Hi. I have a flock of ten, seven adult hens (just over a year old) and three 'teenagers' hatched this past spring (13-16 weeks old). The three young chickens have a habit of panting, they pant all the time. I do live in San Diego, CA and it is summer now, so I thought that it was just weather related (though the other hens find ways to stay cool and thus not pant). But recently I learned about gapeworm. Could all three of the young chickens have this? Like I said, it is only the three young chickens that are exhibiting this symptom, the older hens are fine. I have not been able to look down their throats because they do not like to be touched and handles since they were raised by some of my hens. All ten chickens live together, so if this were contagious I would have thought that it would have been a problem for all (or more) of the group, not just this year's chicks. The three young chickens are eating and drinking and are active. They have a very healthy appetite (one in fact, devours anything I bring out for them. Could this be a sign of another type of worm problem, like a tape worm?)
Thanks for your input.
Thanks for your input.