Chicken Sneezing A lot

Twild698

Hatching
Jul 15, 2020
3
0
3
I have a chicken (Buff Orpington about 8 months old) that sneezes a lot. This has been going on for weeks. There is clearly something wrong with her. She doesn't have anything coming from her eyes. When I first noticed this she was making a really loud noise when she breathed and I separated her from the rest of the chickens. That loud noise she was making went away after about a day. She does seem to be a little hoarse when breathing, but seems to eat fine. I have tried VetRx under her wings and in the drinking water with no improvement. I have 7 other chickens and haven't noticed anything wrong with them yet. Any advice on what I could do to help the chicken? Thanks in advance!
 
Sneezing has benign causes as well as sinister ones. Eating dry crumbles makes some of my chickens sneeze since they tend to wolf it down in competition with their mates.

Another cause can be a crop issue, mainly sour crop causing sour liquid to encroach on the airway. You might want to rule that out by checking the crop first thing in the morning for fullness.

If it's a respiratory disease, she would likely be behaving in a manner that indicates she's sick. Lethargy, lack of appetite, scant poop. Check inside of the mouth and ears for any plaque or blistering or swelling that sometimes accompanies respiratory disorders.

Absent behavioral signs of illness, she may just be sensitive to environmental stressors - allergies.
 
Sneezing has benign causes as well as sinister ones. Eating dry crumbles makes some of my chickens sneeze since they tend to wolf it down in competition with their mates.

Another cause can be a crop issue, mainly sour crop causing sour liquid to encroach on the airway. You might want to rule that out by checking the crop first thing in the morning for fullness.

If it's a respiratory disease, she would likely be behaving in a manner that indicates she's sick. Lethargy, lack of appetite, scant poop. Check inside of the mouth and ears for any plaque or blistering or swelling that sometimes accompanies respiratory disorders.

Absent behavioral signs of illness, she may just be sensitive to environmental stressors - allergies.


Should I be worried about a parasite? Her poop seems just fine. I watched her and looked at her poop on two occasions. When she breathes she sounds VERY raspy. She is also very skittish when I try to put her in the run after free ranging. All my other chickens go in fairly easily, but this one tries to run away.
 
Should I be worried about a parasite? Her poop seems just fine. I watched her and looked at her poop on two occasions. When she breathes she sounds VERY raspy. She is also very skittish when I try to put her in the run after free ranging. All my other chickens go in fairly easily, but this one tries to run away.
 
Gape worm isn't all that common, but it can happen. These worms live in the trachea, and they cause coughing and difficulty breathing. If you have someone pry open her beak while you shine a strong light in her throat, you might be able to see the worms if they are numerous enough. Sometimes chickens cough them up, and then there's no guessing. Here's more info on gape worms. https://thisnzlife.co.nz/signs-your-chickens-might-have-gapeworm-plus-how-to-treat-it/
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom