Golden Sex Links Hen open beak breathing but only at night - and it's not hot

[ChickensRsmart]

She is about 1 1/2 old and last year she had some kind of respiratory disease that resolved with antibiotics. Early on she had egg laying issues (and inflammation at the vent) that I believe was related to the respiratory illness. Since then she has been laying eggs consistently, but they've been a bit on the small side for this kind of hen.
She also had problems with lice which also resolved with a couple of applications of poultry dust....when the lice were tormenting her, she would not sit down on her perch at night...afterward, she would roost normally.

Now, a year and a half later, I have noticed that at night, she will not sit down on her perch and she will pant and her wings will drop a little bit. Then in the morning, she will be fine - and she's still laying eggs consistently. She never pants during the day time, but she will sit down somewhat often.

She is rather heavy, but not obese. Still, I have cut all the corn out of her diet (day 3 now) and have left less food overall - free choice. If she still seems overweight, I was planning to feed her 2 times a day - and not leave any food for her between meal times.

She does have a somewhat spongy bottom - hard to say really - but could she be showing early signs of ascites? I have read that birds that suffer from respiratory diseases can also suffer from damage to the right ventricle - which can result in ascites. What is called water belly (when I research it) looks more like water bottom to me also? And the area surrounding her vent and perhaps down to between her legs is the area that may be a bit spongy - not a lot of fluid, but there could be some there...

And if it's not ascites, is it possible that she is experiencing pain or discomfort the night before she lays her egg - perhaps the egg drops into the ovaduct and if there is inflammation or scar tissue from a previous illness, that this would be the reason for her behavior?

Has anyone had a similar experience?

 

[azygous]

Panting can be from heat or from other sources of stress. Sources of stress can be overcrowding, conflict between birds, and coop pests - mice, rats, and mites. You would be wise to inspect the coop after dark to determine of vermin are behind her stress.

Set up a tracking system to determine if rodents are upsetting the flock at night. High tech - a game camera. Low tech - personal observation and perhaps a bit of flour on the floor to capture tiny footprints. A damp white cloth wiped over the roostsafter dark will pick up the mites that could be coming out at night from cracks and cevices to torment your chickens. Unlike lice, the coop requires treatment to get rid of them.

 

[ChickensRsmart]

Thanks azygous.

I thought it could be rats - the small ones can get through the poultry netting surrounding there enclosed run - but the coop is bullet proof. Not even a tiny mouse can gain entry...although the sounds of rodents at night do seem to bother her - she can hear them.

She's definitely not overcrowded - its just her and her rooster and there's a lot of space. When she has issues I've always brought them both inside (into the garage where it's cool) and so it's not the rodent sounds because she still does it.

I also treated her with the poultry dust again - thinking it could be mites this time - I can't find any lice or mites, but I treated her anyway (I think mites can be hard to spot). In any case, it's been 2 nights since treating her for mites, and she's still doing the night panting...and standing up instead of sitting down.

 

[ChickensRsmart]

Panting can be from heat or from other sources of stress. Sources of stress can be overcrowding, conflict between birds, and coop pests - mice, rats, and mites. You would be wise to inspect the coop after dark to determine of vermin are behind her stress.

Set up a tracking system to determine if rodents are upsetting the flock at night. High tech - a game camera. Low tech - personal observation and perhaps a bit of flour on the floor to capture tiny footprints. A damp white cloth wiped over the roostsafter dark will pick up the mites that could be coming out at night from cracks and cevices to torment your chickens. Unlike lice, the coop requires treatment to get rid of them.

Thanks again azygous.

I am mentioning more details as I think of them... Her comb and waddles still look pretty good - they've been a brighter red before, but they still look pretty red (which I know is a good sign).

I also cleaned out her coop again a couple of days ago and sprayed it down with a neem oil and dish soap solution - let that dry - and then replaced with new bedding (wheat straw).

Her stools look healthy - although sometimes she will produce a water poop - usually before laying an egg. I thought she could be egg bound at one point, but so far, she keeps laying them....and if she was egg bound (or having problems laying her eggs), then the panting should be happening right before laying her eggs - not the night before?

 

[azygous]

Coop mites do not live or conduct their life cycle on chickens as lice do. You need to do the after dark coop swipe test to detect their presence. Treating the bird with dusting powder does not get rid of mites. Only an approved poultry insecticide and thoroughly spraying the premises will do the job.

 

[ChickensRsmart]

OK! I will clear part of her coop tonight - near where she roosts - and then wait until after dark. Then I will wipe the area down with a damp white towel...! I will get to the bottom of this....!

When I feel for her keel bone (to see if she's too fat), I can feel the edge of it but I can't pinch it because there's flesh (and probably fat) up to the edge... Does this mean she's probably too fat?

Every night, she goes to bed with a full (big) crop... I don't think it will hurt her to let her load up in the morning - and then pull her food entirely until the evening - and then let her load her crop again? No corn... She's getting a gamebird mix and layer crumble...along with fresh green grass bits (that I cut up so she and her rooster don't choke). I also give her the occasional leafy greens and some garlic...bits of sweet potato sometimes...a little bit of melon too now and then...shredded apple...

 

[azygous]

A chicken isn't too fat until you can feel fatty deposits in the area below the vent. You will notice because the fat often causes poop to be deposited on the butt feathers where the fat pushed them farther out from the body that poop won't clear it.

 

[ChickensRsmart]

Thanks again! I will check her for fat butt deposits (lol). She does have a bit of poop on her butt feathers...

 

[ChickensRsmart]

A chicken isn't too fat until you can feel fatty deposits in the area below the vent. You will notice because the fat often causes poop to be deposited on the butt feathers where the fat pushed them farther out from the body that poop won't clear it.

Thanks again azygous.

The whole area below her vent strikes me as enlarged slightly. I can't feel what I was expecting to be an isolated layer of fat though. She's now got about half of her crop full (it would already be packed if I had included corn in her food). I am going to pull her food dish until tonight. She's still got chopped grass bits and some minced garlic and some layer crumble... I will let her eat a little bit more game bird mix tonight - if she hasn't already packed her crop with layer crumble...

And I will check the coop for mites tonight! I will let you know if I find them.

 

[ChickensRsmart]

A chicken isn't too fat until you can feel fatty deposits in the area below the vent. You will notice because the fat often causes poop to be deposited on the butt feathers where the fat pushed them farther out from the body that poop won't clear it.

I checked her coop 2 nights in a row now, and I'm not finding mites. And it also occurred to me that she's still open beak/mouth breathing when I remove her from her coop at night - and put into a large dog carrier with fresh bedding.
She appears to be improving by having removed the corn from her diet - Today, she's had just a little bit of game bird mix in the morning (minus the corn) and then layer crumble only. She ate a HUGE amount of layer crumble however...maybe more than half a cup!
She is back in the dog carrier tonight, and I've noticed that she has remained sitting down - but there is a still a little bit of open beak/mouth breathing.
I plan to keep her on this new diet - a little bit of corn free game bird mix in the morning, followed by only layer crumble...along with the fresh grass bits, the usual leafy greens and sweet potato (maybe once a week on the sweet potato - not the starchy kind...it's closer to a yam than a potato), raw garlic 2 times a week...some shredded apple or a small slice of melon.
It may be that she's simply too fat - a few more days should make it clear...
Thanks again for all the help azygous! I'll let you know if it turns out to be from being too fat.