Hen having difficulty breathing

[Carl3]

Recently our pet chicken has been having trouble breathing at night/early morning and I'm hoping someone can help me figure out what's wrong. Our local vet does not support chickens so I have to search online. The issue started about 2 weeks ago and we thought she might be hungry or constipated, but we believe it is either a breathing issue or sickness.

Some info about her:

• She is about 12-13 years old, I dont remember exactly. She no longer lays eggs
• She is the only chicken we have, so no risk of spreading or catching diseases with other chickens.
• She behaves normally during the day. She has free-roam in our backyard, and will walk around looking for bugs (and whatever else chickens do)
• For the past 6 months she has been sleeping inside. She comes to the back door in the afternoon and we let her in, give her dinner, then she sleeps in one of the empty dog kennels.
• For awhile she was eating various table scraps (rice, eggs, bread, macaroni) as well as whatever she picks up outside. Since the issues have started we've stopped these foods and have been giving her mixed chicken feed only.
• A few weeks ago, she discharged a decent amount of blood (we don't know where it came out of, just the end-result), but she was fine after that. We believe she may have choked on some hard bread.
• No noticeable breaks, cuts, or injuries. Besides the breathing issues she moves and eats fine.

Audio of Noises:

https://imgur.com/a/ixJTJeG

I've attached a few pictures but she was running away from me so they arent that good. I can get better pictures later when shes inside if anyone needs them.

 

[chrismahon]

She looks like a healthy Cream Legbar, but perhaps a bit overweight? I say overweight because that breathing matches the condition. They struggle to breath because their air sacs are being compressed by the abdominal fat, so they struggle to take air into them. It could also be a respiratory infection. What do her poos look like? Are they green? Her diet was terrible- should be pellets only and if she isn't laying now giving her rearers pellets rather than layers would be beneficial. A blood discharge is always a worry. Red blood indicates a source past the intestines, so perhaps a tumour in the vent? Blood that passes through the digestive system emerges black. If she is otherwise happy, just watch her diet. A respiratory infection would prevent her from moving much at all and she'd be wheezing standing up (antibiotics required), but if she sits down and only then struggles to breath that's overweight. She's a good age and I hope she keeps going. It's important that her sleeping area is dry, clean and well ventilated because dust and damp will cause a respiratory infection.

 

[Icemaiden]

Hi Chris.
I'm glad you were able to advise. Your years of experience are a blessing on this forum...

 

[Carl3]

She looks like a healthy Cream Legbar, but perhaps a bit overweight? I say overweight because that breathing matches the condition. They struggle to breath because their air sacs are being compressed by the abdominal fat, so they struggle to take air into them. It could also be a respiratory infection. What do her poos look like? Are they green? Her diet was terrible- should be pellets only and if she isn't laying now giving her rearers pellets rather than layers would be beneficial. A blood discharge is always a worry. Red blood indicates a source past the intestines, so perhaps a tumour in the vent? Blood that passes through the digestive system emerges black. If she is otherwise happy, just watch her diet. A respiratory infection would prevent her from moving much at all and she'd be wheezing standing up (antibiotics required), but if she sits down and only then struggles to breath that's overweight. She's a good age and I hope she keeps going. It's important that her sleeping area is dry, clean and well ventilated because dust and damp will cause a respiratory infection.

Thanks for the info, sorry I couldn't respond earlier.

• She doesn't seem overweight to me but I don't know the average weight for a chicken her type/age. This breathing problem started basically overnight, if it was weight-related I would assume she would slowly start this over a period of time. Its also happening all the time except when she's completely asleep.
• The blood discharge was bright red so it most likely came from her throat. At the time we believe she had something stuck in her throat but that happened like 2 months ago; she was without symptoms after that event for awhile.
• Her sleeping area is inside the house in the dog kennel, so there shouldn't be any issues there

 

[chrismahon]

Sounds more like a tumour in the throat now, with bleeding from there. You didn't say what her poos look like- first morning or overnight photo would be good.

 

[chrismahon]

An alternative problem may be cankers in the throat and airways which could be large enough to restrict her breathing. Check in her mouth and look for cheese coloured areas. These are a reaction to a parasite called Trichomonas Gallinae and are a combination of inflammation and ulceration and can become fungal in nature. Treated with Flagyl in the early stages, but because it has poor environmental resistance we have had success with ice water and chopped onions. Unfortunately once it has gained a firm hold it is unstoppable.