's wheezing

[mamadukes5]

went out to the run this morning to give the chickens their oatmeal, and one of the pullets sounded like she was purring. They do that sometimes, so paid no attention to it. Went back out two hours later with the meal worms, and the same pullet now sounds like she is wheezing, non-stop. I took her away from the others, put her in a dog crate with some food and water and a heat lamp near her but not on her and have no idea what to do next. What sort of respiratory problems are chickens liable to come down with? Everyone else is fine, same number of eggs this morning and everyone ate, just this one girl sounds like she's having a hard time. DH says maybe she has something stuck in her throat, is that possible? And what do I do to find out? Anybody got any ideas?

 

[dawg53]

Quote:
Hopefully it IS something stuck in her throat rather than a respiratory disease. I'm glad you seperated her. If it's something stuck in her throat or crop, try giving her a piece of bread soaked in olive oil, after she swallows it, gently massage her crop. Maybe it'll move the stuck object along. If it isnt an environmental issue, it could be a respiratory problem. It seems coryza and mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) are the two diseases going around. Coryza normally has a foul odor about the head area of the infected bird. If there's no foul odor it could possibly be MG. Here's the link, scroll down to "Infectious Coryza" and "Mycoplasma Gallisepticum (MG) and read about them if you wish.

 

[mamadukes5]

did as you suggested and then had to go to work. Just got home and checked on her, and the noise is gone and she's feeling well enough to take a peck at me, which she did not do this morning. I gave her some more food and some meal worms, which she jumped on, and by the looks of the cage, she's pooping normally. Filled up the water for her, she drank some and then settled back down on the perch. Will keep her inside for tonight and check her out tomorrow and make sure nothing else is up before I put her back in the coop with the others. Thanks very much for the advice, I had no idea what to do with her. Will see what happens tomorrow, and thanks again.

 

[dawg53]

I forgot to add the link to "Respiratory Diseases in Poultry." I'm glad she's doing better, let's hope it stays that way.

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

 

[bbroadhead]

Hopefully it IS something stuck in her throat rather than a respiratory disease. I'm glad you seperated her. If it's something stuck in her throat or crop, try giving her a piece of bread soaked in olive oil, after she swallows it, gently massage her crop. Maybe it'll move the stuck object along. If it isnt an environmental issue, it could be a respiratory problem. It seems coryza and mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) are the two diseases going around. Coryza normally has a foul odor about the head area of the infected bird. If there's no foul odor it could possibly be MG. Here's the link, scroll down to "Infectious Coryza" and "Mycoplasma Gallisepticum (MG) and read about them if you wish.

Dawg 53,
I just found your very helpful suggestion when I looked up, "What does it mean if a chicken is wheezing?" THANK YOU!!! I let my girls out to free range when I got home from work. When they all came out (6 sexlinks) they were happy, excited and running with typical happy noises. After about an hour, I went into the front yard to check on two of the hens that love to dig under a bush. I could hear one of the girls were wheezing bad as they came towards me. I picked her up, and she just seemed to be gasping for air. I watched her for about 30 min. and she still kept struggling/wheezing. I came in and googled the above question and found your suggestion of soaking a piece of bread with olive oil and feeding it to her. It instantly relieved her. She is still a little wheezy, but she is so much better. She even started to drink water!! I will keep an eye on her. I just wanted to thank you for helping me save one of my girls life. With much appreciation, A Chicken Lover In Heber City, UT

 

[hikelady]

I tried your advice giving my wheezing Brahma bread pieces soaked in olive oil... it WORKED! So excited. This is the second time you saved this same chickens life. She ate it shortly before she went to bed, was still having great difficulty breathing, but by morning she was FINE! Thanks!

 

[MeeMa Brown]

Mine did that all day but quiet on her roost. Couldn't tell if a contented nesting sound (she layed her 2nd egg on coop floor) or wheeze. Stopped in Tractor Supply to read chicken books but your site helped most

 

[BF Vince]

Hen has been wheezing all day. Just gave her bread soaked in olive oil. She wasn't too partial to it, but finally ate a little. It worked!!

 

[romea]

wow... thank you for this thread with the simple advice to use olive oil soaked bread...

i had a chicken "wheezing" all day. i tried to help her by holding her upside down and dislocating whatever might have gotten stuck with a swift downward motion but that did not make a difference to her breathing.
i started researching the various ailments that can affect a chicken's respiratory system but "knew" that a disease was - most likely - not the culprit.
i eventually i found dawg's suggestion and used soft dog food, divided them into 'lumps' and poured olive oil over it.
(i currently have only 'pumpernickel-like' bread in the house... )

by then it was already later in the afternoon and she had been wheezing all day but walking around outside with her flock largely unfazed.
long story short: i fed this to her and the relief was almost immediate. 15 minutes later: no more wheezing.

dawg53, if you still monitor this old thread: in the name of my chicken, i thank you!

 

[reignbough1973]

Dawg53, I just tried the bread soaked in olive oil for one of my hens that was wheezing pretty heavily. Totally worked!!! The wheezing is gone! I am very happy, and the hubby is impressed with me over it, too. None (and I mean NONE) of the vets in or near my area treat chickens. Which is weird since I live near many farming areas. So, I'm happy to have at least one tool in my arsenal for hen care. Thank you so much!!!