My Cornish X are sneezing? Is there anything I can do for that?

[snowhorse]

So I bought 25 Cornish X from Murray McMurray. Straight Run for the BBQ Special.

I had them at my house in an extra room for 7 days (Hatched on 2/5 and I picked them up on 2/7) . On the 8th day I moved them to my basement. From the moment I moved them they began to sneeze.

None of them have any fluid on their nose. And they dont appear to be bothered by the fact that they sneeze. And it seems to be just about all of them. Is there anything I can do to treat this? Or should I not be concerned?

They were in just a round cardboard brooder circle with a plywood floor. I moved them to a Kiddie Koop (which is a crib type thing from the 1920s) I have used this as a brooder in the past with my other chicks and never had a problem with it.

Here are some pictures of where they are:

From here I placed cardboard and paperbags for some added insulation and I take it away as they don't need as much heat.

 

[mschickychick]

I would guess they need more ventilation. Maybe this will bump your post so someone else can help.

 

[dancingbear]

I think the ventilation is ok, they're not closed in a small space, there looks like a lot of room around them. I would suspect an environmental irritant, like dust or mold, (there are thousands of molds, most are benign, so don't panic) since they started sneezing when you moved them to the basement. It could be the bedding, have you changed to a different one? They'll probably get used to it in a few days, but I'd watch them for any other signs, like a nasal discharge, labored breathing, any bubbly or gurgling sound when they breathe, or any sign of droopiness, lethargy, etc. As long as they're just sneezing a little, it's probably not a big deal. If they look otherwise healthy, and remain active, eating and drinking well, they should be fine.

From the spacing of the chicks themselves, it looks like the temperature is perfect, they aren't piling up, like they would if they were cold, they aren't jamming into the corners and edges to get away from the heat, either. Could there be fumes from anything in the basement, building materials, paint, even something like powdered laundry soap or other cleaning products? Could be a fairly innocuous substance that you wouldn't think twice about. See if you smell anything in the basement, dust, perfume, petroleum, gas fumes, cleaners, anything. If you do, remove it if you can, and see if it makes any difference. I see insulation, (I think) is that new? Could there be little bits of fiberglass fluff in the air?


That's a pretty cool brooder, but I'd wonder if it's possibly worth more as an antique! Kiddie Koop? Circa 1920? Antiques Roadshow, where are you!

ETA: I had to look, check this out! Yours looks in better shape, IMO.
http://cgi.ebay.com/KIDDIE-KOOP-CRI...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item2557df3953

 

[snowhorse]

Quote:
I did clean the Kiddie-Koop (yes that is what it is haha) with some diluted bleach and simple green before I put them in it, because it was dusty and had been stored in my coop which has some storage space. It was dry before I put them in it. I have smelled around in the basement and I can't find anything I can think of other than just smelling like a basement. It is a some what above ground basement that you can drive in and out of and it gets opened a couple times a day because we go out to the barn that way. So the air gets circulated quite a bit.

Only thing I can think of is residual cleaner on the brooder.

The blue stuff in the background is just a foamy type insulator and not house insulation, no fiberglass particals its more like plastic. Behind the coop is rock salt for the water softener.

No one seems to have any discharge and it doesnt appear to be slowing them down. I have been watching to make sure no one is lethargic or droopy. So I will keep a close eye on them, I just didnt know what I could treat them with as they will be for eating.

Now as far as my nifty little brooder

Friend of mine found in the dump just as is believe it or not I havent touched it. He did make me a floor out of plywood, and did replace one screen that was missing. I did do some research on it, and found out I think its later model maybe 30s or 40s, the company patented the design in 1912! So I know it is very old, but I can not find a whole lot of info on it. Best I found was one that was older than mine and the guy was asking $285 for it on ebay and it didnt appear to be selling. I would love to have someone look at it that has a clue what its worth is. If its only worth a hundred bucks, I will just keep it as a brooder. I cant build one for that and the best part is it fold up and stores away when Im done with it!

 

[dancingbear]

I use herbs for my chickens, most of the time. If there's a health food store anywhere near you, see if they have neem leaf powder. The stuff is almost magical, I've given it to a deathly ill turkey poult, and he was running around like normal by the next day. I keep it on hand all the time, and use it on myself, too. I gave him about 1/4 tsp mixed with enough water to suck it up in a disposable plastic pipette to squirt into his beak. You can use a syringe, too. I like the pipettes because I can trim the end off to enlarge the opening, so the herb powder doesn't clog it up. Just however you can get it in them. With small chicks like that, I'd just make a tea, 1 tsp neem leaf powder n a cup of hot water, let it cool, and put it i the drinking water.

When there's any kind respiratory crud, where they sound bubbly, or if they're coughing, I make a strong tea of mullein and basil, and add to the water. Clears them right up in almost all cases. Rarely do I lose a bird to an illness. For each gallon of water, I'd use about a cup of dried mullein, (it's fluffy) and 2 or 3 TB of basil. Bring a sauce pan of water to a full boil, turn off the heat, stir in the herbs, cover, and let steep at least 15 minutes. Add water to make a gallon of drinking water for the flock. Multiply as needed, for however many birds you have. Mullein is not very expensive, most health food stores have it, often in bulk. It's the wrong time of year to find any, but I watch for it every summer, and harvest enough to get through the winter. (My husband and I use it for ourselves, too.)

These are perfectly safe to use with layers and meat birds. Neem is also a natural wormer, not that you'd need one with the meat birds, especially not this time of year, but you might need to know that at some time.

If you need websites to order herbs from, shoot me a PM, I'll send you the links.

 

[snowhorse]

Quote:
Wow herbal stuff just what I was looking for and great to keep in mind for my layers. I probably will take you up on PM for those links. Thanks alot dancingbear!

 

[dancingbear]

Links have been sent!
Are they still sneezy?

 

[snowhorse]

They are still sneezy.... They have been moved to a more open horsestall.

Im going to order the herbs and see what happens. Ill let you know!