Do Broilers Sneeze?

[LoVecchioClan]

Hi,
This is my first time with broilers. I have 50 that are 2 weeks old. We have them in a big wooden box roughly 6'x3' with a chicken wire roof. I have two 100 watt bulbs and a thermostat set at 80. We have fortunately only lost 1 so far within a couple of days of arrival-don't have a clue why but anyways-I have noticed a couple of my birds (6-8) have started sneezing. I have a blanket underneath the box so the cold of the concrete floor doesn't wick up through the shavings and a blanket on half the top to keep the heat in. I'm keeping plenty of shavings in there with constant food and water. It also stays roughly 50 in the garage as we have a split and it's under our bedrooms. Has anyone heard of chickens sneezing and if so do they have a cold or something? Should I be concerned and if so, what should I do? Should I take them out and keep them seperate so as to not spread this? Any help would be great-Thanks!

 

[ChixDigMe]

Sure!! Chickens sneeze for the same reasons people sneeze.

While I think it is possible that your chicks may be 'catching a cold', your brooder sounds like it would be pretty toasty warm.

There may be other reasons that they are sneezing, like dust. As long as it isn't spreading to more chicks I wouldn't worry too much about it.

If it starts to spread you might want to consider separating them.

I'm no expert by any stretch of the imagination, so hopefully others will comment with more advice.

Good luck with your broilers.

KurtDude

 

[LoVecchioClan]

Thank you. I don't think it's a cold, but if so, don't think its too serious, I hope. I just read another post about baby ducks sneezing too. I'm using pine shavings as recommended but they are preening LOTS as they now have wing and tail feathers. Maybe it's just because the baby fuz is being replaced by feathers? I will continue to watch and if it's worse I'll separate? Don't want to do antibiotics unless necessary.