[themagicaltoad1]

My smallest, (and naughtiest) hen, a little bantam RIR didn't come running on Saturday when I rattled the corn tin,usually she's first in the queue. I eventually found her hunched up under a bush. Her breathing was very bubbly but her eyes and nose were clear. She was standing on one leg with her eyes shut. I brought her in and tried to tempt her to eat but she wasn't interested, so I kept her in a box overnight. The next morning she seemed a bit bighter but still with the horrible noisy breathing so I put her out into the hospital coop & run. This morning after reading all the posts about breathing problems on here, I was intending to take her to the vet, but she ate well and her breathing seemed a bit better. As the day progressed she seemed more and more her usual self and when I picked her up before bed her breathing sounded clear. None of the other hens are showing any signs of being ill. I'm puzzled what the problem was and why it seems to have cleared up so quickly on its own. Anyone have any ideas?

She's just regrowing new feaathers after her first moult.

[joyfull]

she may have had something obstructing her airway.

[themagicaltoad1]

Would that have made her breathing sound wet and bubbly? She sounded like her lungs were full of fluid.

[Elvira]

I had a similar thing with a cockerel once where he had a bubbly sounding chest for a day or two and he coughed and spluttered rather than crowed in the morning (sounded like he was on 50 a day!). Otherwise he was absolutely fine (eating and scratching round) and it cleared up on its own before I could take him to the vet.
The hens were all fine but I think were trying not to laugh at his pitiful attempts to crow! (He was called Sylvio as he was very fond of his hens...)

[themagicaltoad1]

Well whatever it was she's back to her normal self now, and I'm glad I didn't have an expensive vet bill to pay for nothing.