Can chickens recover on their own?

[ShelleyN]

I have three, 2-year old layers. Lulu definitely has a mild cough/sneeze that maybe started mid week last week. She has a crooked beak and only one nostril so we didn't pay much attention. Last night however, on the roost, Rose was sounding like a horn with each inhalation and exhalation. Everything else is normal in appearance and behavior. Unfortunately, we aren't able to be spending $65 for a vet visit. Do chickens ever get the "common" cold and recover? I'm an avid reader of all sorts of posts here, so am hoping the stores of terrible illness and mass quantities of medicine are the exceptions rather than the rules. What are our chances?

 

[DDNONIN2016]

I had a couple of bantam cochins that started sneezing a couple of months ago. I gave them antibiotics initially and nothing seemed to change. Now just putting apple cider vinegar in their water and they all act fine. Still hear some sneezes from time to time but overall they seem healthy. I think chickens have amazing immune systems if they are healthy to begin with. Good luck to you

 

[ShelleyN]

Okay, apple cider vinegar in all watering places. I've seen multiple concentrations, so just went with 4 teaspoons per gallon. They like it! There isn't another chicken for miles from my suburban home. I wonder what it is?

 

[Harry Rooster]

If there's one thing I've learned from my recent and ongoing experience with respiratory illnesses, it's that many diseases and problems, can have the same symptoms, which is why the most experienced folks on here were telling me from the start of it all, to get a necropsy done. They were right. I soon had a pullet die in the first few days of seeing symptoms in my new pullets and my cockerel (almost 1 yr old). They had sneezing, coughing, diarreah, pullets drinking lots of water and eating, while cockerel wouldn't eat or drink, pullet standing off by itself not doing anything, fluffed up, eye pupil looking off to the side. runny nose, and cockerel had mucas in his mouth. He was in serious condition (3 days after the new pullets came). I was told it could be Coccidiosis, Marek's, worm problem, respiratory disease, ect. After 2 dead, 3 still sick and being treated, 2 wks later I got a partial necropsy report that said they were full of several kinds of worms, Coccidiosis, and further testing was being done to diagnose if they had Marek's or Lymphoma, haven't found that out yet. I was told that chickens don't get colds, they get respiratory infections. While I treated my cockerel with Tetracycline, ACV (4 TBS per gal), yougart and electrolytes (cause he wouldn't eat or drink, had to give it to him by hand in a syringe without a needle daily), he is fully recovered from the sickness and shows no signs of being sick, except that I found a worm in his cage (tape, I think) he has never been wormed, but he was not in with the new pullets we just aquired 2 wks ago, that started all of this. He was born and raised here and always free ranged, and never been sick at all, until these new ones were brought here. So in conclusion, I would keep a close eye on them because I don't think they just start sneezing if there's not somethink going on. Just my opinion. Also Tetracycline is about $8.00 a 6.4oz bag, and a little goes a long way (2 teasp. per gal water), and can be found at most feed stores. Don't let symptoms get bad before you start to treat though. Could be worms, have they been wormed?

 

[ShelleyN]

I haven't had a death, so cannot do a necropsy. They have been raised in our suburban backyard for going on 3 years now without issue. Do worms cause coughing? I haven't ever wormed them. I think I should add we live near Denver, CO and are in the midst of quite a drought. Things are dry, dry, dry so not conducive to many of the troubles everyone faces in warm, humid regions.

 

[Harry Rooster]

Well, I was told that worms can cause all the symptoms I mentioned, and can kill a chicken, espically certain kinds of worms. I thought my cockerel was okay because he free ranged. We also have never wormed ours and we've had like you, chickens here born and raised for 7 + years with no problems like this, mostly just predator problems, but the vet that got the necropsy and experienced folks on BYC have told me that worms can kill chickens and that they suspected that my pullets with all those symptoms may have Coccidiosis and or worms, they were right. I guess it can be kindof like dogs with heart worms. There are some kinds of worms that can attatch to the trakia (?spell), the windpipe like thing, and smother them, cutting off their air. The gape worm if I remember correctly (out of all the worms I've been reading about), is one that can produce sneezing and coughing and symptoms that look like respiratory infection (actually causes these respiratory symptoms), which can eventually kill the chicken. From what I've read and been told, the weather conditions don't matter when it comes to them getting worms, and that all chickens, even free range need to be wormed at least once a year. I never have. Worms can come from another host making the chicken the secondary host, like I didn't know you weren't supposed to give chickens earthworms, I thought that it was a chicken delicacy, and that all birds ate worms, but worms can be a host to some horrible parasites that cause these terrible worms in chickens, also beetles ect. different kinds of bugs. I wish I knew how to put a link on here that tells about all these things, but I don't, just type in types of worms in the search bar on this forum and you will probably find the link. Don't get scared, just try to get informed. Didn't mean to alarm you, just think you should know about the possibilities. : /