My Hen is breathing heavy

[colette peters]

Greetings colette peters,

• You could upload a photo of the hen's recent poop.
• A video of the hen's breathing is also helpful.
• Is the hen eating?
• Is she drinking normally?
• Is there any swelling of the hen's abdomen?
• Is the hen laying eggs regularly?

With more information, the members here at BYC, will be better able to help you.

These are my thoughts on your hen's health issue. I hope I have been helpful.

God Bless

Here is a photo of her poop

 

[Ebony Rose]

Since you mentioned being super clean with the coop, thereby significantly reducing the risk of mold growth there, have you given a critical eye to the feed? Old feed can mold. Some signs of moldy feed aren't all that obvious to the average person (someone not looking for it), I mean... when I think of moldy food, I envision a countless eons worth of something unnameable in a covered dish in the back of the fridge... Not so with chicken feed! Some clues to mold in their feed include a musty, earthy odor, or dull, greyish hue to the feed, this is harder to determine with typical ground chicken feed, so knowing what fresh product looks and smells like will go a long way in determining when it's time to get a new bag. Not saying this is your problem, just saying it could be.

 

[Ebony Rose]

Here is a photo of her poop

Poop looks normal.

 

[colette peters]

Since you mentioned being super clean with the coop, thereby significantly reducing the risk of mold growth there, have you given a critical eye to the feed? Old feed can mold. Some signs of moldy feed aren't all that obvious to the average person (someone not looking for it), I mean... when I think of moldy food, I envision a countless eons worth of something unnameable in a covered dish in the back of the fridge... Not so with chicken feed! Some clues to mold in their feed include a musty, earthy odor, or dull, greyish hue to the feed, this is harder to determine with typical ground chicken feed, so knowing what fresh product looks and smells like will go a long way in determining when it's time to get a new bag. Not saying this is your problem, just saying it could be.

I tilt ally get the feed thing. I’ve observed it and have 2 rate proof feeders and they are in aluminum bins and I go thru the feed about ever two months. It’s not humid in California so that’s good. When I scoop it’s always a dry consistency. And I check the feeders to and all seems normal

 

[Kathy Golla]

i never actually have uploaded one. I guess you create a you tube account then upload the vid to you tube. Then upload a file, but paste the youtube link.
buff orpington? They are quite large hens. Mine breathes heavy all the time cause shes fat!

 

[Kathy Golla]

Gosh how do you like your feeders? My husband wants me to get one of those. We cover and uncover our feed every night and morning with a 5 gall bucket. Do you think I can train five 2 year old hens to transition to it?

 

[colette peters]

@Hen Pen Jem she just laid an egg!!
She seems to be doing really well.
I took a pic of her egg . Noticed a few calcium deposits. Which I’m assuming is normal

 

[colette peters]

Gosh how do you like your feeders? My husband wants me to get one of those. We cover and uncover our feed every night and morning with a 5 gall bucket. Do you think I can train five 2 year old hens to transition to it?

Yes I love them. I have 4month olds but then 2, and they caught on right away.
They suggest you but a brick down to train them and let them get used to the paddle. I’ve never had to do that with any of my hens. You’ll have no problems. They are rat proof which I love.

 

[Hen Pen Jem]

Here is a photo of her poop

Her poop looks good. Nice form, bulk, and clean white urates. This suggests her liver and kidneys are working well.

She is obviously eating well, and drinking well, too. Lack of appetite, and excessive water drinking are some of the symptoms, along with labored breathing, of a fungal infection.

Keep an eye on your hen, note any additional symptoms. She may also be getting hot, as the weather in California has been going from super hot to very cool over a period of days. Sudden temperature changes, are also stressful for chickens. Buff Orpington's are especially sensitive to weather stress. I have two, my big girl will open mouth breath, when she is hot.

Aspergillus is every where in the environment, especially compost heaps. But, it is opportunistic, and will mainly affect chickens that have another health issue.

I hope I have been helpful.

God Bless and good health to your hen!

 

[Wishing4Wings]

@Hen Pen Jem she just laid an egg!!
She seems to be doing really well.
I took a pic of her egg . Noticed a few calcium deposits. Which I’m assuming is normal

Glad she is doing better! I never would have suspected aspergillus except for the necropsy report. It's not often you hear of problems with that in our neck of the woods, but I did know of someone in Redding who finally located a hidden water leak that was the source of her problem after losing a few chickens.

Your hen looks very healthy, by the way, and your set up looks great! Not sure what bedding you are using. I have switched to rice hulls, which have been working fine, although my flock is only in the coop to eat and sleep. Rest of the time they are out roaming.

The temperature swings could have been stressing her out some, but I am curious to see what it looked like when she was breathing heavily. Easy to post a video (I even managed it one time! ) but you need a Youtube or Vimeo account. I used Vimeo, no problems. Once you download your video there, you can use the little film icon in the byc reply box menu to link it, and it will show up in your post.