Chicken cold? Sneezing A lot

[Jacklust]

Hi I have a small breed hen I got Aug 13 living indoors. The past 2 days she has been sneezing like crazy and has a lot of boogers to the point she has to breathe through her mouth,,, Can this be some sort of chicken cold? Or what? Anything special I should do? I just healed her feet mites about 4 days ago

 

[speckledhen]

Chickens do not get colds. If there is snot, which I have never seen in my five years of having chickens, she has a respiratory infection/disease. Look up Chronic Respiratory Disease (CRD), Mycoplasmosis, Infectious Coryza, etc. Most of these make them carriers of whatever they have, even when the symptoms are gone, so you would need to know what she has to determine if it's in your best interest to cull her or not. Do not use antibiotics--you don't know if it's bacterial or viral and as you know, antibiotics do not treat viruses. In the case of chickens, even if it is bacterial, she can still become a carrier, as with Coryza. Be sure you wash your hands and don't wear clothes to the feedstore that have been around her so you don't pass on what she has to other flocks.

You'll find all sorts of advice and many willing to throw antibiotics at the birds in a "shotgun" approach, but my policy and the policies of most long time breeders is to cull the bird (euthanize) so they don't set up a disease cycle in their flock or pass it on to other flocks accidentally. I never recommend treating blindly.

 

[rcentner]

speckled hen is right, but I disagree with her a bit here. (unusual) If you plan to keep this chicken and try to treat (even though it will likely be a carrier) I would use antibiotics. Green snot coming out of the nose call for antibiotics because it is likely that the chicken has a secondary bacterial infection that often occurs with viruses.
I do agree that the easiest and best thing to do for your flock is to cull the chicken, but then there are people like me who have to do all they can (even if it seems stupid to some others). If you plan to treat this chicken..separate from the flock and:
1) antibiotics
2) vitamins
3) deworm (although you may not see evidence of them, they are likely there and will make it harder for the chicken to get over anything else)
4) yogurt

can be a long process and you may lose the battle anyhow. it's up to you to make a decision based on your feelings of your chicken. either way you are not wrong

 

[speckledhen]

That's okay, many folks disagree with me.

You do have to do what you feel you can, but if you keep a bird who is likely a carrier, you won't be able to ethically sell that bird or others who have contracted its disease without full disclosure of that fact. If you keep the flock closed, sure, you can treat and hope it gets better, though it may still be a carrier. As long as you know that and what it means, then you can be responsible and careful not to cause infection in someone else's flock. I always advocate operating from a position of knowledge.

 

[Jacklust]

I went to a chicken place and they told me it would be cleared up with antibiotics. They gave me 3 pills to give her orally 1 per day. I also made her water into a water/lemon/honey mix to help. I do not have a flock I love chickens as indoor pets. They told me she might have gotten sick because the AC

since shes indoors so hopefully all goes well

. I ended up picking up another one today I fell for a baby chick which is what I wanted in the first place

I now have the older one in the bathroom till she gets better and the baby in my room and yes I make sure to wash my hands before handling the chick

 

[Jacklust]

Quote:
Does any de-wormer work? I currently only have dog type

and for the yogurt plain? n how do I convince her to eat it? Lol she likes trying everything I eat but she doesn't always like it. She does love blueberries and strawberries though

 

[Jacklust]

Quote:
How often does it become that way carriers?

 

[DaniLovesChickens]

I remember reading on here where someone put oils in boiling water to help a congested chicken. You know, like a humidifier? I would think eucalyptus (sp) would work, but then again I remember someone else saying that they put Vicks on their hens chest.

It kind of makes sense, doesn't it? Just throwing it out there!

Good luck!

 

[Jacklust]

Vicks sounds like a great idea

thank you for the tips definitely will try that

 

[rcentner]

Quote:
Does any de-wormer work? I currently only have dog type

and for the yogurt plain? n how do I convince her to eat it? Lol she likes trying everything I eat but she doesn't always like it. She does love blueberries and strawberries though

there are lots of different dewormers for dogs...and u need the right dose. Ivermectin is good, wazine is ok (and easy to get and use). mine like yogurt, you can put it on something if they don't