SuperC
Chirping
I have a 1 year old Orpington who has started mouth breathing a week+ ago; mostly only at night while in the coop, but occasionally during the day in the run as well. It’s not 100% of the time at night, but the last few nights EVERY time I check the camera she is doing it. She will stop for a moment and go back again. This is a new behavior for her, so it has me concerned.
Temps in the well ventilated coop range from 65at bedtime down to 30 by morning, so heat doesn’t seem an issue.
I feel like at this point it might be allergies or a dust concern, because she has NO other signs of illness and it’s been super windy/dusty/pollen swirling here the last week. She stopped doing it at all for 2 nights after we had some rain and the dust settled, but it started a few nights after that again when everything was windy and dry again. We live in TN and have had tornado issues the last week so the wind has been high. It’s also “The Pollening” time of year where everything blows pollen. This morning we had a lime green layer on every surface that wasn’t there yesterday. I live in the allergy capitol of the USA so that’s why I guess allergies. But maybe I’m wrong?
To give some health info:
- No wheezing, coughing or any sounds- just the open mouth breathing.
- She talks up a storm and never sounds off or gurgley.
- No sneezing or coughing; No discharge from the nose or eyes.
- Combs and wattles are bright red and standing proud, never pale or droopy.
- Eyes are bright and clear, not watery, pussy or anything in them, never puffy or swollen and are always wide open and alert.
- Her tail and wings are up, no drooping ever, she is perky and happy all the time, wants cuddles and hugs and acts totally normal at all times (I watch them on camera all the time and spend 2 hours a day with them over 4 visits so I see them a lot!).
- Her appetite is always good (she’s my most enthusiastic snacker) and they eat a healthy diet.
- Crop is flat in mornings, normal during the day and is never mushy or overly hard, and no sour crop symptoms ever.
- They have free range of grit and oyster shell and she uses the bowls all the time.
- They don’t free range and stay in run 24/7 for safety reasons, so no access to questionable birds, foods or sprays.
- Droppings appear normal- no foam, looseness or odd colors.
- She is laying her eggs on her usual schedule like click work (2 or 3 days on, 1 off) and gives healthy eggs of 2.3oz with a hearty thick shell.
Lifestyle: The run is mostly covered in plastic for winterizing still and this keeps a lot of wind out, but since we have had warmer days, I’ve removed a few panels and while breezy in there, it’s very mild compared to the outdoors. I have recently added more hardwood chips to the run and thought maybe it was dust, but they have gotten wet/dried a few times and they are the same ones we have always used, so unsure why this would be a new issue. I also 2 weeks ago did a full coop clean out (scrubbed, washed ect) and refilled with Eaton Pet Hemp Chips- they are very dust free and what I’ve always used, so I don’t see an issue with them either. Coop also got a small amount of DE in the corners under the hemp but they have always had that in there and they don’t disturb the shaving enough to get it in the air.
I did worry that maybe it was worms or something, so I dosed her 5 days ago with a pea sized amount of the apple gel ivermectin from TSC, but so far no change other than those 2 nights after a big storm and everything got wet. Now that it’s dry, it’s back. My 3 other ladies are totally fine, and only 1 other hen mouth breaths on rare occasion but that is because she is nervous about a sound that wakes her, and stops after a few seconds and falls back asleep.
Am I missing something? I don’t have a vet for my ladies (yet) and I don’t want to rush off and stress her if it’s nothing, but I don’t want her ill either. I’ve thought about buying and putting VetRX on her, or using a different wormer product incase, but I don’t want to medicate her needlessly either. Any thoughts? Am I just paranoid? I love my babies to death and want to make sure they don’t have something wrong!
Temps in the well ventilated coop range from 65at bedtime down to 30 by morning, so heat doesn’t seem an issue.
I feel like at this point it might be allergies or a dust concern, because she has NO other signs of illness and it’s been super windy/dusty/pollen swirling here the last week. She stopped doing it at all for 2 nights after we had some rain and the dust settled, but it started a few nights after that again when everything was windy and dry again. We live in TN and have had tornado issues the last week so the wind has been high. It’s also “The Pollening” time of year where everything blows pollen. This morning we had a lime green layer on every surface that wasn’t there yesterday. I live in the allergy capitol of the USA so that’s why I guess allergies. But maybe I’m wrong?
To give some health info:
- No wheezing, coughing or any sounds- just the open mouth breathing.
- She talks up a storm and never sounds off or gurgley.
- No sneezing or coughing; No discharge from the nose or eyes.
- Combs and wattles are bright red and standing proud, never pale or droopy.
- Eyes are bright and clear, not watery, pussy or anything in them, never puffy or swollen and are always wide open and alert.
- Her tail and wings are up, no drooping ever, she is perky and happy all the time, wants cuddles and hugs and acts totally normal at all times (I watch them on camera all the time and spend 2 hours a day with them over 4 visits so I see them a lot!).
- Her appetite is always good (she’s my most enthusiastic snacker) and they eat a healthy diet.
- Crop is flat in mornings, normal during the day and is never mushy or overly hard, and no sour crop symptoms ever.
- They have free range of grit and oyster shell and she uses the bowls all the time.
- They don’t free range and stay in run 24/7 for safety reasons, so no access to questionable birds, foods or sprays.
- Droppings appear normal- no foam, looseness or odd colors.
- She is laying her eggs on her usual schedule like click work (2 or 3 days on, 1 off) and gives healthy eggs of 2.3oz with a hearty thick shell.
Lifestyle: The run is mostly covered in plastic for winterizing still and this keeps a lot of wind out, but since we have had warmer days, I’ve removed a few panels and while breezy in there, it’s very mild compared to the outdoors. I have recently added more hardwood chips to the run and thought maybe it was dust, but they have gotten wet/dried a few times and they are the same ones we have always used, so unsure why this would be a new issue. I also 2 weeks ago did a full coop clean out (scrubbed, washed ect) and refilled with Eaton Pet Hemp Chips- they are very dust free and what I’ve always used, so I don’t see an issue with them either. Coop also got a small amount of DE in the corners under the hemp but they have always had that in there and they don’t disturb the shaving enough to get it in the air.
I did worry that maybe it was worms or something, so I dosed her 5 days ago with a pea sized amount of the apple gel ivermectin from TSC, but so far no change other than those 2 nights after a big storm and everything got wet. Now that it’s dry, it’s back. My 3 other ladies are totally fine, and only 1 other hen mouth breaths on rare occasion but that is because she is nervous about a sound that wakes her, and stops after a few seconds and falls back asleep.
Am I missing something? I don’t have a vet for my ladies (yet) and I don’t want to rush off and stress her if it’s nothing, but I don’t want her ill either. I’ve thought about buying and putting VetRX on her, or using a different wormer product incase, but I don’t want to medicate her needlessly either. Any thoughts? Am I just paranoid? I love my babies to death and want to make sure they don’t have something wrong!
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