Here’s Why Your Chickens Keep Yawning

The chickens in the backyard are yawning. This is a normal process. Yes, it’s common for a chicken to yawn and there is no need to worry about that. Individuals who maintain poultry farms are aware of the process wherein their chickens yawn now and then.

However, the chickens are from a different class when compared to humans. Chickens are avians while humans are mammals. Chicken yawning is different from the yawning process that humans engage in whenever they feel sleepy and therefore the readers must not confuse between chicken yawning and humans yawning.

This blog is an attempt to highlight the scientific reasons why your chickens yawn. Besides, it provides useful information regarding the symptoms of the presence of worms in the chicken.

If there are worms in the chicken then it exhibits a set of symptoms and from that, the pet owner can comprehend that there are worms in the chicken. In this context, it is relevant to add that the presence of worms in the chicken adversely affects the chicken’s ability to lay eggs.

Therefore, if you find that your bird is infected by worms like gapeworms then visit the veterinary doctor immediately. There are available medicines with chemicals that are highly effective in getting rid of worms that are there in the chicken.

 

Do chicken yawn?

Yes, chickens do yawn. They open their mouth and it appears that they are yawning. The actual thing is something different and it has to be chickens swallowing their food and that gives the impression that they are yawning. Often it happens that the chickens in the backyard fill their crop with dry-feed.

This dry-feed expands whenever the chickens drink water. In older chickens, this is indicative of the presence of worms. However, as a young chick that is still in the brooder, may not be the situation. Therefore, whenever the chickens with dry-feed in their crop drink water then the dry feed expands, and that gives the impression that the birds are yawning. This process is different from the process of yawning in humans and therefore one must not confuse between the two.

 

Why does my hen keep opening her mouth?

Why does my chicken keep yawning? A hen opens her mouth if it is hungry. It feeds itself with the help of its mouth. The bird opens its mouth if it is thirsty. It drinks water on a hot summer day using its mouth. There can be yet another reason why a chicken opens her mouth. Sich birds open mouth for breathing purposes.

Like most other birds, chickens breathe using their nostrils. But much healthy chicken often breathes with her open mouth.

Breathing with the mouth open helps a chicken to cool herself on a hot summer day. Breathing through the mouth also can indicate that the chicken is stressed-up, or is facing respiratory issues. If the hen is infected by gapeworms then it opens the mouth frequently and gasps for breath. Therefore, if a chicken gasps for breath then it is an indication that the bird is infected by gapeworms.

 

Why do chickens yawn?

Chickens yawn to adjust their crop. Chickens usually fill their crop with dry-feed. Whenever they do that then they require to adjust their crop. Also, it may happen that chickens with dry-feed in their crop drink water then the dry-feed expands, and then it indicates that the chickens are yawning. The chicken yawning process is a natural process and it has nothing to do with the chickens falling sleepy. The yawning of the chickens must not be confused with yawning by humans because the two processes are different and the reader must not confuse between the two.

 

What are (other) the symptoms of gapeworm in chickens?

If you are keeping chickens in your backyard then you take special care of them. Often worms like gapeworms affect the chickens. There are some symptoms that help you to understand that worms are there in the chicken. If there are worms in the chicken then the birds will fast lose weight, they suffer from bloody diarrhoea, they become pale and have dry combs, chickens start puffing out as they sit, chickens becoming less active, chickens stop laying eggs.

The symptoms in this paragraph highlight that the chickens are having worms or gapeworms in them. Whenever a worm infects a chicken then it becomes unhealthy. Such chickens must not be present in the diet. They should be killed to prevent the spread of diseases.

I’ve written a guide for you if you need to know how you can tell if your chicken has other worms. See it here…

 

How do you know if your chicken has gapeworm?

If a chicken has gapeworm or other worms in it then you will observe that it has a reduction in its activity. Besides, chickens with worms in them turn pale and they stop laying eggs. Infected birds lose weight rapidly. They suffer from conditions like diarrhoea.

Chickens with worms in them start puffing out as they sit. If there are gapeworms in your chicken then your chicken will gasp for breath. The birds stretch their head out and open their mouths. The gasping for breath is caused by the presence of gapeworms in the trachea of the chicken. The chickens become infected with tapeworms if they feed on the larvae. The larvae hatch to become gapeworms that attach themselves to the chicken’s trachea.

The worms inside the trachea block the free flow of air through the trachea. Gapeworm infection causes the chickens to open their mouths and gasp for breaths. These are some of the symptoms that may aid you in that the chickens have worms in them. It is a sign that your pets are unhealthy. You must prevent this from the very beginning.

However, if you find that the pets are infected with worms then you must consult a veterinary doctor to find out solutions to the issue. It is unhealthy to include a diseased bird in your diet and hence it is strongly recommended that you kill the bird and stop spread infection.

 

How long can a chicken live with gapeworm?

The pet owners need to make sure that the chickens don’t have worms in them. If the chickens have gapeworms in them then their lifespan is greatly reduced. Chickens with gapeworms in them last for 17 days to 20 days. The chickens that are infected by such worms stretch their neck out simultaneously opening their mouths.

They constantly gasping for air. The gasping is caused because of the presence of worms in the trachea. The worms in the trachea block the flow of airflow in trachea. Gapeworms get into the chickens if the birds feed on their larvae. The worms reside inside the bird on the chicken trachea, there, they eat eggs, feed on the chicken blood, and live.

The chickens with gapeworms in their trachea find it very difficult to breathe. They, therefore, open their mouths and gasp for breaths. Though the chickens that are infected with gapeworms last for 17 to 20 days, it is advised to kill the birds as soon as they are infected. It is unhealthy to include unhealthy birds in the regular diet.

Therefore, infected birds need to be disposed of properly to prevent the further spread of infection.

 

What kills gape worms?

If your chicken is suffering from gapeworms or other infections then it is recommended that you visit a veterinary doctor and treat the birds. Those who maintain poultry flocks, they require to make sure that the chickens don’t get infected, the quality of eggs laid is good, and so on.

If there are gapeworms in the chicken then you need to administer the chicken Aviverm or Flubenol as these two medicines contain a chemical termed Levamisole that works to kill adult gapeworms. In this context, it is pertinent to understand that Ivermectin-based products don’t kill adult-gapeworms. The adult gapeworms are immune to Ivermectin-based products.

For more information on this visit the veterinary experts. You can also visit relevant content available online to learn more about this.

 

Conclusion

This blog is an honest attempt to discuss the reasons for chicken yawning. It also goes on to discuss the various symptoms of the presence of worms or gapeworms in the chicken.

If a chicken has worms inside it then the chickens will fast lose weight, it won’t lay eggs, it suffers from issues like diarrhoea, it becomes tired or exhibits reduced activity, the feathers of the chicken start coming out, the chicken turns pale yellow. The blog also discusses that chickens are most likely to suffer from gapeworm infection.

It highlights the time duration for which the bird lasts if it is affected by gapeworms. It also goes on to discuss the chemicals that are responsible for killing gapeworm inside the infected chicken.

Overall, the blog presents a lucid picture as to why chickens in one’s backyard yawn. So the next time you are thinking about why does my chicken keeps yawning, just read this blog and you get the answer. However, in this context, it is relevant to add that the yawning of chicken should not be confused with yawning in humans.

They are two different processes and must not be confused with each other.