I have lots of chickens sneezing tonight, watery/foamy eyes.

[Bryntee]

Hi there! The last couple of days one of my chickens has been sneezing and not seeming right. I just thought she wasn’t getting enough water. Now tonight almost all of my chickens are sneezing and have watery or some foam in the corner of the eyes. I just had a chicken a couple of weeks ago that we had to cull because I came into the coop and she was gasping for air laying limp on the floor. I was sure my rooster must have crushed her but now I’m wondering if she was sick. There aren’t any other signs that I’ve seen. We did buy a bag of feed from another store we usually don’t buy from. All the chickens are young layers and a young rooster. They were bought this spring. I felt a couple crops tonight and none seem to be very full if at all anything in em. I do not know what to do at this point. I will be cleaning the coop ASAP. HELP!! I don’t have an avian vet anywhere near me!

 

[gtaus]

How is the smell in your coop? Can you stand being in the coop without eyes watering and/or sneezing your head off? Obvious things to consider are ventilation and humidity. Will be reading this thread to see what other people may have to offer.

 

[SimplyLivinthatFarmLife]

Do you have enough ventilation in your coop? Hope your girl gets better soon. Please keep us posted.

 

[bobbi-j]

How many chickens do you have? How are they being housed? How much space do they have (in feet by feet, please)? Do they have good ventilation? Is there fresh air coming into the coop? Are you heating your coop? Is there humidity on the walls of the coop? How about a strong smell of ammonia or any other strong odors? Pictures of your setup would be very helpful.

 

[SurferchickinSB]

Hi there! The last couple of days one of my chickens has been sneezing and not seeming right. I just thought she wasn’t getting enough water. Now tonight almost all of my chickens are sneezing and have watery or some foam in the corner of the eyes. I just had a chicken a couple of weeks ago that we had to cull because I came into the coop and she was gasping for air laying limp on the floor. I was sure my rooster must have crushed her but now I’m wondering if she was sick. There aren’t any other signs that I’ve seen. We did buy a bag of feed from another store we usually don’t buy from. All the chickens are young layers and a young rooster. They were bought this spring. I felt a couple crops tonight and none seem to be very full if at all anything in em. I do not know what to do at this point. I will be cleaning the coop ASAP. HELP!! I don’t have an avian vet anywhere near me!

Look at the tag on your bag of feed and look at the feed really closely to make sure there is no mold. Hopefully you do not have a respiratory illness moving through your flock.

 

[Bryntee]

I have two big windows and a small window in the door. All windows are cracked open for air flow. I use to only have 6 chickens at max. But now I have 19. I never had any issues with the few I had. I am sure it’s a whole different ball game with more. I have a heat lamp on for the really cold nights to keep the water from freezing. It’s not on all the time. If I remember correctly I have just enough square footage for the birds I have. And I figured the most amount per sq ft that’s recommended. I’ll ask my husband for exact numbers. I did see moisture on the windows. I just cleaned the coop and put new bedding down yesterday. I ordered some meds that were recommended by a group on Facebook.

 

[Eggcessive]

Your chickens sound like they nay be suffering from either infectious bronchitis (IB) or mycoplasma (MG,) both respiratory diseases. The sneezing and fast spread of this to most chickens sounds more like IB, but bubbles inthe eye sound like MG. I would either contact your vet for an antibiotic, or order Tylan (tylosin) from here:
https://www.foyspigeonsupplies.com/medications/respiratory/559-foys-tylan-soluble-powder

Dosage is 1 tsp (5 grams) per gallon of water for 5 days. Tylosin treats MG, but IB will run it’s course over about a month. Here is some reading about MG:
https://extension.umd.edu/sites/extension.umd.edu/files/_docs/programs/poultry/FS-1008 Recognizing and Preventing Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) Infecti....pdf

https://thepoultrysite.com/disease-...tion-m-g-chronic-respiratory-disease-chickens

Here is some reading about infectious bronchitis (IB)
http://www.poultrydvm.com/condition/infectious-bronchitis

 

[Bryntee]

I found one hen dead in the coop this morning. Another is almost gasping for air but sounds like gurgling. Her eyes look fine. I have no vet local to me. I will order those meds also. I ordered Denagard I think it’s called but it won’t be here till Tuesday.

 

[bobbi-j]

I would suggest sending one in for necropsy. I don't know the particulars on that, but there are some here on the forum who can tellyou more about it. I wouldn't send in for just one bird, but in your situation I would, just so I know what I'm dealing with. You can get a better handle on things if you know exactly what's going on.

 

[Bryntee]

I did put the hen aside to look into that. Thank you! Something is seriously wrong here. I’m terrified it’s going to wipe out my entire flock. :’(