Hen breathing hard

[HorseGirlAbby]

My five year old Wyandotte hen has been breathing excessively hard lately. It's been pretty warm (it's 93 now), but no warmer than usual at this time of year. She acts normal otherwise, joined in a watermelon party earlier, and grooms herself. When she breathes, it's like there's a little hitch. She was lying down earlier, just to rest, and moving up and down with her breathing. A couple of my other hens have been panting more than usual, too, but not as bad as this one. I have VetRx, would that help ease her breathing? It gets stuffy in their coop, especially at evening, and that's part of the problem. I put a box fan in there today, just to move the air around. I've been having to take her off the roost at night and put her in a tub of water for a bit, because she looks so miserable. She stands there with her head up and her mouth as wide as it can get. Can anyone help my poor hen?

 

[Eggcessive]

Is there any way you can make more ventilation in the coop such as making a couple of windows covered with hardware cloth fencing? Having end to end ventilation is good, and I run a fan on one end facing outside to pull fresh air through the coop. Having a flat pan of water half full in the run and yard is good for them to cool off their legs. Is the hen overweight, or does she have an enlarged lower belly which can be a sign of ascites?

 

[HorseGirlAbby]

The coop does have plenty of ventilation, probably not enough, but some. There are vents all around the top, under the eaves, and on the door, like you can see in this picture. I keep their door open in the summer, and I put the fan in the entryway.

They also have a little vent, at chicken height, that goes under their roost.

They also have a rubber bowl inside, that the hen in question likes to stand in. She's probably actually underweight, as I just broke her of being broody. She was laying eggs before that, just hasn't started up again yet. No sign of ascites, but she's getting up there in age. Last night, with the fan, she wasn't panting as much, and it was much less stuffy in there.