chick lady Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 I have 2 hens that are now 3 years old. They stopped laying about 5-6 weeks ago and now one of them keeps opening her mouth wide. There are no other symptoms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dance in the dark Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 there are a few things it could be. 1. Sometimes chickens just do this, almost like a yawn, is it quite frequent or have you just seen it once or twice? 2. It could be gapeworm, although there are normally other symptoms with this (a kind of rattling noise) If you haven't wormed them WITH FLUBENVET in the past two months or so, I would do that (Verm-X is no use), as it never harms them, and it will clear up gapeworm. 3. Also, some of my girls were doing this kind of thing once and they have recently been wormed, and so the vet suggested it could be a minor respiratory problem so prescribed Tylan (an antibiotic you put in the water) and it made them much better (it was about £25 for the actual medication, enough for 50 chickens or something). I would try and have an extended period (maybe half an hour) or just simply watching them, if you can get your hands on flubenvet in the meantime that'll all be to the good, try looking for other symptoms then try calling a vet. With my poultry vets they understand since they are more specialized that people often can't get to them at the drop of a hat, so will have a bit of a chat over the phone (in my experience) If you don't have a poultry vet there is a good list here: http://www.bhwt.org.uk/cms/recommended-poultry-vets/ and you might be able to find one quite near. Hope this helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 Could be anything TBH; pick them up, out your ear to the hen's back between the wings and listen to their breathing, you should hear nice easy breaths, no rattling or wheezing. If you do then they have a respiratory infection and need to go to the vet. Hens also have their beaks open when they are hot; they can't sweat so this is one way to lose heat. Another cause could be panting due to peritonitis causing pressure on the other organs. Feel the abdomen to see if it feels at all hard or distended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
