Chickens Coughing/Sneezing

[wildflowerrun]

Last Saturday I noticed one Delaware cockerel cough/sneeze and then hold his mouth open for a few minutes. It happened after I picked him up and held him rather forcefully to keep him from flying away as I moved him out of the coop (we had to move it). I had thought maybe I had just handled him a little too forcefully.

That was all I saw until yesterday morning I heard another Delaware do it. I waited around for 5 minutes or so and only saw the one pullet do it, and only a few times. Last night there was an Olive Egger pullet roosting and doing it. Then this morning, another Delaware and a Welsummer. That's 5 (maybe four if it was the same Delaware) pullets/cockerels of my 31 that have this cough. I haven't seen any discharge from eyes/noses/beaks. I haven't picked them up but I don't hear any rattling from a distance. No one is keeping their beak open like that Delaware the first time. They are all acting and eating normally, run up to me when they see me at the window or at the door.

It doesn't seem to be extremely frequent (maybe 1-3 times in 5 minutes), but it's coming from different places and I'm starting to get very worried. All of my birds are 9-10 weeks old. 26 of them were purchased from an NPIP hatchery, the other 5 from what I considered a reliable local source.

They have only been in their coop for 2 weeks (one week before I noticed the first cough) and the first week they were unfortunately in the coop when it fell over. They never had this cough for the 8 weeks they were in the house (I know--8 weeks, it was bad).

We use pine litter (same style they had in the brooder, though not the same brand) and tried to make sure all of the wood we used to build the coop was pine, and that it's latex-based paint.

I'm really starting to worry that there's a problem. It's been rainy here and we haven't been able to set up the run yet, so the ladies (and gentlemen) have been confined to the coop. It should be large enough for them but by the look/smell of it, I'm reconsidering deep litter method. It smells like ammonia and it's only been 2 weeks. (I turned the litter and added more a week in.)

But now what do I do? Do I have a serious problem and am I going to have to replace my whole flock because they're infected? I got the birds primarily for eggs but had already started planning for breeding projects for next year.

Help!!

Edit: The coop has no vents, just an open area where the roof meets the top of the coop on either side (covered in screen). It's maybe 2-3 inches wide and crosses 8 feet on either side of the coop. Other than that, there are two windows with hardware cloth on them that take up an entire 8-foot wall of the coop. Unfortunately, these windows have been closed at least a full week of the 2 weeks they've been in the coop.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

If you can smell ammonia, imagine what it is doing to their tiny respiratory systems 10 inches above the floor.
Get those windows open and cut more windows in the walls.
It sounds like that opening at the roof provides about 1 1/2 square foot of ventilation.
30 birds need 30 square feet of ventilation.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/...-go-out-there-and-cut-more-holes-in-your-coop

 

[wildflowerrun]

That link was extremely helpful, thank you. It supports what I told my boyfriend just the other day--we need to build more ventilation into the coop this weekend.

That'll be our next step! (Followed by downsizing the flock, as our ultimate goal is 20-23 chickens.)

If we add ventilation, could we possibly hope that the coughing goes away?

 

[realsis]

if the sneezing and coughing continues its likely they have contracted a respiratory illness. you can treat it with Tylan50. dose is for large birds 1/4 cc small birds 1/2 cc once daily for 5 days given in the breast muscle. Tylan50 can be found at the feed store for 12 dollars. do NOT worry that the bottle says for cattle and swine. MANY poultry owners including myself successfully treat their flock with tylan50. as a matter of fact I just finished treating mine for respiratory symptoms with Tylan50. it works wonderfully! very successfully treats respiratory issues. the antibiotic is called Tylosin the brand name is Tylan50. it really works great. I like giving the injection over water soluble antibiotic because dose is more controlled and is not contingent on the amount drank. sometimes when they are ill they don't drink as much as they should and for water soluble antibiotics this effects the dosing. also it gets into the blood steam much faster and is generally much stronger. you should be able to get the syringe from the feed store too. when giving the injection I like to use a alcohol swab first in the area. this will help part the feathers and give you a clean view of the breast. I hope this helps. I would not let them go too long before I started to treat them. hope they get better soon. best wishes

 

[Michael Apple]

Confined areas with no ventilation are a perfect environment for upper respiratory problems to begin. The birds need air. You should have prepared better and had everything complete before you got any chicks. Lesson learned. Depending on the size of your coop determines how often you need to clean/remove manure soaked shavings. If the coop stinks of ammonia, you need to remove caked shavings and add new shavings. With 26, 9 weeks old chicks, you'd be wise to do a flock treatment in the water. Don't use Tylan 50. Use LS-50 soluble powder at 1 tsp per gallon of water for 5-7 days. The problem is either air-sac infection which is often bacterial, or MG. If it is Mycoplasma, you may as well cull the flock and start over.

 

[Michael Apple]

if the sneezing and coughing continues its likely they have contracted a respiratory illness. you can treat it with Tylan50. dose is for large birds 1/4 cc small birds 1/2 cc once daily for 5 days given in the breast muscle. Tylan50 can be found at the feed store for 12 dollars. do NOT worry that the bottle says for cattle and swine. MANY poultry owners including myself successfully treat their flock with tylan50. as a matter of fact I just finished treating mine for respiratory symptoms with Tylan50. it works wonderfully! very successfully treats respiratory issues. the antibiotic is called Tylosin the brand name is Tylan50. it really works great. I like giving the injection over water soluble antibiotic because dose is more controlled and is not contingent on the amount drank. sometimes when they are ill they don't drink as much as they should and for water soluble antibiotics this effects the dosing. also it gets into the blood steam much faster and is generally much stronger. you should be able to get the syringe from the feed store too. when giving the injection I like to use a alcohol swab first in the area. this will help part the feathers and give you a clean view of the breast. I hope this helps. I would not let them go too long before I started to treat them. hope they get better soon. best wishes

1/4 cc injections of TYlan 50 for each of 26, 9 week old chicks is impractical and great room for error for amateurs. Flock treatment with the proper medicated water as the sole source of drinking water is the better route. The coop needs to be cleaned by removing caked shavings, the birds should be removed from the coop during this procedure of course, and the coop should be treated with Oxine AH disinfectant before new shavings are added. The coop obviously needs to be modified for ventilation.