Hello everyone, I am a first time chicken mama of ten 13 week old chickens and am trying not to panic after noticing some of my chickens (especially the Welsummers) sneezing. My chickens do what I call "dainty sneezes" from time to time, particularly when pecking and foraging. These sneezes are fairly quiet, all the noise they make is really just the sound of the air leaving their nose. They all do this, and they've done so since they left the brooder, something I attributed to the fact that we live in a dusty and sandy location. Since they've always seemed healthy otherwise, I didn't really think much of it.
But yesterday, I caught a few of them having some "noisy" sneezes. One chicken in particular concerned me - it was really high pitched and happened a few times in succession. I've uploaded a video of it here (the sneeze is at the 5 second mark). Unfortunately I didn't think about pulling out my phone quickly enough to catch any more than the last time she did it. I haven't caught her making that same noise since, but I have caught her noisy sneezing since. None of the others have made that noise either, though sometimes they chirp a bit when they sneeze. They also sometimes shake their head when they sneeze, but not often otherwise.
I did let them go out into the run in the rain Sunday and Monday (was that a mistake?) and did see them running about in the rain, but they always had access to a dry coop to return to. It didn't seem like any water got in the coop and the bedding was dry, though the run was pretty muddy. I can't smell any ammonia in the coop and haven't seen any signs of mold. Their food was out of the rain and didn't get wet, it doesn't show any signs of mold either. I do the deep litter method in the coop with a mixture of hemp bedding and the white bag of shavings from TSC.
Other than the sneezing, the chickens seem healthy. I haven't seen any mucus dripping from their noses or any real snottiness, though they do sneeze some clear mucus out (I got some on my arm when my cockerel sneezed on me). I haven't noticed any eye puffiness or face swelling or wheezing. They're eating and drinking normally and are as eager for treats as always. Their poop is mostly normal, though it is watery and loose at times; no blood or signs of worms.
I'm afraid they've caught some sort of respiratory illness and are in the early stages, so I've been giving them what I can in terms of homeopathic remedies. I've been putting Vet RX, apple cider vinegar, and Save-A-Chick Probiotics and Electrolytes in their water (not all at the same time, of course). I have some Rooster Booster and Poultry Cell I also plan on giving them. I can't get to the store until the weekend, but plan on grabbing some eggs so I can make them some scrambled eggs with garlic.
I've thought about preemptively giving them an antibiotic, but I live in California and I'm finding that that's easier said than done. Do you think that's even a good idea? If so, do you have any suggestions of what to look for and where? They're too young to lay eggs yet and probably won't for another month or so, so I'm not worried about egg withdrawal.
I haven't found an avian/poultry vet yet, but am prepared to find one and take a chicken or two if it'll help. I just want to make sure that it's worth it and won't just cause them unneeded stress, particularly as I live in a very rural area and it'd be at least a 40 minute drive each way.
If you have any idea of what might be wrong and any suggestions for how to treat it, they'd be much appreciated. I can provide pictures or additional video if that'd help. If there's any other symptoms I should look out for, please let me know. I'm afraid I might be a chicken hypochondriac, but I really care about these birds and the thought of losing any of them is enough to make me cry.
But yesterday, I caught a few of them having some "noisy" sneezes. One chicken in particular concerned me - it was really high pitched and happened a few times in succession. I've uploaded a video of it here (the sneeze is at the 5 second mark). Unfortunately I didn't think about pulling out my phone quickly enough to catch any more than the last time she did it. I haven't caught her making that same noise since, but I have caught her noisy sneezing since. None of the others have made that noise either, though sometimes they chirp a bit when they sneeze. They also sometimes shake their head when they sneeze, but not often otherwise.
I did let them go out into the run in the rain Sunday and Monday (was that a mistake?) and did see them running about in the rain, but they always had access to a dry coop to return to. It didn't seem like any water got in the coop and the bedding was dry, though the run was pretty muddy. I can't smell any ammonia in the coop and haven't seen any signs of mold. Their food was out of the rain and didn't get wet, it doesn't show any signs of mold either. I do the deep litter method in the coop with a mixture of hemp bedding and the white bag of shavings from TSC.
Other than the sneezing, the chickens seem healthy. I haven't seen any mucus dripping from their noses or any real snottiness, though they do sneeze some clear mucus out (I got some on my arm when my cockerel sneezed on me). I haven't noticed any eye puffiness or face swelling or wheezing. They're eating and drinking normally and are as eager for treats as always. Their poop is mostly normal, though it is watery and loose at times; no blood or signs of worms.
I'm afraid they've caught some sort of respiratory illness and are in the early stages, so I've been giving them what I can in terms of homeopathic remedies. I've been putting Vet RX, apple cider vinegar, and Save-A-Chick Probiotics and Electrolytes in their water (not all at the same time, of course). I have some Rooster Booster and Poultry Cell I also plan on giving them. I can't get to the store until the weekend, but plan on grabbing some eggs so I can make them some scrambled eggs with garlic.
I've thought about preemptively giving them an antibiotic, but I live in California and I'm finding that that's easier said than done. Do you think that's even a good idea? If so, do you have any suggestions of what to look for and where? They're too young to lay eggs yet and probably won't for another month or so, so I'm not worried about egg withdrawal.
I haven't found an avian/poultry vet yet, but am prepared to find one and take a chicken or two if it'll help. I just want to make sure that it's worth it and won't just cause them unneeded stress, particularly as I live in a very rural area and it'd be at least a 40 minute drive each way.
If you have any idea of what might be wrong and any suggestions for how to treat it, they'd be much appreciated. I can provide pictures or additional video if that'd help. If there's any other symptoms I should look out for, please let me know. I'm afraid I might be a chicken hypochondriac, but I really care about these birds and the thought of losing any of them is enough to make me cry.
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