BonnieBlue
Songster
I have two hens. Lately, both have been panting a lot. I have attributed that to the heat lately. The humidity has been high also. It has been during the day as it heats up. Most of the time, when they go into the coop where the AC keeps it cooler (mid 70's to low 80's because I want them to get relief, not chilled and a shock) most of the time after a (sometimes long) while, they get comfortable and stop panting.
But last night, by the time I went to bed, they were both still panting, and one in particular seemed a bit distressed. She was stretching her neck out with her head tilted up like she was trying to open her airway as much as possible. The other was just normal panting. I checked the conditions, and outside it was still mid 80's and 99% humidity and in the coop, the AC knocked the temperature down to the mid 70's, but the humidity was only down to 90% with the AC and a small exhaust fan.
This morning, they are both fine again. No one is panting. That has been the case routinely. They go to bed panting, but in the morning not panting, and it doesn't kick in again till late morning or early afternoon. It was what seemed like distress and stretching out her neck that Peony had me worried and make me wonder if I am looking at more than heat and humidity. If it was a respiratory disease, would she show the symptoms all the time, and not have them calm down overnight?
Can oppressively high humidity like that (the percentage was in the mid to upper 90's all evening) cause panting overload and what seemed like trouble breathing like that? I already had decided I need to catch both of them and check for mites, because beside some biting into her feathers, she was lightly pecking at her feet which is new. I checked the roost with a paper towel late but didn't see any streaks that would be mites or lice, and I wiped the area around their feet checking the roost.
Other things to note: They are both eating and laying normally. Laying lately has been two days on, one day off. Sometimes, one on, one off, which I attributed to the heat. They had been drinking normally, but over the past week, Peony (the one with the heaviest panting) doesn't seem to be as interested in her side supplemental waterer with electrolytes as she had been. But when I give them a small bowl of crushed ice to cool down, they eat it like crazy. This morning, I gave them Durastat mixed in water which is supposed to help stimulate their water consumption and immune system.
I am moving them into a new coop, hopefully in about a week, and don't want to take any pests or diseases with them. I also am hoping to get more chicks in a week or two, and don't want to expose youngsters to anything.
Edit to add: They are in an enclosed and covered run, no free ranging. I did accidentally wear my stree shoes, not my "chicken boots" into their run about a month ago, so while the chances of contamination are low, they are not zero.
Sorry for the long post. Trying to think of any pertinent information.
But last night, by the time I went to bed, they were both still panting, and one in particular seemed a bit distressed. She was stretching her neck out with her head tilted up like she was trying to open her airway as much as possible. The other was just normal panting. I checked the conditions, and outside it was still mid 80's and 99% humidity and in the coop, the AC knocked the temperature down to the mid 70's, but the humidity was only down to 90% with the AC and a small exhaust fan.
This morning, they are both fine again. No one is panting. That has been the case routinely. They go to bed panting, but in the morning not panting, and it doesn't kick in again till late morning or early afternoon. It was what seemed like distress and stretching out her neck that Peony had me worried and make me wonder if I am looking at more than heat and humidity. If it was a respiratory disease, would she show the symptoms all the time, and not have them calm down overnight?
Can oppressively high humidity like that (the percentage was in the mid to upper 90's all evening) cause panting overload and what seemed like trouble breathing like that? I already had decided I need to catch both of them and check for mites, because beside some biting into her feathers, she was lightly pecking at her feet which is new. I checked the roost with a paper towel late but didn't see any streaks that would be mites or lice, and I wiped the area around their feet checking the roost.
Other things to note: They are both eating and laying normally. Laying lately has been two days on, one day off. Sometimes, one on, one off, which I attributed to the heat. They had been drinking normally, but over the past week, Peony (the one with the heaviest panting) doesn't seem to be as interested in her side supplemental waterer with electrolytes as she had been. But when I give them a small bowl of crushed ice to cool down, they eat it like crazy. This morning, I gave them Durastat mixed in water which is supposed to help stimulate their water consumption and immune system.
I am moving them into a new coop, hopefully in about a week, and don't want to take any pests or diseases with them. I also am hoping to get more chicks in a week or two, and don't want to expose youngsters to anything.
Edit to add: They are in an enclosed and covered run, no free ranging. I did accidentally wear my stree shoes, not my "chicken boots" into their run about a month ago, so while the chances of contamination are low, they are not zero.
Sorry for the long post. Trying to think of any pertinent information.
