Chickflick29
Chirping
- Jun 9, 2020
- 46
- 44
- 91
I’m not sure if I’m making mountains from molehills or not with this one, but my dear hen Clarice is a family member. Our vet isn’t open today, and I’m afraid to wait until after the Memorial Day weekend to get her looked at.
Clarice is a 5 year old Delaware hen, she’s mostly stopped laying except for a few eggs now and then. She still likes to go sit in the nesting boxes, sometimes for a few hours or more. Lately (within the last month) I’ve noticed that whenever she does, she starts breathing hard and today has watery eyes also. I admit this could be because I’m in S. Texas and the weather is heating up, but none of the other hens seem to be panting the same way when they’re in the adjacent nesting boxes. She’s mostly fine outside of it - I’ll catch her taking some breaths with her beak slightly open, but I haven’t noticed any gasping/nasal discharge/sneezing outside of that. I smell no foul odors, and I can’t hear any bubbly/raspy breathing when I put my ear right up to her beak. I do want to also note that she battled mites recently, I’ve treated with Ivermectin and Permethrin and she & the flock seem to be in recovery.
I swing between worrying I’m making an unnecessary fuss over a hen in the start of Texas summer and worrying that I’m disregarding an illness by trying to not panic about a hot hen lol.
She eats and drinks still, doodles in the yard with her husband and her sister, and seems like the same Clarice for the most part. If not a bit less active. I’ve attached a picture of her on the nest and her watery eyes, does anyone have wise words for me? Am I crazy
?
Clarice is a 5 year old Delaware hen, she’s mostly stopped laying except for a few eggs now and then. She still likes to go sit in the nesting boxes, sometimes for a few hours or more. Lately (within the last month) I’ve noticed that whenever she does, she starts breathing hard and today has watery eyes also. I admit this could be because I’m in S. Texas and the weather is heating up, but none of the other hens seem to be panting the same way when they’re in the adjacent nesting boxes. She’s mostly fine outside of it - I’ll catch her taking some breaths with her beak slightly open, but I haven’t noticed any gasping/nasal discharge/sneezing outside of that. I smell no foul odors, and I can’t hear any bubbly/raspy breathing when I put my ear right up to her beak. I do want to also note that she battled mites recently, I’ve treated with Ivermectin and Permethrin and she & the flock seem to be in recovery.
I swing between worrying I’m making an unnecessary fuss over a hen in the start of Texas summer and worrying that I’m disregarding an illness by trying to not panic about a hot hen lol.
She eats and drinks still, doodles in the yard with her husband and her sister, and seems like the same Clarice for the most part. If not a bit less active. I’ve attached a picture of her on the nest and her watery eyes, does anyone have wise words for me? Am I crazy
?
