Just discovered our easter eggers wheezing hard, kinda out of nowhere, was fine this morning. She was laying down under the coop and acting strange. Still eating and running around with the others mostly. She's about 5 months old. What is it?! How do we treat it? I'm sorry I don't have time to go through the whole list of questions right now b/c we literally have class (we teach out of home) starting in 10 minutes and I'm still prepping. DH will watch this thread in the meantime. We only have 18 chickens, no others showing symptoms of anything wrong. Normal layer pellets, organic, scratch, fresh water daily. Thanks in advance!
Does anyone have any ideas? We're at a loss...want to save her but no idea what's wrong. EDIT/UPDATE: Class is over and I had time to research more: It seems to be that some chickens (and it tends to be EE more often than not oddly enough) are just more susceptible to the heat and they will vocally wheeze when overheated! https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/695185/wheezing-braying-hen/10 We had a huge storm that cooled things off and when we went back to get her and put her in the A/C she was already not doing it anymore Hope this helps someone else in the future!
I have an Ameraucana who is mouth breathing, but otherwise acting normal. She isn't making noise like yours though. Are there other symptoms that I should watch for? It was warm today, but not above 80 and there's a nice breeze so I don't think it's heat related.
I have one that does that at times. Last year it was very hot and I do remember her doing it often at night. I could hear her in the henhouse from clear across the yard. I also think stress can bring it on. If she was very bad, I would isolate her, medicate her water and wait for her symptoms to stop. It was usually over in a day or two. I seem to remember a rooster I had years ago who was also wheezy when exerted. He was an EE also.