Poor hen looks up with her mouth wide open, like she cant breathe.

[KCHenlover65]

Help please. I was locking my flocks up for the night when i noticed one of my hens pn the roost throwing her head in the air with her mouth wide open. Google says may be gapeworms? What can i do for her?

 

[HeatherKellyB]

Hi. I'm sorry your hen is worrying you with concerning behavior. Was her crop full? Is she doing this continuously? What are the temps in your area?

 

[HeatherKellyB]

I ask about her crop because sometimes a bird will overindulge a bit, especially knowing that it's bedtime. Overindulgence paired with a full crop can cause an overflow occasionally. That's the first thing that came to my mind while reading your post but I'm certainly no expert. We'll get some of the experts here but let's gather some information for them.
Are you noticing anything else going on with your flocks? Is everyone laying well? Everyone looking healthy and not losing weight or anything?

 

[KCHenlover65]

Hi. I'm sorry your hen is worrying you with concerning behavior. Was her crop full? Is she doing this continuously? What are the temps in your area?

Yes, her crop felt pretty full. She was doing it about 3 or 4 times a minute. Its been it the low 70's but today it was 84. She's almost a year old black australorp.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

Yes, her crop felt pretty full. She was doing it about 3 or 4 times a minute. Its been it the low 70's but today it was 84. She's almost a year old black australorp.

Ok. Did you notice this before tonight at lock-up or is that the time you noticed? Any other concerning behaviors from any of your birds?

 

[HeatherKellyB]

They do adjust their crops and anytime they fill it up so full, I've noticed my own birds adjusting their crops more. If I were you, I'd need to see more signs or get a diagnosis from a vet before I treated for gape worms. Like I mentioned before I am far from an expert so let's get some of our amazing experts to give better feedback

@Wyorp Rock
@azygous
@Eggcessive

 

[KCHenlover65]

Their weights look good. We recently separated the flock between 2 different coops to accomodate chicks growing up and being released with the adults, so their egg production has been down. I expected that with the stress of the move. I looked at everyone on both roosts and she's the only one doing this.

 

[Lucy Brown]

Help please. I was locking my flocks up for the night when i noticed one of my hens pn the roost throwing her head in the air with her mouth wide open. Google says may be gapeworms? What can i do for her?

video?

 

[HeatherKellyB]

Is she still doing it?

 

[KCHenlover65]

Ok. Did you notice this before tonight at lock-up or is that the time you noticed? Any other concerning behaviors from any of your birds?

Tonight's the first time I've noticed anything different. I walk down the roost every night and talk to them all. Thats when i noticed her. I've never seen this before or any other signs of illness.