how to determine if sneeze is serious or just a cold

[Ariesmom]

I have a rooster that has been sneezing/coughing for about a week and he seems to be the same even though I have him on duramycin 10 and an old remedy of Vet RX applied at nite in his nostrils. He's a little crusty on the nose ( smells like a rotten hound dog ) but eyes are clear and activity is normal. He's also been with a hen from the beginning and she displays no signs whatsoever. Can someone clear up the differences to look for when it comes to a cold vs infection of some kind? All these links give too much info and confuses me even more so.

 

[chickengrl]

This sounds like a respiratory infection and with the nasty smell it could even be coryza. Chickens don't really get colds like humans do. They may get better and seem healthy, but may be carriers of the disease and when stressed may show the symptoms again. These infections can run the range of being pretty mild, or even killing the bird. Unfortunately, you may be dealing with something that may not go away. Did you just get new birds? I would isolate the sick rooster as soon as you can anyway. If you want to try treating him while you try to figure out what is going on, you can go to the farm store and get Tylan 50 in the goat/cattle section. Ask for some small needles and syringes too. If he is a large fowl (not small or bantam) give 0.5 (1/2) of a cc(same as ml) injected in the back of the neck under the skin. Have someone hold him, pull up some neck skin and slide it under the skin. Don't stick yourself on the other side! Do this for 5-7 days. Baytril is even better if you can get it from your veterinarian.

You have some tough decisions to make. If you are only keeping chickens for pets, some of these conditions can be managed with a closed flock or even vaccinating. If you were wanting to sell birds or hatching eggs, you will possibly get someone elses's flock sick. Many people, with far more experience than I have, would encourage you to cull a bird showing these symptoms. These are people who I think count on being able to sell chicks and eggs. They cannot have a sick bird passing something around. This may be the only foolproof way to deal with it.

If the bird dies, keep it cold(not frozen) , and contact your state veterinarian. Just google for a contact. You can take the bird in for testing and find out what made it sick. This can be very important in helping you decide what to do. I would call and talk to someone even if the bird does not die. They can be very helpful. Some states offer this service for FREE! Some are low cost. I did hear that at least one state (I think NY) was expensive.

So I hope the above is helpful. These things are confusing and difficult. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[Katydid2011]

Quote:
Great information!

 

[schellie69]

Chickens do not get colds, they get respiratory virus. which do not respond to antibiotics.

The other person to post gave some great advice you need to figure out what you want to do. Have a closed flock which means selling only eating eggs none to be hatched or chicks. Some of these infection due get transferred to the egg.

I am sorry you are going through this.

 

[Nicole01]

My 4 week old had a severe respitory infection. I treated her with antibiotics, probios, and poly vi sol vitamins and it's a miracle she survived. The poor thing was gasping for air constantly and sneezing every 2 seconds. It really helped to put a few drops of vitamins right in her beak.

Good luck. I hope everything goes well.

 

[Ariesmom]

I just acquired him from a man in town and without doing my homework first, put him in for a whole day with my one hen and duck. I took him out the next morning when I realized he was sneezing more than what would be normal. I talked at great lengths to a man in jeffers that seems very educated on chickens and he gave me some positive advise that it doesn't seems like crd because the way I described him. He said he sounds just to active to be real sick. He did mention coryza but also made it seem like after some antibiotics he'd be fine to go in with my few other birds. I do want chicks and he also said that it's not a problem once he's better. Is he wrong? I don't plan on selling but keeping some more here at our home. So far none of the other birds have any symptoms whatsoever.