Chicken with a runny nose?

bibzybean

Chirping
Apr 22, 2019
43
21
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I've seen threads for this before, but I'm still a little unsure. One of our 3 chickens seems to have had a slightly runny nose for the past 2-3 days or so. She eats, sleeps, drinks, clucks and does everything normally, although the outsides of her nostrils have started to seem a little wet. It's not coloured, or viscous, or foamy, or in great amounts (there was one exception that my sister claimed she had a little 'snot bubble', but we have since cleaned out her nostrils gently because there was some grass/dirt clogging her nose.) Her nostrils are cleared now, which I thought would solve the problem, but today she dug her little face into a pile of corn and some of it stuck to her nostrils, so I'm assuming she's still a little snotty. It has been quite cold and wet lately - could she have gotten a cold or could it be more serious?
 
I've seen threads for this before, but I'm still a little unsure. One of our 3 chickens seems to have had a slightly runny nose for the past 2-3 days or so. She eats, sleeps, drinks, clucks and does everything normally, although the outsides of her nostrils have started to seem a little wet. It's not coloured, or viscous, or foamy, or in great amounts (there was one exception that my sister claimed she had a little 'snot bubble', but we have since cleaned out her nostrils gently because there was some grass/dirt clogging her nose.) Her nostrils are cleared now, which I thought would solve the problem, but today she dug her little face into a pile of corn and some of it stuck to her nostrils, so I'm assuming she's still a little snotty. It has been quite cold and wet lately - could she have gotten a cold or could it be more serious?
It's hard to know if it's something serious or not.
Sometimes chickens can be carriers of respiratory disease and become symptomatic during times of stress (weather changes, molting, changes with in the flock, etc.) If she is eating/drinking and active, I would just monitor her to see if the clear discharge clears up on it's own or worsens. If you notice other symptoms like wheezing, coughing, thick yellow mucous, swelling of the eyes, lethargy, not eating/drinking, then it's time to investigate further.

Even in cold weather chickens need to have a lot of fresh air coming into their housing. Keep drafts to a minimum but air vents need to be open. Excess droppings also need to be kept cleaned up since a build up of ammonia can also be an irritant.

Hopefully she will clear up. If the nostrils get clogged with feed, clear that away.
 

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