Concerned

[sukr4chkns]

Hi all. This afternoon my wife went out to feed and hang out with our 7 chickens. As she was petting them she noticed 3 of them had a slight runny nose, but only on one side. She also said they had a strange odor. I went out and saw a few of the ones with a runny nose. It didn't look to bad, and it was only on one side. I cleaned them up and put a bit of medicine on them. I didn't smell the odor she was talking about, other than just a normal odor that I always smell when letting them out of the coop. I've been watching over them very closely the past several hours and they seem fine to me. We were supposed to go and pick up 5 new birds tomorrow. My question is, should I hold off on buying the new birds until I figure out if the ones I have now are fine. Is it normal for chickens to get a slightly runny nose. They were out in the rain a few days this week. I couldn't get them to go back in the coop when it started raining, but they took cover under our bushes. They seemed to enjoy the rain, especially because it's been so hot.

Anyway, am I being a bit too paranoid or should I be concerned? Sorry for a long post.

Any input is always appreciated. Thanks for reading.


sukr4

 

[sukr4chkns]

Anybody? Sorry to bump this, but I was hoping to get some input before I go buy these other chickens. Everyone of the birds looks fine today. I just went out to let them free range and they are as lively as ever. Didn't really notice any runny noses. Of course it was still a little hard to see, but from what I did see they looked to be ok.

Thanks.

 

[cluckychucky]

I am a new egg, too, but my girls had a similar "runny nose" this week after a few days of rain. I don't know what it means, but my girls are fine this morning, so I hope it was just a barometric pressure related thing. I will watch this thread to see what the egg-sperts say!

 

[dawg53]

Hi all. This afternoon my wife went out to feed and hang out with our 7 chickens. As she was petting them she noticed 3 of them had a slight runny nose, but only on one side. She also said they had a strange odor. I went out and saw a few of the ones with a runny nose. It didn't look to bad, and it was only on one side. I cleaned them up and put a bit of medicine on them. I didn't smell the odor she was talking about, other than just a normal odor that I always smell when letting them out of the coop. I've been watching over them very closely the past several hours and they seem fine to me. We were supposed to go and pick up 5 new birds tomorrow. My question is, should I hold off on buying the new birds until I figure out if the ones I have now are fine. Is it normal for chickens to get a slightly runny nose. They were out in the rain a few days this week. I couldn't get them to go back in the coop when it started raining, but they took cover under our bushes. They seemed to enjoy the rain, especially because it's been so hot.

Anyway, am I being a bit too paranoid or should I be concerned? Sorry for a long post.

Any input is always appreciated. Thanks for reading.


sukr4

A slight runny nostril could be an environmental issue which can be corrected or eliminated. However it sounds like it could also possibly be the onset of a respiratory problem. A strange odor can be a telltale sign. A blood sample could be drawn to determine what you're dealing with. You can contact a vet, your county extension agent or state department of agriculture and find out how to go about doing this. I recommend that you hold off getting new birds for now until you find out what's going on.
Here's a link to poultry diseases. Even though some of the diseases I'm mentioning may have alot of symptoms, it's not a 'requirement" that sick birds have ALL the symptoms. It depends on the the type of strain...from mild to severe.
Take a look at Infectious Coryza, Mycoplasma Gallisepticum, Infectious Bronchitis. Again, bloodwork would be the best bet to determine what you're possibly dealing with.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044