Open mouth??

[off-grid hen]

I would open or remove the curtains to have as much air flow as possible. Is that on wheels for rolling? If so, I would wheel it into the shade. That would help lots. I see some board over the hardware cloth on top of the run area, maybe you could take that off to help with airflow. Ventilation is key. Also- pick up an outdoor thermometer at a hardware store. That way you can see what temperature it is inside the coop vs. outside temps. If it is much hotter in there, make more ventilation. Some chickens won't go in the coop to sleep if it's too hot.

Chickens will pant when they are hot, it doesn't mean that they are near death necessarily. I tried the kiddie pool thing with mine, they were deathly afraid of the thing. Maybe others have had success, I don't know. I have a 20 oz soda bottle with water in it that I keep in the freezer. On hot days I put it in their water bucket to keep it cool. I swap it out with a new frozen bottle every couple hours in the hot weather- 90+ degrees. As long as they are well ventilated and you give them shade and cool water they should be ok. I know some people in super hot locations put a fan in the coop in the summer. I would search this site for "keeping chickens cool in the summer" and you will find other threads with lots of suggestions.

 

[DarleneE]

Well the coop is in the lanai and is basically all the way back against the wall and therefore gets sun only for about an hour or so in the morning. As for the curtains.. I will tie them back to either side to allow total ventilation. Good idea!! The funny thing is.. they do NOT have their mouths open while they're IN the coop.. ONLY when they're OUT do they start doing this?? I'm wondering if they just maybe get overly excited?? It's SO hard to pinpoint.. wish they could talk!!

 

[Tommypace2003]

I have Easter eggers and they run all over the place and sometimes they have their mouths open and sometimes shut. They are perfectly happy though. I'm in NJ and it's like 85 degrees here I think they are just panting to cool down. They should be fine unless you can tell some real obvious signs. I'm a first time owner too and everything used to make me nervous but. Once their grown and they have a clean source of water,fresh food and a clean coop, and a sandy spot for them to clean, then the only thing you have to worry about is predators.

 

[DarleneE]

Well thank you very much. That was well put and certainly helps to ease my mind!! Best wishes!!

 

[BRippleChicks]

I have a 15 week Easter Egger that is doing the same thing. I was curious since she is the only one in the flock that will run around with her mouth open. Sometimes you can see her tongue moving - eating/drinking fine and very playful. I started to notice this when I was holding her too.... but now have seen her doing this off and on for most of the day the past 2 weeks. She is my first EE'er and I wasn't sure what was going on. Glad to hear another EE'er is doing this.

 

[DarleneE]

Yes mine has always done this since she was a baby. Easter Eggers do not tolerate heat well at all poor things. I keep plenty of very cold water for them at all times. I put frozen coke and gallon milk jugs in their water to keep it cold several times a day now during the summer. I also make sure to have lots of shade available for them as well. Lastly I keep a fan blowing in their coop at all times as well. Hope this helps!!

 

[Toula]

It's been a long time since I've posted anything. I searched "hen's mouth always open" and here I am. How strange! Mine is an Easter Egger, too. Because of a new ordinance where I live, we had to get rid of a lot of our hens, (to happy homes, of course) until we only had 6. With so few hens I noticed her with her mouth open a lot today. Eating, drinking, active, seems just fine. And a breezy, clear, dry, 73 degree day. No idea except the EE connection.

 

[DarleneE]

Wow what I'd give to see 73° this time of year!! Try 95-100 on a GOOD day!! But this is Florida!! Anyways, hmmmm that does not really seem all that warm for her to be panting or having her mouth open?? But that's just my opinion and all birds are different. Is she under any kind of stress maybe?? Is she being picked on by the other birds maybe?? Just something that crossed my mind. Mine still does the open mouth thing, but it's no doubt proven to be the awful heat over here. Even my Barred Rock has her mouth open alot!! All I can think to say is to have lots of really cold water easily accessible to her and provide lots of shady areas that she can relax in. I keep a couple large Tupperware containers filled with cold water and I put some frozen gallon milk jugs in it and change them out throughout the day to keep the water icy cold. Mine also have a little kiddie pool they love to wade in which I also put frozen gallon jugs in it as well to keep it really cool!! There's big trees that provide lots of shade as well. I've heard misters also work really well too?? Those are just some ideas that maybe could help her some. I wish you the best of luck!! Take care!!

 

[Toula]

Thanks Darlene for your observation. That was probably the reason for the open mouth, even on a relatively cool, windy, but sunny day. I think the sun heated up the unfinished coop she was in at the time.
The cause of this problem is that Pleasant Hills, bordering Pittsburgh PA, all of a sudden wrote a brand new ordinance outlawing all chickens in the borough. When I tried to get legal I was fined $500 dollars a day if I didn't get rid of all my hens in 14 days. Also the coop had to be torn down. Hence the 2 coops. When my one 18 month old EE started scaring my five assorted 17 wk old youngsters, I gave them a break by putting my EE in the new coop. All 6 chickens have to be in one un-separated coop now. (I had to get rid of 15 hens as I'm only allowed 6) She was the only member left of the 15 other egg laying hens, all of which I found new homes for. Even though they are all the same size Merle (the EE) is going after the other 5. We thought they would finally get along. This is only the 2nd day.

I should get on another area of BYC and alert people what can happen if you aren't organized and vigilant in your community. Also I have to find out if there is an easier way to get hens to get along.
Here are pictures if my two coops as they are today the one waiting to be finished this weekend.

 

[Toula]

I deleted a duplicate post that was in this spot. I guess posting on iPhone didn't work this time. Also I didn't mean for the two above photos to be different sizes. The little photo is going to be the new coop. I'm not doing to well on my computer either.
Sorry, Marty