Noticed hens breathing with open mouths, recently added ....

[KCsquare]

Edit: located in HudsonValley area of NY. that's USDA Planting zone 6a.

Hi,
I have 5 hens 2-3 years old. Tonight I noticed 3 of them breathing with their mouths open. It looks unusual, I've never noticed them doing that before.

Here's what's been going on around here in case it helps.

1) About 8 weeks ago I got 7 baby chicks . Over the last week they've been spending time with the laying hens. At first i just had the chicks cage in the hens run, but last 2 days the chicks have been able, at their own risk, to roam in the run.

2) in preparation of the bigger flock I made the run bigger. While tearing down the old run and installing the new one the hens were able to free range. This occurred 4 or 5 times in the last week or so. My yard is surrounded by woods and around the perimeter a lot of leaves from the fall. The chickens do love to rummage through the leaves.

3) Obviously the weather is getting warmer too and we have had some days get close to 90, but it hasn't been unbearingly hot. Also, the run is in the shade. I can't imagine it's heatstroke

Any suggestions? Thoughts?
I just noticed this this evening. Is it possible it's an anomaly that'll go away on its own? If it even is something ... their breathing didn't seem labored. They're not wheezing ir coughing ...

Welcome your thoughts. Thanks!

 

[Tom Kathleen]

I would treat for gapeworm. Safeguard or fenbenzadole is a safe broad spectrum wormer. If you search on BYC you will find lots of dosage info. Remember when worming ANY animal (pet, livestock, etc.) with nearly any wormer, that with 99.9% of wormers, it's a two dose thing. You give the initial dose, then repeat 7-12 days later depending on the life cycle of the parasite you are trying to kill. Otherwise, you only kill the first wave of the parasite and not the one that will hatch out in the window between reproduction and highest efficacy of the wormer.

 

[CluckerFamily]

Chickens don’t sweat. They breathe with their mouths open and they will also hold their wings away from the body to cool down.

 

[gtaus]

Chickens don’t sweat. They breathe with their mouths open and they will also hold their wings away from the body to cool down.

Exactly what I was thinking.

@KCsquare, as long as you see no other symptoms or distress in the birds, I would not recommend starting any medication at this time. Make sure your birds have cover for shade and I always put out an extra rubber pan full of water when it gets hot outside. Would also recommend you update your profile with a geographic location as it does help members fine tune their advice on some topics.

 

[Tom Kathleen]

Exactly what I was thinking.

@KCsquare, as long as you see no other symptoms or distress in the birds, I would not recommend starting any medication at this time. Make sure your birds have cover for shade and I always put out an extra rubber pan full of water when it gets hot outside. Would also recommend you update your profile with a geographic location as it does help members fine tune their advice on some topics.

absolutely! great point! i didn't even think about the geo location -- i was going on because she said night, i assumed it was in the cooler time of the day. all chickens pant during the heat of the day, but will usually do the "sweaty armpit" move with their wings too and she didn't mention that in her detailed description, but did mention she has shade. i was also noting the fact that she said they were 2-3 years old and she'd never seen them do that before -- since she said she didn't think it was heat, i assumed someone who had chickens for 3 years would have seen hot chickens before and if this wasn't that, then gapeworm would be the most obvious new development. never any harm in waiting a day or two to really diagnose!

 

[gtaus]

i assumed someone who had chickens for 3 years would have seen hot chickens before

I considered that too, but I can tell you that in the 2+ years I have owned laying hens, this is by far the hottest stretch of weather I have seen with my chickens where I live. Large parts of the USA are seeing record highs. That is why I thought adding the geographic location to the profile of the OP would be helpful.

never any harm in waiting a day or two to really diagnose!

I agree.

 

[KCsquare]

Chickens don’t sweat. They breathe with their mouths open and they will also hold their wings away from the body to cool down.

Certainly possible I'm noticing something now that's always been as I watch the more acutely. It struck me as unusual and I've been worrying a but about the stress I've introduced by adding chicks.
Today was hot, maybe 85-90. The time I noticed it was 7pm and had to be 70-75. Not that hot and they are in a shady area. While working on the run it was remarkable how much cooler it was by the run, under the shade of the trees.
I'll keep an eye on em for this behavior , thanks

 

[KCsquare]

I considered that too, but I can tell you that in the 2+ years I have owned laying hens, this is by far the hottest stretch of weather I have seen with my chickens where I live. Large parts of the USA are seeing record highs. That is why I thought adding the geographic location to the profile of the OP would be helpful.



I agree.

I didn't see where to add location to my profile. Edited post to add it:
located in HudsonValley area of NY. that's USDA Planting zone 6a

 

[CluckerFamily]

Certainly possible I'm noticing something now that's always been as I watch the more acutely. It struck me as unusual and I've been worrying a but about the stress I've introduced by adding chicks.
Today was hot, maybe 85-90. The time I noticed it was 7pm and had to be 70-75. Not that hot and they are in a shady area. While working on the run it was remarkable how much cooler it was by the run, under the shade of the trees.
I'll keep an eye on em for this behavior , thanks

Stress could cause this behavior also. How were they acting when you were working on the run?

 

[TheAlrightyGina]

Mine pant at night, but I do live in a place with summer weather akin to the Devil's backyard.

I didn't see where to add location to my profile. Edited post to add it:
located in HudsonValley area of NY. that's USDA Planting zone 6a

Where's @aart when you need 'em?