Chickens coughing or sneezing?

[cowgirl4124]

I traded a goat for some chickens. The chickens have what sounds to be a cough or sneeze....they eat & drink and are free ranging hens. Will they infect my other chickens? They all are locked up in the same coop at night. I have had them all together for the whole summer. Only one of them seems to be sluggish. If we should have to end their lives,,,,,would they be ok to eat? Sorry chicken pet owners...we have some that are pets also? Just asking.

 

[ethingtonart]

Have they been coughing and sneezing all summer? If so they probably have some sort of bacterial infection otherwise the illness probably would have run it's coarse all ready. It sounds like a respiratory infection, and as such it is probably contagious.

Try and do some research in this forum on mycoplasmosis or MG and see what you come up with. It might also be helpful to put your chickens symptoms into the search box.

Other things to look for are runny poo, foul smelling nasal discharge, and gunk building up around the eyes and nostrils.

Other helpful info for people on this forum to help you would include the age of your chickens, how long you have had them, and if there are any other symptoms (such as head shaking) that you hadn't noticed before.

Oh, and to boost their immunity you could put some infant vitamins like tri vi sol without iron in their water.

Hope this helps! I've been dealing with illness myself this summer.