Hen Gasping After Eating!!

[Anaf]

My 8-month old sussex hen Victoria has been gasping after eating for over a week now. I assumed that she was eating too quickly as it would often stop after a minute or two, usually after chomping down some grass or drinking water. Today however, she started to make a choking sound after eating some grains and so I rushed to pick her up. Her crop is very mushy, I can almost feel everything inside it. This is unlike my other hens who have hard, round crops. I tried to massage her crop and she started to make an almost gurgling/gasping sound. She kept stretching out her tongue which also appears to be too brown (compared to the other hens). I do not leave grains out for the hens all day as the sparrows finish it otherwise. Instead, I feed them grains 2/3 times a day. They also have oyster grit mixed into their grain. Could she simply be eating too fast/too much or has she perhaps contracted something more sinister???

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Oyster shell and grit are two different things, and should be offered separately from the food. Grit is needed for digestion. Oyster shell is required by laying hens to make good shells.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Do you feed them anything else besides grains? A commercially prepared feed of any kind such as layer pellets or crumbles?

 

[Anaf]

Oyster shell and grit are two different things, and should be offered separately from the food. Grit is needed for digestion. Oyster shell is required by laying hens to make good shells.

I will definitely get them some grit too. I assumed (and was told by a few other chicken owners) that if the hens are free-ranging they don't need to be supplied with additional grit. I will however purchase some anyway now that you mention it just to be safe!

 

[Anaf]

Do you feed them anything else besides grains? A commercially prepared feed of any kind such as layer pellets or crumbles?

I feed them scratch & lay. It is a commercially prepared mixture of grains and pellets. This is what I meant by grains, it contains as follows:
"This premium mixture is made to a specific formulation of protein, carbohydrate and fat with added vitamins and minerals for laying hens.
A free flowing grain and pellet mix that keeps hens in top laying condition.
Ingredients: Barley, canary seeds,wheat, oats, kibbled maize, kibbled green peas, poultry pellets (soya bean meal, peas, wheat by-products (broll) and vegetable oil),sunflower seeds, grit"
Protein 16%, Fibre 4.0%, Fat 2.9%

 

[BigBlueHen53]

It won't hurt, and might help. If not, we will call on some of the experts to see what they suggest. Good luck!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Okay, thanks. I am a beginner here too. Let me call some of the experts and see what they say. They will probably want a picture of the bird, the sack of feed, and her poop to begin with. They will have lots more questions but I am not well tonight so that's all I can think of to start with.
@Wyorp Rock
@aart
@ChickenCanoe
That should do to start with, one of them should be around.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

My 8-month old sussex hen Victoria has been gasping after eating for over a week now. I assumed that she was eating too quickly as it would often stop after a minute or two, usually after chomping down some grass or drinking water. Today however, she started to make a choking sound after eating some grains and so I rushed to pick her up. Her crop is very mushy, I can almost feel everything inside it.

I tried to massage her crop and she started to make an almost gurgling/gasping sound. She kept stretching out her tongue which also appears to be too brown (compared to the other hens).

I do not leave grains out for the hens all day as the sparrows finish it otherwise. Instead, I feed them grains 2/3 times a day. They also have oyster grit mixed into their grain.

Her tongue is brown? Can you get some photos of the inside of her beak?
Any strong or sour odor coming from her beak?

Check her crop first thing in the morning before she eats/drinks it should be empty.
If it's not empty in the morning, then I would try to determine what type of crop issue she has going on. The 2 articles below will help you with that, but post back and let us know what you find.

You don't mention if she's laying eggs and what her poop looks like?
Also, what part of the world do you live in?
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/
http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/impacted-slow-and-sour-crops-prevention-and-treatments

 

[Anaf]

Her tongue is brown? Can you get some photos of the inside of her beak?
Any strong or sour odor coming from her beak?

Check her crop first thing in the morning before she eats/drinks it should be empty.
If it's not empty in the morning, then I would try to determine what type of crop issue she has going on. The 2 articles below will help you with that, but post back and let us know what you find.

You don't mention if she's laying eggs and what her poop looks like?
Also, what part of the world do you live in?
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/
http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/impacted-slow-and-sour-crops-prevention-and-treatments

Thank you! She is still laying eggs, mostly double-yolked giant ones. I will attach a photo of her droppings. She isn't really letting me open her beak but I will try to get a photo/video in the morning. I'll check her crop in the morning and let you know! I did notice a slight odour but I've had a chicken with sour crop before and it wasn't really as noticeable.

 

[Anaf]

Here are photos of her droppings, her today, her feed and the grit/shells I provide her with. She is highly energetic and noisy, I haven't seen her to be lethargic or bothered in any way. It's only straight after giving her the feed that she looks uncomfortable for a few minutes.