Rescued Silkie hen - Inflating neck?

[Mangle]

We have recently rescued about ten hens from a rather horrible situation. This situation consisted of overcrowding, poor water/feed, and no bedding to rest in. Essentially they were kept in a small, narrow, and short pen, with over two dozen birds inside.

These hens were filthy, to the point where droppings and mud were clumped to their skin/feathers. Since our temperatures are lowering, accompanied by strong winds, we decided to wash most of the hens so they'd have a better chance of being warm. Upon washing this hen in particular, (her name is Kewpie!) Her neck has inflated during some of her breathing. The inflation is on and off, meaning that sometimes her neck looks completely normal. Other than that, she's perfectly fine. No sneezing, snot, ir anything or the sort. This is our third day of having these hens, she behaves normally within the small flock. The only other notable information is that her nostrils do look a bit smaller, at least maybe to the chickens I'm used to.

Thank you in advance for any responses!

 

[Ecarroll]

We have recently rescued about ten hens from a rather horrible situation. This situation consisted of overcrowding, poor water/feed, and no bedding to rest in. Essentially they were kept in a small, narrow, and short pen, with over two dozen birds inside.

These hens were filthy, to the point where droppings and mud were clumped to their skin/feathers. Since our temperatures are lowering, accompanied by strong winds, we decided to wash most of the hens so they'd have a better chance of being warm. Upon washing this hen in particular, (her name is Kewpie!) Her neck has inflated during some of her breathing. The inflation is on and off, meaning that sometimes her neck looks completely normal. Other than that, she's perfectly fine. No sneezing, snot, ir anything or the sort. This is our third day of having these hens, she behaves normally within the small flock. The only other notable information is that her nostrils do look a bit smaller, at least maybe to the chickens I'm used to.

Thank you in advance for any responses!

I’m no expert, I’m not really sure what’s going on in your situation. But you should probably post a Few pictures for those who can help you, and remember that if you have any other birds to keep these ones quarantined. Good luck!

 

[Mangle]

^^^
Great idea!

Here is a video of her breathing:

 

[alinas2010]

This is interesting. With the conditions she had been kept in, I wouldn’t be shocked if some sort of injury or illness contributed to this, but I’m going to tag some others who may have more definitive answers @Wyorp Rock @Eggcessive @azygous

Bless you for rescuing those babies.

 

[HorseGirlAbby]

I had a hen who breathed like that, her nostrils looked a bit small too. She never had any issues, though I’m guessing she had a slight respiratory thing going on. If your girl is behaving normally and doesn’t seem to have trouble breathing, I wouldn’t worry. It could be damage from the bad environment, could be a disease, or it could be just how she breathes.

 

[dawg53]

Closely inspect her nostrils and see if they are clogged with debris.
Open her mouth and closely inspect it, especially the back of her throat and entrance to her esophagus. Look for tiny white splotches anywhere in her mouth, mucus, or any yellow or dark colored lesions or anything else out of the ordinary.
Let us know what you see.

 

[Mangle]

I was able to get a peak today. I noticed there are some whitish grey spots on her tongue, just a tad bit lighter than her skin tone.

Snowfall has finally happened here, all of the hens are doing well aside from a little grumpiness. I thank everyone for their patience, I'm really hoping to save this hen!

 

[dawg53]

Kewpie could possibly have a yeast infection with whitish grey spots on her tongue.
I recommend giving her an Epsom Salts flush. Mix one teaspoon Epsom Salts into a cup of water. Use a syringe without a needle to draw up the solution and give it her orally 3 times a day for 3 days. Give her at least 3ml per dosing. Administer only 1/4ml when dosing so that she wont aspirate. The spots should shrink or completely disappear if in fact it's a yeast infection but might reappear again in time and will require ongoing treatments.

 

[Mangle]

Thank you so much! We'll purchase the salts soon and start treatment.

One last question, is this contagious or transferable to any of the other hens? Or should they be okay?

 

[dawg53]

Thank you so much! We'll purchase the salts soon and start treatment.

One last question, is this contagious or transferable to any of the other hens? Or should they be okay?

No, yeast infections are not contagious. Let us know if the spots on her tongue shrunk or disappeared after the 3 days treatment.