I came home today and heard one of my favorite hens wheezing pretty badly. She is a black easter egger. When it is at its worst it sounds like a quiet duck quack. She was walking around with her mouth open and making weird noises. I think she may be wheezing but it may be something else. What should i do?
She may have gotten something stuck. You can try to entice her to eat small bits of cut up grape and see if that helps clear things. If she is sick, a vet would be best if you can - with the holiday weekend coming and a lot of offices closing I wouldn't wait too long. Please keep us posted. Poor dear must be really uncomfortable JJ
My RIR bantam did that last week she sounded like a 2 stoke motorcycle I gave her a piece of bread dunked in Olive oil Next day she was fine It was so strange thought for sure she was sick Maybe you can try that Good luck
Ok i may try that. I think i may have some grapes. Do you think it has anything to do with the outside temperature. It is 98 degrees today and she is a black chicken so i know she must be hot.
Definitely get her in more comfortable conditions NOW. Access to a breeze from fans, & shade, whatever you have to do. JJ
Quote:It could very well be the heat, make sure she and your other birds have some very cool drinking water maybe even put some ice cubes in their waterer, might need to have a fan running to cool them off. Hope it's something as simple as the heat.
It is the heat. My EE hen does the same thing, did it last year during the record heat as well...sounds like a duck. Miss Lydia provides excellent advice on how to deal with it.
Ok i tried the grapes. She wouldnt eat the grapes but all the other hens ate them. I am going to put some ice cubes in their waterer. I dont have a fan right now because it is on my sheep because they were very hot also. I will try to get one
You can get some of those inexpensive little cat litter pans to use as wading pools for your chickens to give them another cooling option. You can also freeze water bottles and put them out for them to lean against (cover with a towel if you have chicks around that aren't fully feathered).