my chicken is breathing with her mouth open... please help !

[AndreaS]

Hey Michelle,

So sorry this has had a bad ending for you. How can you tell that she choked? Did you do a necropsy?

I tend to give my girls a plain dish of yogurt. I've never mixed it in with their feed because they like it so much they'll just take it out of a small dish.
There are so many different opinions out there in regards to chicken care, and sometimes the information can be very contradictory. I tend to trust what I hear on this forum from the folks like dawg, that commonly answer health questions. A lot of the rest of us are just making guesses in the dark.

I would be careful about getting a "friend" for the little one- Most of us try to quarentine new chickens for a minimum of 30 days prior to introducing them to our flock, since they can carry all sorts of sicknesses with little or no recognisable symptoms.

You can't blame yourself for trying everything you could. You did your absolute best to take care of the little one, which is more than a lot of people would do. Don't beat yourself up.

 

[jjthink]

Michelle, I'm so sorry.
For your hen who lost her battle, for her little buddy now feeling alone and lonely, and for you, as you really tried. I don't know that this was gapeworm (unless verfied?) and I certainly don't know or think that you killed her. Your heart was in the right place and I'm sure she knew you were trying to help her.

JJ

 

[michelle b 1972]

andreas,
it was all stuck in her throat .. i had only gone out for 20 minutes and she was fine and eating and i came back and she was dead.... if i had have been home maybe i could of helped clear her throat ! but never mind... i have learnt a very valuable lesson here.... all my other girls have been wormed at the same time as my speckledy was being wormed.... we are going to build a hospital/quarantine before we get any more chickens ! the amount of money it costs in the uk for any treatments is scandalous then you have the worry if they are ill and if it comes to it .. the heartbreak....it was so hard not to get attached to her as despite being very ill she was still funny because the minute i went out with a spoon and pipette you could see the look on her face as if she was thinking oh no not you again lol... and as soon as i went near to her she would put her head under her wing either to make me think she was sleeping so i would leave her alone or that she thought because she couldnt see me i wouldnt be able to see her ! i miss her cheeky ways but the little one is starting to do some of her tricks... like jumping up onto your back when you crouch down and jumping up at your hands to see if there is any corn in them..... but as comical as she is with it.... its not my little lady doing it... i know her ways live on in the little one... but somehow its just not the same ! i know i shouldnt beat myself up about it but im just angry at myself because alot of the products you guys have suggested are not licensed over here to treat chickens ... so basically its tough because we can only use what is licensed .. my uncle has a farm with livestock and he wouldnt give me any of his sheep wormer even though i did ask a few times because here in the stupid uk its not allowed for chickens ! the flubenzole someone mentioned is called flubenvet here but there is no egg withdrawl by using it ! so obviously they have adjusted the dosage somewhere along the line !
good news anyway all the other girls are doing well .. just looking a bit silly as its freezing here and they have started to molt !
michelle x x

 

[Miss Lydia]

so sorry to hear about your girl, but thankful all the rest are doing good. Happy Thanksgiving.!

 

[michelle b 1972]

hi everyone..... i finally got round to getting 2 pullets for my young hen who took the death of my speckledy hard.... well...that was a waste of time..... she is the devil in disguise... she picks on them so much that i have to put them in a seperate coop away from her until they are big enough to defend theirselves ! she is a nightmare with them ! i have also posted another link but it isnt about illness if anyone could help me with this one !
thanks
michelle
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=5484819#p5484819

 

[AndreaS]

Quote:

I'm sure she's not the devil! They do each have their own little personalities though, don't They?

As a general rule You have to be very careful when introducing new birds. You can't just throw them in together. It's a good idea to wait until they are the same size, and then let them be in seperate runs where they can get used to seeing each other every day but not actually get to each other. After awhile you can try putting them together (some folks do this at night while they are sleeping in the coop). Even then, you will have to keep an eye on them and there will be some fighting as they establish a pecking order.

Did you quarentine these new birds?

Andrea

 

[michelle b 1972]

definately...... after what happened last time with speckledy.... they were quarantined for 3 weeks.... and the others could both see and hear them..... they both are in good health and nothing wrong with them.... they can still see and hear them but now they are closer but still seperated..... we tried the other day to do it at night.... it was all peaceful until the morning ... then all hell broke loose.... not only was "madam" having a go at them... all of them started having a go at them... when clearly before they were not bothered ! lol x suppose i will have to be a little more patient.....lol x

 

[WilliamC]

Old thread but....same problem!
We have a 2 year old lavender. She has taken to breathing out her mouth. Its gotten rather dramatic with her back end going in and out as well. She seems fine otherwise and is eating and drinking. Just not her greedy self. Seeds, peanuts, pellets just not much.
She does eat snails. We have had very cold weather. Than rain, than cold...
None of the other chickens have this issue.
I worm with Valbazen. Does this not kill gape worms?
I also have Safeguard fenbendazole.
Should i give the Safeguard a try? Same dose the Valbazen?

I had her at the vets a good month ago and she seemed fine, xray showed fine, lungs sounded fine. It wasnt for this problem but its started since then.