Open Mouthed Breathing Mama Hen/ Babies 'gaping' and shaking heads

[wildcrafted]

I have a mama hen with 9 almost 3 week old babies and over the last few days I've noticed that the mom has been open-mouthed breathing on and off. It has been hot and wet here so I'm not sure if it's just the weather or if they are all getting some kind of respiratory disease or worm infection.

A few of the babies have been doing the gaping yawn thing (maybe 10 to fifteen times in a row, sometimes just once but then they stop) and some are shaking their heads regularly. I know gape worm is rare but I am so afraid of them suffocating. They all still seem happy and healthy other then these weird signs.

Here is a video I just took tonight at bedtime for my youtube channel on the chicks. You can see the mom doing the breathing thing. It's no longer hot...maybe 70 or 75. https://youtu.be/qfqYmuNcUhY

I will get a video of the chicks gaping tomorrow. I do let them free-range about an hour a day, chicks included so they could have eaten some parasites.

Please let me know if you think I should worm them or bring them to a vet.

 

[nchls school]

From the video I see what appears to be a healthy family. The hen's panting seems to be due from being too warm. Are you sure the coop is cooled off or could it still be overly warm from the previous day? Observation is definitely called for. Videos only show so much.

 

[wildcrafted]

The roost they are all on is in an enclosed run that has full airflow on three sides but I'm not sure how hydrated she's keeping herself. Yeah the video does not show the gaping or head-shaking. I was taking that video for the cuteness factor and only after realized I could use it as an example of the breathing. I will upload a brief gaping video I took this morning but it only shows the chick doing it once when in reality she had done it for almost a full minute.

 

[wildcrafted]

Here is a video of one of the chicks gaping. She did it for a while but I only captured one. Another chick was doing it the morning before and then shaking her head. Do healthy chicks do this? This is the first time I've had chicks.

 

[Cacique500]

My full growns (2+ year olds) do that every now and then...sometimes 10 or so times in rapid succession. I think they're just adjusting their crop in most cases. It does grab your attention when they do it a lot over a short time period.

Quick youtube search pulled up a video of a hen with gapeworm (which looks nothing like what mine do or what yours is doing):

 

[emmaie892000]

Sometimes my chickens will pant even when it isn't particularly hot, just a little warm, especially if they've been active or I've been messing with them (stressing them out). I think your chickens are fine.

 

[wildcrafted]

My full growns (2+ year olds) do that every now and then...sometimes 10 or so times in rapid succession. I think they're just adjusting their crop in most cases. It does grab your attention when they do it a lot over a short time period.

Thank you! This definitely made me feel better. They are still doing it on and off but don't seem to be getting "worse".