IB or similar disease symptoms? - Need help with diagnosis/treatment

[4 CT Chicks]

Hi Everyone,

This will be my first official post here aside from a few comments...unfortunately it isn't on a more positive note...

My wife & I just adopted 4 hens from some friends who ordered a ton of chicks. They are about 9 weeks old now and we have just had them at home for 2 weeks.

I have been reading up on lots of other posts to learn as much as I could, but am still baffled & concerned....so here is a break down of the conditions & problems...

-There have never been any birds kept at our house previously, so these are our first birds in a very long time (we both raised chickens as kids)

-We do have lots of presumed healthy wild song birds that we feed on the deck over the coop and do occasionally have wild turkeys pass through, but all have looked very healthy....and the coop & pen that I built has been made very clean and keeps out all but the smallest finches & sparrows.

So we started to notice that one gal in particular was a little sneezy upon settling in and didn't think much of it, our 4 came from 16 that were all a bit crowded to start. I figured it was similar to a kennel cough that puppies & kitten often come home with...but the more I read, the more nervous I get.

All 4 girls are very sociable & happy, they all eat & drink very well, they take sun baths as they please or chill out in the shade, use there roosts, hunt for bugs & spiders, dig & scratch, beg for treats...etc The problem is in the chronic sneezing, shaking of the head (which has seemed to subside) which on occasion would yield a little clear, watery discharge from the nose or mouth (hard to tell...fast head shake), and the occasional diarrhea spot...although today I noticed one dropping that was a bit slimy and I didn't feel too good about seeing that. Also they would scratch at their beaks/nostrils which has seemed to lessen.

They are on medicated starter mash still...have about a half bag left before I go get layer mash, they drink from a typical 2 gal metal waterer that I keep clean at least once a week, and for the last week I have put in a vitamin/electrolyte powder, thinking that maybe they were having a little transition stress.

I am desperately trying to figure out if this is a big problem and if our girls will be ok...we were instantly in love with them, as I'm sure most of you all are with your birds also. Not sure what to do, I have read lots of warnings on here about needlessly medicating, but if this is curable or treatable with a vaccine before it's too late I want to be sure to take care of it so our girls will be healthy and not at risk of any relapses or chronic illness.

We really appreciate any & all help!!!
I am going to try to post some pics tonight.

 

[speckledhen]

First, dont jump to any terrible conclusions. Sneezing alone isn't a big deal. That can come from dust, fumes from new plywood, etc. Even my own girls get clear stuff out of their nostrils when they drink by dunking their face in the waterer or eating way too fast and sneezing. My Ivy is famous for that. However, the headshaking may be due to mites/lice, it's hard to say. You need to look them over closely to see if they have external parasites.
I would not encourage wild birds to congregate near the coops at all. They can spread disease to your chickens. I'd remove that feeder and put it elsewhere if you still want to use it. You could have IB, could be environmental, too. Hard to say. You mentioned getting layer mash, but you dont do that till they are laying. They are way too young for that now-too much calcium for them.

 

[dlhunicorn]

sometimes giving polyvisol enfamil formulation (a liquid childrens A-B-D vitamin) will help ....give three drops in beak once a day for a week.

 

[tiki244]

Just one more thing to add, I think if you give supplements in the water to give in a plastic or ceramic waterer. Do thi supplements have beneficial bacteria? If not a little yogurt could help.
look for mites and such by the vent, under the wings, and of course right by the head area.
some people give Terramycin in the water when there is a move or stress on their birds, others give the supplement like you are doing.

 

[speckledhen]

I meant to mention the vitamins, Diana, but somehow forgot to write that in. Thank you! Yes by all means, add vitamins to their treatment we've been talking about.