Help with a few sneezes and wheezes.

[BayFillyZ]

I have a flock of 25 chickens. They range in age from 18 mos to 16 weeks. It is a closed flock, no birds in or out and so i don't undertsand why i am hearing some sneezing. Nothing excessive but it is more than one bird doing it. I might hear it once a day. I also have a roo who has made a squeaky sound when he breathes. but i have only heard it twice and days went by between hearing it. VetRX seems to stop it. Also i have a 21 week old pullet who makes a honking sound instead of normal chicken sounds. she has done it for weeks and weeks. eats good poops good and looks healthy otherwise. Is it time to break out the Tylan 50 or is this normal to have a slight respiratory thing happening during really warm weather? (It gets near or exceeds 100 degrees each day) Could dust be a factor? I have the Tylan injectable onhand. I also plan to worm them with eprinex this week in case it is a parasite but i think i have read that eprinex won't get the larvae in the lungs.

 

[RidgesideBeauty]

It sounds like what I am seeing in my flock right now... it's only one chicken out of 16, but he is doing a squeaky/raspy sound, and if I hold him close I can hear faint wheeze/popping in his breathing (19 week old Buff Orp cockerel). I just started him on antibiotics today. And like yours, other than this, he is otherwise healthy and active, eating well and in good spirits.

I noticed you're in Alabama, I'm in East Tennessee, and we've been having brutal upper 90s and very humid weather here, and I suspect it may be a contributing factor. I'm not sure what to do with respect to prevention though, as I'm doing everything I can... clean coop/run, keeping dust down, etc. Really don't know, as I am new and relatively inexperienced with chickens. Hope your flock feels better... this is very frustrating to deal with.

M.T.

 

[BayFillyZ]

i am also wondering if our respiratory issue has something to do with the 2, sometimes 3 fans, i have going in the chicken yard/house. Maybe it's just blowing up dust. It gets so hot in their house I am trying all sorts of methods to keep them cool.