4 weeks chick started sneezing, but eats, drinks, active

[mmmarta]

Hello Friendly Community,
I have an issue with another one of my chicks. First time owner, 6 Silkies, 4 weeks old, in a cardboard brooder at home.

He is my favorite, and I noticed 2 sneezes yesterday. Today morning, he sneezes every few minutes.
He eats, scratches, maybe is a little bit active then before (he was very active). I noticed no discharge from the nostrils, no runny eyes, nothing else.

The only new things are:
- a handful of new bedding (from feed store, marked as general shavings, very aromatic, so I did not add more)
- the weather got weird, with fluctuating temperature, but they have their heat lamp and heatplate in different ends of the brooder (ignoring the heatplate)

Did I get him sick?

What do I treat him and the others with? I found mentions of vetRX and Enrofloxacin (Baytril). It seems that the disease can have many reasons, so can I treat them with something general, addressing a broad spectrum of possibilities?

Anything apart from medicine I can do?

Also, they are all together in one box, does it still make sense to isolate? How war away dk they need to be to be safe? I did not anticipate for this, unfortunately, and don't have the right set up, need to figure something out.

 

[nchls school]

Birds sneeze for the same reasons we do. Sneezing in itself does not mean the chick is sick.

First thing I would try is to remove all traces of the new bedding, wait twenty-four hours and see if the sneezing stops.

With no other symptoms I would not start medicating yet.

Should the sneezing continue then consider another approach.

Look the chick over carefully-Any diarrhea? Watch the beak as the chick breathes-Does the beak open and close while it breathes? Hold the chick close to your ear-Can you hear it breath? These are symptoms of disease and the chick needs to be isolated and treated for respiratory/intestinal infection.

There are other disease possibilities but if the chicks have been kept separate from other birds they are not likely.

 

[LateBirdFarms]

With chicks around that age, there's a fair bit of dander with all the feather changes, so a sneeze can really just be a sneeze. But do watch for the other symptoms that nchls listed before medicating

 

[mmmarta]

Thank you. I am getting new bedding today.

He does open his beak from time to time, as if he was inhaling deeper. Did not hear any wheezing holding him up to my ear.

What medicine should I get just in case it does not go away? How far away should they be isolated?

 

[mmmarta]

Put in new pine chips, waiting till the morning to see if anything changes. Still no runny nose or discharge, but he keeps sneezing.

And I think I heard another one sneeze.

They sold us Koryn tryple at the feed store, anyone has experience with it?

I am thinking that if another one sneezes tomorrow, and / or Batman doesn't improve, I should do something to treat them, what do you think?

 

[nchls school]

Thank you. I am getting new bedding today.

He does open his beak from time to time, as if he was inhaling deeper. Did not hear any wheezing holding him up to my ear.

What medicine should I get just in case it does not go away? How far away should they be isolated?

I use Medion Therapy for Poultry Broad Spectrum. It is safe to use with any age and size. It is quite effective. It can be bought off Ebay-$15.