Chicken has runny nose, serious? Help please??

[craftymama86]

One of our BR has been sneezing and has had a runny... beak? Ha. Is she sick or is this normal? Should I be worried? Everything else seems ok with her. I'm so new with chickens but I don't want anything to happen to any of them if I can help it. Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[tammye]

I would at least separarte her from the others just in case she has a respiratory infection, put her in a dog crate or something, keep her warm and fed, give her some electrolyte solution, you can get it at the feed store, it will give her strenght to fight it off. look up respiratory infection on this site for additional info. Good luck

 

[jjthink]

Do as above, with warmth and cozy comfy place to try to rest. Up her nutrition. Avia Charge 2000 in their water is one way. If you don't have it on hand (can order on line) you can start with 3 drops Polyvisol liquid children's vitamins (without added iron) daily, dribbled gently along her beak line with a dropper, so she swallows on her own and doesn't choke. Healthy treats to try to keep her eating and her spirits up (mealworms, black oil sunflower seeds, whatever works). Avian vet if you can.

How long have you had her and the rest of your birds? What is their diet? How old is your sick girl?

JJ

 

[speckledhen]

They sometimes dip their entire beaks in water and it runs out their nares (nostrils). They also sneeze like crazy when a piece of food goes down the wrong way and that can cause the nose to run clear as well. I wouldn't be too concerned unless there is snot or runny, swollen eyes. It can't hurt to separate her for a bit to observe her, though.

 

[chickenzoo]

You can often tell the difference between illness and irritation by taking a listen the the lungs - heavy wheezing is often a sign of illness.

 

[craftymama86]

Quote:
We just got our chickens last Friday. I think, but can't be sure, we give them 3 way scratch. Also grit and oyster shell. She started sneezing Saturday. She didn't sneeze nearly as much today and it wasn't that bad of a sneeze compared to the sneezes on Saturday. I haven't heard any wheezing and her eyes look fine. We were told our hens are 3-4 months old.

We only have one coop, at the moment, so I don't know where I would put her. Also, we have 10 bitties that stay in the same coop, would they easily get sick and could it be more harmful to them? That is, if she has an infection.

I really appreciate everyone's responses, thank you.

 

[jjthink]

A change in environment is a stressor and can make a bird ill. This happened to my dear roo BJ when I had to put him in someone else's care for a while a few years back- same symptoms - but they shortly resolved and he is back with me and still fine today.

Super supportive care may well resolve this. Comfortable draft free super clean sleeping quarters, vitamins as suggested above, and even some healthy treats to bolster spirits and the willt o be well (black oil sunflower seed, cut up bits of fruits like grape and blueberry, egg, mealworms...things that they can look forward to...)

What is 3 way scratch? They do need to have a nutritionally complete food offered 24/7.

JJ

 

[craftymama86]

I'll have to look for the vitamin's but I'll definitely do that. I bought some plain yogurt I thought about giving them as a treat, I read somewhere on BYC that yogurt is one thing they like to eat. I also have bananas I read they like too. 3 way scratch has cracked corn, I think whole wheat grains and one other thing. Sorry my brain can't seem to think right now. My hubby thought about getting another feed that has more in it. But we'll probably wait until we use what we have right now. Oh and we also have apples we can cut up and give them.

 

[craftymama86]

We did try giving them some fresh collard greens. They didn't go crazy over it but they did eat it. I did give them some cooked oatmeal the other day,
They went CRAZY over it, lol.

 

[jjthink]

The scratch is to be used as a snack only (think of it as popcorn for us). It does not have the nutrition they need, no matter what a feed store may tell you (too many give out bad information). Birds will get sick on this diet. You need a chicken layer food if they are all adult females and a game bird maintenance if there are any males (this is fine for females too, so long as oyster shell is available at all times). Definitely add the nutritional supplement (Avia Charge 2000, or other) asap.

JJ