Chicken sneezing, culling, treating...questions not answered by searching threads

[prescottchicken]

I have been reading about sneezing chickens on this site for 2 days now and I am so confused!

CRD mareks allergies mites.........I am not sure what I've got here and could use some help.

here's my situation:

4 days ago I noticed my silkie rooster was sneezing. Yesterday my EE hen was breathing with gurgling sound that seemed like she had mucus in her nostrils/windpipe.

SO off to backyardchickens.com to investigate. Which put me in panic mode and led me to the vet today with rooster. He definitely has a respiratory issue in his lungs. She said he may not live and I should put him on antibiotics. She said a necropsy would cost $500 if she sent him to the state vet. He doesn't even seem sick aside from the very recent onset of sneezing?

factors that could have caused the sneezing?

1.I introduced 3 new pullets in January. I am new to chickens and unknowingly committed a chicken owner sin: they were not quarantined. here it is 10 weeks later and none of the new birds are sneezing. Could they have brought it?

2.Our junipers are really bad this year and everyone is super sneezy and runny eyed right now. can a chicken get hayfever?

3. I use pine shavings and compost as deep litter. over the past year it has worked well and turns to dirt. but this winter we have had almost no moisture. Total drought. And the litter in the run is breaking down very slowly. it doesn't really smell like ammonia in the run but I haven't really gotten down on all fours and sniffed it. Could this be making my chickens sneeze? they have about 20 square feet per bird in the run and I change the litter in the silkies sleeping hutch every 2-4 weeks. The big hens roost outside (they prefer it to their hen house which is really only used for egg laying).


So what to do about it?

I have started all of the birds on antibiotics but have reservations about doing that. If they are lifelong carriers will I have to treat with antibiotics multiple times? so far only 2 birds are sneezing but if they all have it should i cull the flock or treat?

I got chickens so we could have eggs and meat from birds who live happy and healthy lives. We do love them as our pets (hence the silkies that are part of our flock) but that is really a secondary motive for our chicken keeping. I have 7 hens and only 2 lay. Some may need more time but I think a few of them just don't lay. My EE laid for 2 months and stopped in early November when we moved. she laid 3 eggs last month and that's it. We are not getting the amount of eggs I'd like so I was hoping to get some new layers this year and just treat the non layers as our pets. This doesn't seem like a good idea if the chickens that I have are carriers of a disease right? So unless I cull the flock I will have to make do with the chickens we have until......old age? I don't mind treating our sick chickens at all if they will be an egg laying healthy flock at some point. But if it means that I will have a sickly flock who only lay 9 eggs per week (current rate) and frequently have to go on antibiotics (so we can't eat the eggs for blocks of time) I am not sure that's what I want. I should mention I don't have the option of having 2 separate coops.

Talking to some ranchers at the feed store, gave me the impression that it might be best to send them to chicken heaven and start over (and never get chickens from a stranger again!).

I'm pretty bummed out and not sure how to proceed. I feel like I have let my ladies down in a big way. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

[dawg53]

The 3 pullets you introduced in January may have been or may not have been carriers of an unknown respiratory disease. Most respiratory diseases have short incubation times and you most likely wouldve seen respiratory symptoms in your birds much much sooner than now. Your vet stated that your rooster has a respiratory issue. Your EE hen has gurgling; indicating that the disease is spreading. All this eliminates environmental issues such as pollen and ammonia fumes. If you decide to treat birds, you know they will be carriers for life. Antibiotics treat symptoms, but never cure the disease. Stress can bring out symptoms during their lifetime requiring treatment. If it's a viral disease, antibiotics are ineffective. Only a necropsy on your sickest bird may help you identify what you're dealing with. If you decide to keep your birds, there's a myriad of antibiotics that can be used. If it's viral, antibiotics can prevent secondary infections which normally occur with viral diseases in chickens. Various antibiotics have various withdrawal times. Eventually there'll be the issue of antibiotic resistance, we see that in humans.
I agree with the ranchers. Cull your sick birds, disinfect everything and wait several months before repopulating. I've culled birds for less problems.

 

[prescottchicken]

Thanks dawg53. So how would my chickens have gotten this disease? we have no other pets or livestock but we do have many wild animals in the area (pack rats, raccoons, coyotes, quail).
If I cull the flock, will bleach be sufficient for disinfecting their coop/run? How many months should I wait before putting new birds in there?

 

[Searsmom]

Could be as simple as birds with weaker immune systems.

 

[dawg53]

Could be as simple as birds with weaker immune systems.

This is true. You have to look at the causes; internal/external parasites, improper nutrition, possibly genetics. All of these can be corrected except for genetics (I wont get into genetics, not my cup of tea lol.) There may be other factors, but these are the main ones. Weak immune systems can be bolstered with Probios and Avian Super Pack. Birds can be treated for internal/external parasites.
Prescottchicken: Chickens can get respiratory diseases from wild birds that fly into a pen, it happens. If you've gone to a chicken swap meet or show, diseases can be carried on clothing, shoes and hands, same for feed stores. Birds cant get diseases from coons, coyotes etc...other birds, most definitely. Biosecurity is always a concern with having birds.

 

[prescottchicken]

They are fed organic layer crumbles and I supplement with greens since they don't free range. I give them vegetables and other scraps a few times per week but try not to give them too much so they don't have a wacky diet. I give whey from making yogurt a few times per month. They seem to be very healthy.
What kind of external parasites would cause this?

 

[dawg53]

They are fed organic layer crumbles and I supplement with greens since they don't free range. I give them vegetables and other scraps a few times per week but try not to give them too much so they don't have a wacky diet. I give whey from making yogurt a few times per month. They seem to be very healthy.
What kind of external parasites would cause this?

You would have to visually inspect your birds close-up one at a time. Check especially around their vent area where it's warm and moist. Here's a link for you with pics to help you identify external parasites if you see any. A magnifying glass would come in handy if you see any. Mites have 8 legs and are bloodsuckers that can bring a chicken down quickly. Lice are more of an irritant but can affect a birds health as well:
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ig140

 

[Suzierd]

You can get a Necropsy done much cheaper,Contact your State Veterinarian's office and see what they charge some do it free. I would want to know what's going on before I cull everybody.

 

[Searsmom]

You can get a Necropsy done much cheaper,Contact your State Veterinarian's office and see what they charge some do it free. I would want to know what's going on before I cull everybody.

Or isolate the ones showing symptoms for now and see if they get better or any others get worse. Without knowing what it is, it's kind of a guessing game and sometimes knowing isn't worth the cost. Or do that backwards and isolate the ones that are OK for now. If they all get sick, you know to sterilize and start over and see about sending one to the State Vet - they usually like to know what kinds of issues are happening where anyway.

 

[prescottchicken]

Or isolate the ones showing symptoms for now and see if they get better or any others get worse. Without knowing what it is, it's kind of a guessing game and sometimes knowing isn't worth the cost. Or do that backwards and isolate the ones that are OK for now. If they all get sick, you know to sterilize and start over and see about sending one to the State Vet - they usually like to know what kinds of issues are happening where anyway.

Thanks. I called the state vet and was told they "didn't handle that" so I asked her to double check. Still waiting to hear back....hopefully they will be able to perform a necropsy on my little roo.