Chicken Having Trouble

19 years ago

I went out to the coop and found her sitting on the roost, making some sort of weird hawing and awing noise as she breathed in and out. I've moved her to a warm place and checked for egg bind, but didn't find anything. I don't feel anything in her crop, either. She's not loud, like when they are laying eggs. It sounds more like she's been doing it for a while and is losing her voice. Any idea what might be wrong? She has clear eyes and nose, and everything is in position except for her tail which is drooping. I've put some water down her throat with a dropper and made a plate of eggs and yogurt, but she isn't eating or drinking anything on her own. I had a chicken die in the fall of 2005. The whole flock subsequently passed a test for pullorum and influenza. It was suggested that the chicken had a respiratory problem because she was an April hatch and it was the first bit of cold weather we'd had. Then I had another chicken die early last spring. She was literally scared to death by a raccoon. As for today, everyone was fine when I checked them this morning. I think it's been a couple of hours now since I found the hen and she is still making that noise.

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Comments (4)

circa1825
Original Author
19 years ago
My chicken seems to be doing better today. She is breathing through her nose instead of her mouth, so the haw-aw haw-aw noise is gone today. She is also eating and drinking on her own. I'm going to keep her separated from the flock until the weather evens out. I'd still be interested in any thoughts anybody has as to what could have been the problem.
Maggie_J
19 years ago
Could she have had some kind of obstruction in her windpipe? I don't know whether or not chickens can "swallow something the wrong way" but it sounds to me as though there was something blocking the airway that has cleared.

You're wise to keep her separated until she is fully recovered. If it is something contagious, you'll be glad you played it safe. I'd keep a close eye on the others... If any develop similar symptoms, that's when I would get worried.

Good luck with her. Hope she makes it. Don't forget to post an update so we can all learn from your experience.
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circa1825
Original Author
19 years ago
I put my chicken back out a couple of days ago for her first overnight venture back at the coop. She did fine. She had been spending the daytime out there before that, but the nightly temperatures only recently stabilized around freezing. I hadn't wanted to rush putting her back into the wild temperature swings, so that's why I kept her inside for so long.

I think her problem was that maybe she had somehow whacked her throat on the roost or something else hard. When I first examined her, I had rubbed her throat and she really seemed to enjoy it, even stopping the hacking for a little bit, but she made those weird sounds for over 12 hours straight.

Anyway, she has adjusted to her new position in the pecking order already, maybe even finding her original spot, and everything seems normal again. She even got a name upgrade from living in such close proximity to her human family for so many days. She was originally named Amber. After awhile she had become known as Eggs because her sister is named Butter (Butter and Eggs - or Toadflax, in case you're wondering). But now she is Chicken Jane. :-)
sullicorbitt
19 years ago
Glad to hear your hen is better, I love your pictures BTW, beautiful place you have :)

-Sheila