First time owning chickens and they're sneezing?!

[Angelique2113]

Hi, we got our first chicks a week and a half ago, 6 buff orpingtons, I've never owned any type of bird before so everything were doing is just based on research. They're 2 weeks old now and have been doing great except that now they're sneezing. All but one only sneeze occasionally but one is sneezing every couple minutes and it's a wet sneeze. I listened for wheezing and I think I here a little but she's still acting normal and doesn't seem bothered by it. There's no discharge except the clear stuff that comes out when she sneezes. We switched to pine bedding last week so I'm switching back to paper towels to see of that helps but I'm worried I'm not doing everything i can. Anyone know what this is and how serious it is? What's causing it and what steps should I take? Do I need to isolate her? Any advice much appreciated!

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Welcome to BYC!

Where did they come from? If hatchery... maybe it's just allergy to the new bedding or it's to dusty. The excessive one may have something stuck and bugging the area. Regarding wetness.. our internals are wet, I think that's different than snot.

If from a breeder... Were they NPIP?

Isolation is irrelevant, all have been exposed if there is something.

What are you using for bedding?

 

[Angelique2113]

Welcome to BYC!

Where did they come from? If hatchery... maybe it's just allergy to the new bedding or it's to dusty. The excessive one may have something stuck and bugging the area. Regarding wetness.. our internals are wet, I think that's different than snot.

If from a breeder... Were they NPIP?

Isolation is irrelevant, all have been exposed if there is something.

What are you using for bedding?

I got them from a woman who breeds them herself. And as far as the wetness goes, I just meant that she's got a gunkier sounding sneeze, like you would if you were all stopped up with mucus.
I'm using living world pine shavings, but I switched back to paper towel last night to see if that would help and i didn't notice any sneezing before I left this morning

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I got them from a woman who breeds them herself.

Is she NPIP certified?

Were they incubator hatched or broody hatched?

Gunkier sounding isn't good. Pine isn't a problem for most chicks. I would be more worried about disease that can pass to the eggs and chicks (like infectious bronchitis, MC/MG, New Castle, AI) than not doing something right. But i try not to jump to conclusions without considering alternatives. I don't know why everything says a sneeze is disease, when it seems like other animals can have allergies, why not birds.

@Wyorp Rock any ideas here?

 

[Lady of McCamley]

I agree with EggSighted4Life...wet sneezes are not good.

I too have raised a lot of chicks on pine shavings with no issues. Make sure they are kiln dried and dust free though.

While chicks can react to dusty situations, also make sure you have enough ventilation without too much heat. Ammonia build up from excess poo can cause respiratory distress.

Also some plastic tubs and even heat lamps give off fumes which can be toxic.

However, if your heat is right, and you've got good ventilation, and the pine you are using is not highly dusty, and products not giving off fumes, I am back to viral/bacterial infection that came with the chicks.

Travel stress will often kick in latent disease that otherwise would not show.

I would watch very carefully as this could be the beginning of an unfortunate outbreak of MG/MS or even viral contagions such as Infectious Bronchitis.

Little chicks don't normally sneeze except very occasionally.Consistent sneezing means something is amiss.

Please keep us posted.

LofMc

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hi, we got our first chicks a week and a half ago, 6 buff orpingtons, I've never owned any type of bird before so everything were doing is just based on research. They're 2 weeks old now and have been doing great except that now they're sneezing. All but one only sneeze occasionally but one is sneezing every couple minutes and it's a wet sneeze. I listened for wheezing and I think I here a little but she's still acting normal and doesn't seem bothered by it. There's no discharge except the clear stuff that comes out when she sneezes. We switched to pine bedding last week so I'm switching back to paper towels to see of that helps but I'm worried I'm not doing everything i can. Anyone know what this is and how serious it is? What's causing it and what steps should I take? Do I need to isolate her? Any advice much appreciated!

I would not isolate her. If she does have a respiratory illness, the others are already exposed - the only time to really separate a chick would be if she is lethargic/needs extra care like hand/tube feeding or if she is getting picked/trampled on.

I agree with @Lady of McCamley post, some good thoughts and instructions there.
Rule out environment/ventilation as the cause of the sneezing. Also check her nostrils just to make sure that she doesn't have something stuck in one of them.

Personally, unless there are more symptoms that accompany the sneezing (thick mucous, watery eyes, coughing/wheezing, lethargy, going off feed) I would wait to see if she will improve on her own. 2wks is very young to start treating, but if you feel that she really needs something, you can use Tylan50. Antibiotics will only treat secondary infections and will not cure respiratory illness. Depending on what she has, she will be a carrier for life and so will the chicks that are living with her.

Is she NPIP certified?
Were they incubator hatched or broody hatched?
Gunkier sounding isn't good. Pine isn't a problem for most chicks. I would be more worried about disease that can pass to the eggs and chicks (like infectious bronchitis, MC/MG, New Castle, AI) than not doing something right. But i try not to jump to conclusions without considering alternatives. I don't know why everything says a sneeze is disease, when it seems like other animals can have allergies, why not birds.
@Wyorp Rock any ideas here?

fwiw - Mycoplasma is the most common respiratory illness that is transmitted both vertically and horizontally. (Bird to bird and through the egg)

Newcastles is fairly rare in the US at this time, the virus can be passed in the egg, but Newcastle-infected embryos die before hatching.

IB is transmitted from bird to bird, through dust/dander, droppings and bodily fluids, etc. While is does impact the future health of a bird and their production, it does not get passed vertically to the egg.

AI can be from bird to bird, dust/dander, clothes, equipment, insects, rodents, ect. I have found no information that this disease is spread to the embryo of hatching eggs.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

fwiw -

Thank you. I wasn't sure which ones were vertically transmitted so just mentioned them. It will take some more studying to get that all to stick in my brain correctly.

 

[Eggcessive]

Hopefully, it is nothing serious. Infectious bronchitis or IB is the most common respiratory disease in chickens. It will mostly cause sneezing, and it makes chickens carriers for at least 5 months up to a year. If someone has that in their flock, new chicks will get it if they have been exposed to those chickens. Many people will perpetuate the disease by hatching or adding more birds to their flock, but if they would just wait a year after the last bird recovers, they will not keep it going in their flocks.

If you see swollen or foamy eyelids, it could be mycoplasma or MG.

Make sure that they have good overhead air circulation, and keep the bedding as clean and dry as possible.