rightlass Posted September 19, 2009 Share Posted September 19, 2009 Hello Everyone. I am new to chickens and got my first 3 this morning. 2 x 16 weeks 1 x 21 weeks The elder one has laid an egg for me today............. huge, huge event. Will post pics later. However the two younger chickens are acting a bit strange. They were fine and lively for the first few hours but have now gone very quite, sat down and doing this weird yawing. The elder one that laid the egg is acting normal. Is it anything to worry about, or are they just settling in. They are clean and look healthy apart from that. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henriette Posted September 19, 2009 Share Posted September 19, 2009 Mine yawn sometimes too. It can also mean that maybe there is a bit of food stuck but I doubt if they would both be doing it unless the food is really too dry for them. Some people say if a chicken yawns a lot it might have gapeworms. If it is a respiratory problem you will hear gurgling if you hold the bird's beak up to your ear. I have no personal experience of the latter or gapeworms. Just what I have read in one of my chicken bibles! Hopefully, just little yawners! Please let us know how they get on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted September 19, 2009 Share Posted September 19, 2009 Welcome to the forum, Rightlass and congratulations on your new girls (and your first egg ) . Yawning (or gaping) can be a sign of gapeworm, I believe, but they seem a bit young to have that (although I'm not an expert by any means so don't know if age is a factor ). I have noticed my girls "yawning" occasionally but it didn't last more than a day. I put it down to something stuck in their throats . If they continue to do it you may want to worm them with Flubenvet. You should worm them every 3 months in any case so there would be no harm doing so now. Cross-posted with Henriette Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henriette Posted September 19, 2009 Share Posted September 19, 2009 How very rude of me not to say welcome to you! I have not been a member for very long and am amazed at how wonderful everyone is. There is always some one to give advice and encouragement and also a lot of good humour. The only problem is that it can all be quite time consuming and already I am told by my loved one that he is feeling left out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skye Posted September 19, 2009 Share Posted September 19, 2009 They do say repeated beak gaping is a sign of gape worm, but I think it is usually accompanied by other symptoms too. Our girls occasionally have yawning sessions too, and I think I read that this is a method of shifting matter lying awkwardly in their crops. They might just be eating slightly different food with you to that available at the place you bought them from, and are shifting it about in their crops to help with digestion. Good luck with your girls, perhaps you could do a search on here for gape worm and establish the other symptoms just in case. Cheers! x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skye Posted September 19, 2009 Share Posted September 19, 2009 PS - Just remembered that gape worm is usually typified by lots of head shaking/twitching as well! Hope this helps put your mind at rest xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rightlass Posted September 19, 2009 Author Share Posted September 19, 2009 Thanks for the quick replies. They dont seem to have any other symptoms like head shaking etc... maybe they were just having a quiet, yawny type moment... or as someone suggested just rearranging stuff in their crops. Will keep a close eyes on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CluckyBucks Posted September 20, 2009 Share Posted September 20, 2009 Welcome to chicken world!!! Mine yawn sometimes too, i think that theya re aranging the contents of their crop (where the food goes before it is digested) xx x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rightlass Posted September 20, 2009 Author Share Posted September 20, 2009 Please let us know how they get on. Little update...... havent seen them yawn at all today. They have settled in very well. Bet has layed another egg in the nest box, at the same time as yesterdays event....its great Have discovered today that chickens can fly quite far Will be sorting that out little issue out shortly. The three chooks peck each other... not in a malicious way, almost as if they are grooming each other... is that normal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henriette Posted September 21, 2009 Share Posted September 21, 2009 Glad the yawning has subsided. With regard to the pecking, I don't really know. Mine peck each other at feeding times sometimes but otherwise I haven't noticed any. They might just be sorting their own "pecking order" out. Depending on how small/lightweight the chickens are they can fly quite high! Watch out! Isn't it lovely getting the daily egg? So very special. The novelty never seems to go away either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keir Posted September 21, 2009 Share Posted September 21, 2009 Maybe they were just tired - after all, chickens do get up damn early in the morning... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henriette Posted September 22, 2009 Share Posted September 22, 2009 Too early, I would say! Henri, our cockerel, was up at 6.30 this morning. Needless to say, so was I. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
