Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[ChicoryBlue]

I am noticing a bad sign. Queenie is panting, or at least opening her beak to breathe while standing, as if she is overheated. No particular sounds while she breathes that I can hear. Yesterday I noticed more than the occasional "honk" that I'm guessing are coughs. Eyes are clear, no nares discharge. She is moving her mouth a lot, like eating, when she is not eating. I don't see anything in there when she has her beak open. Advice? Call the avian vet I found online (an hour away but I don't consider that distance a problem)?

 

[RoyalChick]

I am noticing a bad sign. Queenie is panting, or at least opening her beak to breathe while standing, as if she is overheated. No particular sounds while she breathes that I can hear. Yesterday I noticed more than the occasional "honk" that I'm guessing are coughs. Eyes are clear, no nares discharge. She is moving her mouth a lot, like eating, when she is not eating. I don't see anything in there when she has her beak open. Advice? Call the avian vet I found online (an hour away but I don't consider that distance a problem)?

Can you post a video? I don't know enough to be helpful but several of our friends here know what they are talking about and can help. My worry would be some kind of respiratory infection. Hope all turns out OK.

 

[featherhead007]

Ok, I’m guilty of doing things like that as well... it’s a fast and efficient way to get the garbage pile going. Granted I don’t have neighbors, I watch my burn closely (even when it takes a couple days to go fully out) and with rain like this, we need the extra kick to get it started. When you say bonfire are you talking like this:
View attachment 2458448
Or like this?View attachment 2458432
Sorry you have an idiot neighbor that doesn’t play with fire properly... I have a Cousin in law’s Husband like that.

second pic!

 

[BY Bob]

I do not have a great feeling about today... it is 7am here, and still pitch black out, we have torrential rain. The rain woke me up around 4 and I couldn’t get back to sleep. I have a feeling I am going to get very wet today, and the chickens are going to be quite unhappy with the weather. I have just remembered that I left my staple gun in a bucket, so it’s probably sitting in water. Plus point is I have plenty of water to douse those nasty dog crates with. Luckily it is at least fairly warm out. And there is none of the four letter “S” word, even if the precipitation levels are approaching biblical proportions.

Today, I have Roostie to medicate with the enrofloxacin, and now one of the new rescues has an injury which I wasn’t able to tend to fully yesterday, thanks to Little Red’s clumsy mating skills. Afternoon delivery of Eggs and Chicken up a sketchy dirt road with BIL’s driving (scary!) and a check on the mail for a better antibiotic. I am also hoping there is enough of a break in the weather for me to tarp over the chicken trailer (there’s a slight leak and wet poop is nasty).

It truly is going to be a long day for you.

 

[BY Bob]

Orpingtons are beautiful ladies. Hattie especially so if I do say so myself.

 

[RoyalChick]

Orpingtons are beautiful ladies. Hattie especially so if I do say so myself.

We are with you there! Hattie is definitely a very beautiful lady.

 

[BY Bob]

I am noticing a bad sign. Queenie is panting, or at least opening her beak to breathe while standing, as if she is overheated. No particular sounds while she breathes that I can hear. Yesterday I noticed more than the occasional "honk" that I'm guessing are coughs. Eyes are clear, no nares discharge. She is moving her mouth a lot, like eating, when she is not eating. I don't see anything in there when she has her beak open. Advice? Call the avian vet I found online (an hour away but I don't consider that distance a problem)?

Stress can cause this as well as heat. How warm is it where you have her? She has been used to outside temperatures. Rapid, significate changes in temperature are very hard on Chickens either up or down.

A video would also help.

 

[ChicoryBlue]

Stress can cause this as well as heat. How warm is it where you have her? She has been used to outside temperatures. Rapid, significate changes in temperature are very hard on Chickens either up or down.

A video would also help.

She is in one of the warmest rooms - a bathroom that has a towel warmer in it. I turned it off this morning. The door is open but I could close that (we heat with wood from a central spot) and open the two windows. I can get what the temp is if I move a thermometer back into there.

It isn't all the time with her mouth open, right now it's just now and then, and then when she moves about, gets on and off the low perch as if it is too warm for her. She is also making a low purring sound, not dissimilar to a warning sound been doing that a lot this morning. I have no idea what she is focused on with that. The cat has been sleeping on the bed about 12 feet away that she can see, maybe that? He didn't seem to bother her before. He's sound asleep, not moving, and is entirely unimpressed with chickens.

I will try a video, but I'll have to make a YouTube account or something. The inside/outside thing I have vaguely heard of and was one of the reasons I put her outside in the run bump-out, because she would be more used to the outside temps. I could alternatively put her in the dog crate outside and see how she does. I think the move would be more stress. And it's not secure for nighttime.

She is keeping to the brooder even with the window screen "door" off, she is not that interested in leaving where she is. Once she flew over to the sink, maybe because there's a large mirror there. She likes to hang out on the edge of the brooder "doorway", so I made a perch there. She's been scratching interestedly in the chips and leaves, and eats and drinks. I tried the crumbles moistened into a mash and she likes that a lot.

 

[Kris5902]

second pic!

Yeah, that’s not good... I can see why you would be concerned! Pic #2 was a community fire smart burn I worked. Many of our volunteer fire department were there, and it was done to actively decrease the debris around people’s properties to help prevent fires. Once you get to the “Burning a couple full trees, and truckload after truckload of yard trimmings” stage it gets scary. You need a special permit from the forest service here for burns over 12’ and supposedly anything piled with a machine.

 

[Kris5902]

Stress can cause this as well as heat. How warm is it where you have her? She has been used to outside temperatures. Rapid, significate changes in temperature are very hard on Chickens either up or down.

A video would also help.

I’m leaning this way as well... I like the no discharge and she still seems alert and is eating. And second the video option... YouTube is fairly easy to set up an account and upload to. I do it straight from my iphone and it has been super helpful in getting assistance when I run into something I don’t know about! I do it all from my phone through the app, but I access BYC through the internet browser (still on my phone, but I find that easier)

@ChicoryBlue take the video first, if you can keep it fairly short it will upload faster, then work on setting up the app and posting the video link here. If for nothing else being able to share a video in a situation like thismakes having the account worth it.