Can a chicken have just a cold?

[williamsl77]

Hi there... I'm new to chickens. I have 9 week old chickens that I stupidly let out in the rain a few days ago. Now 2 of them have occasional coughs/sneezes. One of them is sneezing a bit more frequently than the other and also has a small amount of clear nasal drainage. This one also has a bit of rales when sleeping, though not when awake.

I read through several articles on respiratory illnesses in chickens and they all sound like fairly horrific affairs. Can they just have a cold from a less pathogenic bug, so to speak? All of my birds are still eating well and are still quite active (including the two occasional sneezers). I do think letting them out in the rain is the probable cause as I'd never heard them sneeze before and they probably got a bit chilled from what they are used to.

Thanks. Appreciate all thoughts!

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Quote:
Technically a chicken doesn't get a cold...it gets a disease.

However, not all respiratory symptoms in chickens stem from a disease. There are numerous environmental factors that can cause signs of respiratory illness. For example, dust, ammonia, food poisoning, fungi, worms, etc.

The only definitive way to know is to test for it.