Most of my chickens are sneezing

[axon]

@axon
@Nlips

Did everything resolve? I am also dealing with the same issues.

None died but some still got the runny nose.

 

[AngelinaThePekin8]

I have had the same problem (with just my chickens my ducks seem fine) for about 3 months probably now and i think it is one from my coop not having enough ventilation two I think there might be a little bit of mold under the chicken feed bag type of material protecting the wood flooring of the coop (which when I have the stuff to replace it with I will change it out, hopefully with something better then what is currently in there)
My ducks have torn the tarp chicken feed bag looking material apart and then their poop got under it and all that fun stuff and now we have this issue.....

I have been wondering if there is a way to help make sure everyone is comfortable in the mean time, while I try finding a good material to have on the floor of the coop, and a way to provide better ventilation. I actually want to make a coop just for my ducks but haven't been able to.
I hate seeing the chickens have a little bit of a hard time breathing, they seem better on the warm days but when it was really cold and snowy they seemed to have it worse.

I hope everyone has a good day.

 

[FoxySonia]

Could be the pine shavings. Or maybe mold in the environment? I hope you find out what's causing your pullets sneezing.

I haven't been able to find out what's causing my pullet to sneeze for so long. She has been sneezing for over 2 months and been in isolation because of her sneezing. She was hatched in early May, and didn't start sneezing until she was around 4 months old. Before she started sneezing she seemed to not have good appetite and was pretty slim, but I thought it was because she didn't have good vision due to her very large full crest (she is a Satin that is half Polish and half Silkie). So I trimmed the feathers around her eyes, tied the rest of her large mop with a rubber band and that helped for her to see better so she could eat more, but by then she was low on the pecking order and the other pullets would scare her away from the feeders, so I had to feed her separately. But before she started sneezing another pullet, I now call patient zero, started sneezing first. I thought it could be caused by allergy, either to pollen or the sand used as their litter on their run. When ever they dust bathed in the sand or I swifted it to remove the poops, it caused a lot of dust to spread in the air. I used Aspen shavings in their coop later switching to a coffee grounds litter (purchased on Tractor Supply website), which is a lot less dusty. Later this pullet also started sneezing. At first they would sneeze occasionally throughout the day. Since neither showed any other symptoms, I didn't separate them from the flock. None of the other chickens seemed affected. Eventually patient zero stopped sneezing but this pullet continued to sneeze. When it progressively worsened, I isolated her, housing her in a dog crate lined with paper to collect her poops.

She has had and still has no other symptom other than the sneezing, which recently has gotten less frequent and less intense, though it seemed to get worst again during the deep freeze we had in late December. She's now sneezing less, still has very good appetite and normal poops. In all the time she's been in isolation she hasn't laid an egg, she'snow 8 months old. I don't know what to do with her. I can't keep her indefinitely indoors in an empty unheated (she has a Cozy Heater) apartment (my mom was moved to a nursing home), and can't give her away since no one wants a sneezing chicken. I thought about culling her, but I just feel sick thinking about it. I've had to euthanize a couple of very young chickens (a pullet and a cockerel) and it was one of the most horrible things I ever experienced. I live in NYC, so no veterinarian willing to treat chickens, but if there was one, it would charge several hundred dollars just for exam, stool and blood tests, which I can't afford to spend to try to save a chicken. So I'm stumped. Does anyone have any ideas? Been wondering if it's a new chicken virus.

 

[bhawk-23]

Could be the pine shavings. Or maybe mold in the environment? I hope you find out what's causing your pullets sneezing.

I haven't been able to find out what's causing my pullet to sneeze for so long. She has been sneezing for over 2 months and been in isolation because of her sneezing. She was hatched in early May, and didn't start sneezing until she was around 4 months old. Before she started sneezing she seemed to not have good appetite and was pretty slim, but I thought it was because she didn't have good vision due to her very large full crest (she is a Satin that is half Polish and half Silkie). So I trimmed the feathers around her eyes, tied the rest of her large mop with a rubber band and that helped for her to see better so she could eat more, but by then she was low on the pecking order and the other pullets would scare her away from the feeders, so I had to feed her separately. But before she started sneezing another pullet, I now call patient zero, started sneezing first. I thought it could be caused by allergy, either to pollen or the sand used as their litter on their run. When ever they dust bathed in the sand or I swifted it to remove the poops, it caused a lot of dust to spread in the air. I used Aspen shavings in their coop later switching to a coffee grounds litter (purchased on Tractor Supply website), which is a lot less dusty. Later this pullet also started sneezing. At first they would sneeze occasionally throughout the day. Since neither showed any other symptoms, I didn't separate them from the flock. None of the other chickens seemed affected. Eventually patient zero stopped sneezing but this pullet continued to sneeze. When it progressively worsened, I isolated her, housing her in a dog crate lined with paper to collect her poops.

She has had and still has no other symptom other than the sneezing, which recently has gotten less frequent and less intense, though it seemed to get worst again during the deep freeze we had in late December. She's now sneezing less, still has very good appetite and normal poops. In all the time she's been in isolation she hasn't laid an egg, she'snow 8 months old. I don't know what to do with her. I can't keep her indefinitely indoors in an empty unheated (she has a Cozy Heater) apartment (my mom was moved to a nursing home), and can't give her away since no one wants a sneezing chicken. I thought about culling her, but I just feel sick thinking about it. I've had to euthanize a couple of very young chickens (a pullet and a cockerel) and it was one of the most horrible things I ever experienced. I live in NYC, so no veterinarian willing to treat chickens, but if there was one, it would charge several hundred dollars just for exam, stool and blood tests, which I can't afford to spend to try to save a chicken. So I'm stumped. Does anyone have any ideas? Been wondering if it's a new chicken virus.

I have a hen who has been sneezing since I got her in December 2021. She came with a hatch mate who never sneezed. She had no other symptoms.
My flock ended up with MG about 3 months later but I am not convinced they were related. After initially treating the flock it seemed to have passed for most the flock but this pullet was still sneezing. No discharge, never lethargic, ate well, laid eggs regularly and overall was normal outside sneezing.

During especially cold snaps it gets worse. She eventually got “bug” eyes but still no discharge or other issues. I brought her inside about 2 weeks ago when she was sneezing so much it bothered me and I also saw bubbles for the first time. I treated her with doxycycline and her eyes started to have some mucus discharge. After 5 days of treatment her eyes are almost normal again. But her sneezing was still there and now coming in fits. I realized that she would have a sneezing fit when we were active in that area. Then I noticed she would have a sneezing fit when the furnace kicked on. I removed her from the room, vacuumed, wiped down surfaces, cleaned and closed the vents and put her cage back. I finally figured out she has allergies! Her sneezing had stopped, until the dogs, cat and I are active in that area. She will sneeze a little when the furnace kicks in but not like before since I cleaned and closed the vents.

She will head back outside tomorrow under supervision but I am assuming she will sneeze again.

I cannot advise whether to treat your girl but maybe a test like I did can give more insight? I know I am shocked to discover she might have a dust allergy and I’m trying to research it more now, without much luck unfortunately. I hope you can figure out what is causing your girl to sneeze.

 

[FoxySonia]

I have a hen who has been sneezing since I got her in December 2021. She came with a hatch mate who never sneezed. She had no other symptoms.
My flock ended up with MG about 3 months later but I am not convinced they were related. After initially treating the flock it seemed to have passed for most the flock but this pullet was still sneezing. No discharge, never lethargic, ate well, laid eggs regularly and overall was normal outside sneezing.

During especially cold snaps it gets worse. She eventually got “bug” eyes but still no discharge or other issues. I brought her inside about 2 weeks ago when she was sneezing so much it bothered me and I also saw bubbles for the first time. I treated her with doxycycline and her eyes started to have some mucus discharge. After 5 days of treatment her eyes are almost normal again. But her sneezing was still there and now coming in fits. I realized that she would have a sneezing fit when we were active in that area. Then I noticed she would have a sneezing fit when the furnace kicked on. I removed her from the room, vacuumed, wiped down surfaces, cleaned and closed the vents and put her cage back. I finally figured out she has allergies! Her sneezing had stopped, until the dogs, cat and I are active in that area. She will sneeze a little when the furnace kicks in but not like before since I cleaned and closed the vents.

She will head back outside tomorrow under supervision but I am assuming she will sneeze again.

I cannot advise whether to treat your girl but maybe a test like I did can give more insight? I know I am shocked to discover she might have a dust allergy and I’m trying to research it more now, without much luck unfortunately. I hope you can figure out what is causing your girl to sneeze.

Good to know. Since there are no other symptoms my first thought was that it might be allergies, but the 1st pullet that started sneezing stopped after a few weeks, while this one has continued to sneeze for over 2 months now, though she does sneeze less on less frigid days, like today, it's in the low 40's right now outside but 54°F inside the apartment. She has sneezing fits when we had below freezing temperatures. Today she's barely sneezed.

As to having her tested, in the past I searched for a veterinarian that was willing to see chickens and all the ones I called said no. But even if I could find one, it would have to be a bird specialist with extremely expensive fees, about 3 times the fee of a regular vet just for the exam, around $375, and that's with no tests. I can't afford to spend over $600 just to find out if a chicken has allergies. Hopefully she will get better on her own, but if she doesn't, I don't know what I'm going to do with her.

 

[bhawk-23]

Good to know. Since there are no other symptoms my first thought was that it might be allergies, but the 1st pullet that started sneezing stopped after a few weeks, while this one has continued to sneeze for over 2 months now, though she does sneeze less on less frigid days, like today, it's in the low 40's right now outside but 54°F inside the apartment. She has sneezing fits when we had below freezing temperatures. Today she's barely sneezed.

As to having her tested, in the past I searched for a veterinarian that was willing to see chickens and all the ones I called said no. But even if I could find one, it would have to be a bird specialist with extremely expensive fees, about 3 times the fee of a regular vet just for the exam, around $375, and that's with no tests. I can't afford to spend over $600 just to find out if a chicken has allergies. Hopefully she will get better on her own, but if she doesn't, I don't know what I'm going to do with her.

I meant to do the dust allergy test like I did. A good vacuum and cleaning and see what happens. I don’t think I’d pay for allergy testing on my chicken. Lol

 

[Vicky Ann Painting]

Garlic, food grade DE, and Apple Cider. Thyme, Basil, Echinacea, and Clover are good combats for Respiratory issues. I am a big fan of herbs over meds. Hope all are getting better.