Help! What does it mean when hen is panting?

[HenJo]

Sometimes she has her mouth open and her tongue is kind of sticking out and I hear her panting. What does it mean?

 

[LynneP]

How old is your hen?
Has she been laying?
Any reason to suspect she is having a problem laying?
What else do you notice about her well-being and behavior?

 

[Dorothy1324]

sometimes it just means they are hot

 

[HenJo]

She's not even a year old. About 4 or 5 months old.
She hasn't been laying because she was attacked by a predator and I have her seperated from the roosters.
No she hasn't been laying eggs. Is there something wrong if shes not laying eggs even though she is seperated from the roosters?

 

[silkiechicken]

Is she inside recovering? Is she being heated for "comfort". If so, she's probably too hot. They often do best in weather cooler than we like since they have to wear feather jackets!

 

[HenJo]

She's not inside, I don't think my parents would like that, she seperated outside and her own small mesh cage and at night I put her a kennel.
She's not being heated. It's about 82 degrees in Florida almost everyday.

 

[nnbreeder]

Chances are it's the heat, humidity and the stress from the attack.

 

[silkiechicken]

Ouch 82! That plus stress is probably causing her to overheat. Maybe iced water bottles and cold water to drink may help.

My birds start to pant at about 75F.

 

[HenJo]

What can I do? Give her water when she's panting?
She has a habit of knocking over her water and food bowls.

 

[nnbreeder]

Bailing wire or coat hangers, either work well to tie bowls down. I've even screwed rubber bowls to boards with very little seepage but it makes them hard to clean.