Hen sneezing, Respiratory issues?

[Jordan01]

Ive notived my young adult hen has been sneezing recently, she also has a runny nose and i can hear her congestion (almost like a gurgle or clicking) when i put my head near her throat. I have two hens and shes the smaller one, she also has a small bald spot on her neck i assume from the other chicken being mean. She also lays eggs with very thin shells that usually break (I've upped her calcium because of this). Im very concerned she may have some kind of resperatory infection. I doubt i could take her to the vet so I'd like to be able to treat her at home. Please help!

 

[quackersandfern]

Did you try using the chicken symptom checker tool poultryDVM has on their website?

 

[Eggcessive]

She could have infectious bronchitis, the most common respiratory disease which is caused by a virus. Symptoms include frequent sneezing, clear nasal drainage with may cause the nostrils to look dirty from dirt sticking to them, a decrease in egg laying, and it can cause egg shell problems, such as thin or wrinkled shells. There is no treatment unless a secondary infection occurs, since antibiotics will only treat a bacterial infection. Clicking when breathing is something I have only seen when a chick I had suffered a leaking air sac.

I would make sure that she is getting extra calcium or crushed oyster shell in addition to feeding her a layer feed. If she seems very ill, you may want to get an antibiotic from a vet. IB usually lasts about a month. Mycoplasma (MG) is another disease that may be a little more serious, and does respond to antibiotics such as Tylan, tetracycline drugs, and tiamulin. Here is a good link to read about the common respiratory diseases including coryza, ILT, MG, and IB: https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044