Hello All! I'm Huck... owner (as of today) of 4 beautiful backyard pullets--- 1 Black Australorp, 1 Black Cochin, 1 Buff Bantam Brahma, and 1 Amber Star. I live in an urban setting just outside of Washington, DC., and am lucky enough to have a nice, shaded, grassy back yard that's just perfect for the girls. We have a 4x3 coop with an 4X8 run, and it's all lightweight enough so that we treat it like a chicken tractor.
I've been plotting for chickens for ages, and today was finally THE DAY! I picked them up this afternoon and 3 of the 4 ladies are getting nice and settled in the backyard. HOWEVER... the fourth, the Australorp, started sneezing, coughing, and blowing beak-bubbles shortly after we got home. Fearing the worst, I separated her immediately and I have her in a box inside the cool house with her own water and food.
She was NOT doing this (as far as I could observe) at her previous place of residence. Furthermore, my Chicken Dealer swears up and down that she wasn't coughing or sneezing before and that none of his other chickens have shown any similar symptoms. He says it could be stress or heat-related (we did have a terribly long ride in an un-air conditioned car) and that I should keep her cool and calm.
I was hoping someone could second that opinion. It would make me feel a lot better, as most other reasons for beak bubbles and coughing are pretty darn serious, and it would make me so sad to have an infected flock right off the bat.
Looking forward to being part of this Backyard Chicken community!
I've been plotting for chickens for ages, and today was finally THE DAY! I picked them up this afternoon and 3 of the 4 ladies are getting nice and settled in the backyard. HOWEVER... the fourth, the Australorp, started sneezing, coughing, and blowing beak-bubbles shortly after we got home. Fearing the worst, I separated her immediately and I have her in a box inside the cool house with her own water and food.
She was NOT doing this (as far as I could observe) at her previous place of residence. Furthermore, my Chicken Dealer swears up and down that she wasn't coughing or sneezing before and that none of his other chickens have shown any similar symptoms. He says it could be stress or heat-related (we did have a terribly long ride in an un-air conditioned car) and that I should keep her cool and calm.
I was hoping someone could second that opinion. It would make me feel a lot better, as most other reasons for beak bubbles and coughing are pretty darn serious, and it would make me so sad to have an infected flock right off the bat.
Looking forward to being part of this Backyard Chicken community!
