Mouth breathing

Or should that be beak breathing?  One of my ex-batts is breathing with her beak open.  Should I take her to the vet?  I worry more on a friday, as they're not open again till monday.
Two of the other three have gone paler on top of their heads, they look like they're going grey.  Are they moulting?

Do you mean yawning, or is she keeping her beak open all the time? 

Has she got something stuck? 

Yawning can be a symptom of gap worm.  Though my Pearl (ex batt) does it occasionally, and worming doesn't make any difference.  Apart from that she's fit as a flea.

I've just had the smallholder news letter, and it says at this time of year respiratory issues are the biggest problem for chooks.
Sounds like you've done the right thing.  Hope she picks up.

Batt.hens are inoculated for most things. Maybe Mycoplasma? Probably cheaper to slaughter them & start again.

It sounds like a simple respiratory infection, excerbated  by the damp misty weather we are having.

If you have made the decision to treat your birds then a course of Baytil will sort her out. Will not be expensive, consult and meds should cost around £20. It may be advisable to treat  all your little flock as most of these illness tend to be highly infectious.

A good idea would be to give the house a good clean out with a good disinfectant and be sure to remove all bedding and nesting material. Stalosan F is a very useful and effective dry powder disinfectant you can use under the bedding material. Check ventilation, it can be tempting in this weather to bung them all up - coupled with damp bedding (straw etc) can cause condensation which will promote bugs.

Check and replace run material unless they free-range -if the free range move the house and change position of feeders and drinkers.

Apple cider vinegar 25ml to 1litre is a good all round tonic - if you are using increase to 50mls per litre as it is also good at decreasing the mucus produced.

thats right you dont kill them for no reason thats only a last resort when there is nothing else to be tried chickens are not for profit they are for pleasure its like killing one of the family for no reason well done for taking her to the vet and best of luck to your chooks

i agree that the birds must always be delt with humanely, but it was suggested that it would be cheaper to cull and start again, im sure i dont need to point out that keeping ex-batts isnt about making money and profit, its about giving them a good life for their retirement. An ex-batt is taken on as a pet, you dont cull ex batts because its cheaper!