Frizzle sneezing with bubbles in her eyes and runny nose...

[setting_silkie]

It looks like a regular cold, but I wasn't sure if chickens could actually catch a cold. She's constantly sneezing with a little clear discharge from her nose and she occassionally gets bubbles in her eyes. We brought her in the house during the cold spell because we were concerned that she was just too cold. She seems to be eating and drinking just fine and is pooping, so I guess that's a good sign. Could it really be just a common cold? Anything I should do?

Thanks...I've never had a chicken do this before, so any help is appreciated.

M

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

Unfortunately with birds, it's difficult to tell exactly what they have without the expertise of a vet. What you described fits the desciption of many different ailments, from very serious ones, to the "common cold".

Is her face or eye area swollen or discolored? Is she acting normal, or sluggish and depressed? Are her wings drooping or feathers puffed out?

I would treat her with terramycin and see if she improves at all within a week or two. If the illness lasts for more than two weeks, it may be something more serious. Keep her separated from the rest of your flock, but be sure to keep an eye on the others. If any of them begin showing symptoms of illness treat everyone with terramycin. You should be able to purchase this at any feedstore or tractor supply.

Every now and then one of my birds comes down with a cold. Usually when i treat with terramycin, it goes away quite rapidly. I notice this tends to happen when the atmosphere is very wet/humid. Most often in the middle of the winter and the middle of the summer after we've had a lot of rain.

 

[setting_silkie]

She seems to be acting fine...no swelling anywhere that I can see. Her feathers are always puffed out since she's a frizzle, but they don't look any different than they normally would. Before I brought her in the house, I noticed that she would stay outside even when the temp was close to zero. Thought that was strange. But otherwise, I think she's acting pretty normal. Maybe sleeping a bit more than I would expect a chicken to, but I chalked that up to her not feeling well. I'll give the teramycin a try and see what that does. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

No problem!

If she was staying outside in the cold (I have some birds that seem to INSIST on doing this) she probably just has a simple cold. With the terramycin and little bit of time she should get over it just fine.

 

[setting_silkie]

Thank you very much...I'm hoping that's all it is. I just gave her the first dose of terramycin. Keeping my fingers crossed.

 

[tiki244]

have you checked out the diagnostics sticky at the top of the page? There is some disease that specifically has bubbles in the eyes.

 

[colby318]

Does her face stink? If she smells putrid, she might have coryza. Gallimycin works well for that but you shouldn't eat the eggs after antibiotics.

Colby in KY

 

[setting_silkie]

Her face doesn't smell at all...nothing that I can detect anyway. I couldn't find anything in the sticky that specifically referred to bubbles in the eyes. I feel like looking for the symptoms is like looking for a needle in a haystack!

 

[kennedyscochins]

Where do you get Gallimycin? The only thing I can find is duramycin. (my chickens are doing this too).

 

[theburtschickens]

Hey all,

My youngest chicken has bubbly eyes. No smell, no swelling, no sneezing, no problems with eating or feces, just bubbles in her eyes. Is this reason to quarantine? If so, will Sulmet (12.5% Sodium Sulfamethazine) work as well as the antibiotic terramycin that others on here have recommended?

On an aside note, it HAS been raining cats and dogs here, and I noted that some have said this is when their chickens seem to come down with this "cold" like problem.

Thanks in advance for any help...

theburtschickens