How do I clean a blocked nostril? Vetrx my best bet? I am new to chicken raising.

[cpuzz]

Hello all! I am new to this forum. I just got my first chickens last weekend. They are about 4 to 6 weeks old. I have two bantam silkies, two polish, one cochin, and one houdan. I got the chickens last Saturday. I noticed on Sunday that three of them had mites so I treated them all with Sevin dust and changed their pine shaving bedding out. I have heard the polish chickens sneeze a couple of times but their noses look okay. I figured this was just dust irritation. My houdan I noticed today had a blocked nostril and a partially blocked nostril. I cleaned the partially blocked nostril by taking a moist towel and removing the yellow crust. After I removed the yellow crust the nostril looked okay. There was a little bit of clear drainage in the nostril after crust removal. The other nostril however is hard and blocked completely. I am not sure what I should do about this? I read some people suggest Vetrx for congestion. Would this be the best thing to do to try to unblock it?

At night I keep the chickens locked up in the coop. I have two vents in the top part of one of the walls for ventilation. Do you think this is adequate ventilation for them? I let them out into the run during the day.

Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks!

 

[speckledhen]

Is it congestion or food/dirt caked up in there? If it's dried snot, you have a big problem. Use the back of a feather quill or a toothpick to clean out nares.

VetRx is not a medication. It's just an aromatic like Vicks and won't cure anything.

I hope someone didn't sell you sick carrier birds. That is no way to start a chicken keeping hobby. If so, you'll always be fighting disease in your flock. If they came with mites and blocked nares, I'd be leery of that. You may end up culling and starting over with healthy birds if you find out they are infected.


You can never have too much ventilation! BUT, be sure it's covered with hardware cloth so raccoons and other critters can't slip in there.

 

[cpuzz]

Speckledhen thanks for the advice. I bought some hard cloth to put around the bottom of the run for when I let them out of the coop. Unfortunately, I have been having a lot of problems with my little flock. See the link below. I have been working hard trying to help them. I just don't think I could cull a chicken. Even though I grew up on a farm with chicken houses and saw my Mom do it daily.

You would think I would be able to!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/676295/please-help-my-first-chickens-and-one-is-getting-sick-walking-funny-drunkenly-eye-closed-nasal-drainage-not-eating#post_9138219Thanks