Do 10 wk old chicks get colds? runny nose, watery eyes; What to do?

[fiddlechicks]

How do we know it's a cold? Do we treat it? Is it contagious?

 

[CMV]

Chickens don't get colds. The respiratory diseases they do get are usually contagious. Isolate any sick birds from the flock. I've never had any respiratory issues in my birds, so I am not much help. Sorry.

Bump.

 

[Kasia]

You should put the little chick on Baytril or Tylan. I rescue a lot of chickens and half of them come to me with respiratory problems. Yes, respiratory infections can be contagious.

 

[fiddlechicks]

Thanks. Eyes and runny nose are better. But still sounds raspy sometimes and does something like a sneeze. Any other suggestions?

 

[nnbreeder]

What kind of bedding do you use? When scratching about birds raise a lot of dust and chickens being chickens don't care who is behind them when they start slinging dirt or shavings about.

Be on the lookout though for any other symptoms such as raspy breathing and such.

 

[fiddlechicks]

We don't have any dust problems yet. This is a new coop with a concrete floor and a pea gravel run. We've only had our 2 pullets for a week. The 10 week old buff orpington pullet has had an intermittent cough or sneeze since the day we got her. Likely a little sick when we got her, but the seller is not near us. Runny eyes / nose got worse after a couple of days, but are now better.

At this point we are just trying to feed them well, give them access to the yard and bugs and generally keep them happy which they seem to be. The cough / sneeze and occasional raspiness is still about the same.