New chick sneezing even after a week of VetRX, seems otherwise fine but in quarantine.

[LovesteadMama]

We brought 7 chicks home from the feed store 11 days ago and added them in with the 7 easter egger chicks we got about a week prior to that. (I didn't realize at the time that I should have quarantined new chicks at first. Fortunately there hasn't been a problem with other birds.) I noticed the next day that one of the buff orp chicks was sneezing so I put her in quarantine. I've been adding VetRx solution to her water and adding full strength drops around her brooder. Her sneezing seems to be less intense but it's been a week now (brought them home 11 days ago) and she doesn't seem to be much better. Also I woke up in the middle of the night to use the restroom and noticed that she was in the brooder with the other chicks! I have no idea how she got in there! Maybe she flew? Maybe one of us accidentally put her in the wrong brooder box without thinking after handling her? Everyone seems fine and I put her back in quarantine so fingers crossed. I have been giving the other chicks VetRx as a preventative so hopefully that helps.

1) What type of bird , age and weight (does the chicken seem or feel lighter or thinner than the others.)
She is around 12-13 days old I assume. Buff Orpington. She seems fine compared to the others.

2) What is the behavior, exactly.
She is sneezing. Better than before but she was sneezing her head off before the VetRx. I put a mirror in with her so she doesn't feel so lonely and she mostly hangs out next to that. She's eating and drinking and runs away when I reach for her. She pecks and digs in the bedding with her beak.

3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms?
The next morning after bringing them home, so about 10 days.

4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms?
None although some seem maybe a little itchy or possibly just grooming their feathers. This is my first time raising chicks so I'm not 100% sure what's normal.

5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.
Not that I can see.

6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.
They may have gotten a little cold on the way home. Also, I saw someone drop a chick and the employee at the feed store let them put it back so I assume the feed store isn't taking the best care? A lot of the chicks had pasty butt so I was very careful to pick chicks who appeared strong and healthy, ran from me, were eating and drinking and had clean legs and vents.
Also, I put them in with the week old chicks who were a bit larger so perhaps she wasn't able to get to as much food/water? I did watch them for about an hour or so to make sure the older chicks were letting them get what they needed and they were. They seemed to mesh nicely and snuggled too.

7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.
Medicated chick starter (they don't vaccinate at this feed store) and water with probiotics, minerals and electrolytes.

8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.
Looks normal to me though some have been a little orange. Come to think of it though, there was one day when they were all together that I saw what looked like bright blood on a piece of bedding (pine shaving). I never noticed it again so I put it in the back of my mind but might be worth noting.

9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?
VetRx. I put it in her water and drops in her brooder. I have sprayed the solution and also have wiped her beak with it. I once pried her mouth open to swab it on her palate like the directions say to do but she did not like this. I'm willing to do that if it's what's needed but I want to imprint on her, not traumatize her so if you have recommendations on making that less traumatic for her, please share.

10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet?
I want to treat her myself so that I can re-ad her to the chick flock who will later be added to the hen flock.

11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.
I don't think a photo would help in this situation.

12) Describe the housing/bedding in use
Large plastic storage tote with hay then pine shavings on top. She has a water and food dish that I check several times a day to make sure it stays clean and full. (The water dish is SHALLOW, it's really just a plastic jar lid). Also I put a small mirror in there with her so she would feel less lonely. It's pretty secure so it won't fall on her.

Thank you all in advance for your help!

Ps I accidentally posted this before I was done writing it so sorry about that!

 

[ChickenWhisperer101]

We brought 7 chicks home from the feed store 11 days ago and added them in with the 7 easter egger chicks we got about a week prior to that. (I didn't realize at the time that I should have quarantined new chicks at first. Fortunately there hasn't been a problem with other birds.) I noticed the next day that one of the buff orp chicks was sneezing so I put her in quarantine. I've been adding VetRx solution to her water and adding full strength drops around her brooder. Her sneezing seems to be less intense but it's been a week now (brought them home 11 days ago) and she doesn't seem to be much better. Also I woke up in the middle of the night to use the restroom and noticed that she was in the brooder with the other chicks! I have no idea how she got in there! Maybe she flew? Maybe one of us accidentally put her in the wrong brooder box without thinking after handling her? Everyone seems fine and I put her back in quarantine so fingers crossed. I have been giving the other chicks VetRx as a preventative so hopefully that helps.

1) What type of bird , age and weight (does the chicken seem or feel lighter or thinner than the others.)
She is around 12-13 days old I assume. Buff Orpington. She seems fine compared to the others.

2) What is the behavior, exactly.
She is sneezing. Better than before but she was sneezing her head off before the VetRx. I put a mirror in with her so she doesn't feel so lonely and she mostly hangs out next to that. She's eating and drinking and runs away when I reach for her. She pecks and digs in the bedding with her beak.

3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms?
The next morning after bringing them home, so about 10 days.

4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms?
None although some seem maybe a little itchy or possibly just grooming their feathers. This is my first time raising chicks so I'm not 100% sure what's normal.

5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.
Not that I can see.

6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.
They may have gotten a little cold on the way home. Also, I saw someone drop a chick and the employee at the feed store let them put it back so I assume the feed store isn't taking the best care? A lot of the chicks had pasty butt so I was very careful to pick chicks who appeared strong and healthy, ran from me, were eating and drinking and had clean legs and vents.
Also, I put them in with the week old chicks who were a bit larger so perhaps she wasn't able to get to as much food/water? I did watch them for about an hour or so to make sure the older chicks were letting them get what they needed and they were. They seemed to mesh nicely and snuggled too.

7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.
Medicated chick starter (they don't vaccinate at this feed store) and water with probiotics, minerals and electrolytes.

8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.
Looks normal to me though some have been a little orange. Come to think of it though, there was one day when they were all together that I saw what looked like bright blood on a piece of bedding (pine shaving). I never noticed it again so I put it in the back of my mind but might be worth noting.

9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?
VetRx. I put it in her water and drops in her brooder. I have sprayed the solution and also have wiped her beak with it. I once pried her mouth open to swab it on her palate like the directions say to do but she did not like this. I'm willing to do that if it's what's needed but I want to imprint on her, not traumatize her so if you have recommendations on making that less traumatic for her, please share.

10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet?
I want to treat her myself so that I can re-ad her to the chick flock who will later be added to the hen flock.

11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.
I don't think a photo would help in this situation.

12) Describe the housing/bedding in use
Large plastic storage tote with hay then pine shavings on top. She has a water and food dish that I check several times a day to make sure it stays clean and full. (The water dish is SHALLOW, it's really just a plastic jar lid). Also I put a small mirror in there with her so she would feel less lonely. It's pretty secure so it won't fall on her.

Thank you all in advance for your help!

Ps I accidentally posted this before I was done writing it so sorry about that!

What kind of bedding is she on? She could be allergic to that. She could also have a cold if those are her only symptoms.
Hope she gets better,
-ChickenWhisperer101

 

[Eggcessive]

If these chicks came from a hatchery to the feed store, they should not need to be quarantined from each other because of a possible respiratory disease. But I usually separate different ages because small ones could get hurt. Sneezing can occur from dust in bedding or feed. Make sure the nostrils are clean and clear. Make sure that she is drinking enough or dip her beak in the water to encourage that. Vet Rx, though people buy it, has nothing in it to cure a respiratory disease. It is herbal oils mixed with a little camphor—basically nothing more than Vicks. I would keep her with the others and make sure that she is drinking. Keep the bedding dry and as clean as possible. Avoid spills from water. Change it as needed. Hopefully this is just environmental irritation in origin.

 

[LovesteadMama]

If these chicks came from a hatchery to the feed store, they should not need to be quarantined from each other because of a possible respiratory disease. But I usually separate different ages because small ones could get hurt. Sneezing can occur from dust in bedding or feed. Make sure the nostrils are clean and clear. Make sure that she is drinking enough or dip her beak in the water to encourage that. Vet Rx, though people buy it, has nothing in it to cure a respiratory disease. It is herbal oils mixed with a little camphor—basically nothing more than Vicks. I would keep her with the others and make sure that she is drinking. Keep the bedding dry and as clean as possible. Avoid spills from water. Change it as needed. Hopefully this is just environmental irritation in origin.

They were scratching around in pine shavings and making a lot of dust so I switched it to hay thinking maybe that was the culprit. Then someone said hay would cause mites. The thought of letting one of our towels get pooped on is not thrilling to me but I could do that. The lady at the feed store gave me the VetRx and seemed certain it would cure it. I didn't read the ingredients till I was on the way home and yeah.... Pretty much just vicks but I had hope. I'm still fairly new to chickens and VERY new to chicks. She's definitely drinking. I'm seeing her water go down and I'm not finding spills though sometimes I will administer water to her with a cotton swab to be sure. How do I make sure her nostrils are clean and clear? I've looked at them and they look normal but is there something specific I should be looking for?

 

[LovesteadMama]

What kind of bedding is she on? She could be allergic to that. She could also have a cold if those are her only symptoms.
Hope she gets better,
-ChickenWhisperer101

She's on hay with a little bit of pine shavings. They were all on pine shavings but they were scratching a lot and kicking up dust so I switched to hay. I have added some pine shavings back on top of the hay since someone told me hay would cause mites. (and I'm doing deep litter which is what I do with my big girls)

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

Are you using Flake (coarse) shavings or fine shavings? If fine shavings, that is possibly the problem. I once made the mistake of buying fine shavings for nest boxes when the feed store was out of flake. Never again! There were small dust particles floating throughout the coop, & those were only the ones i could see. I knew that couldnt be good for either the hens or me to breathe. Its possible the one chick is having an allergic reaction to either the shavings or hay, but also possible she inhaled a fine shavings particle(s).

Also, hay doesnt per say Cause mites, just gives them a happy place to live and multiply. Plus, hay is much harder to keep clean than flake shavings. If it were me, i would remove the hay and fine shavings (if fine is what you are using.) Replace with flake shavings only, & see if her symptoms clear up.

 

[LovesteadMama]

Are you using Flake (coarse) shavings or fine shavings? If fine shavings, that is possibly the problem. I once made the mistake of buying fine shavings for nest boxes when the feed store was out of flake. Never again! There were small dust particles floating throughout the coop, & those were only the ones i could see. I knew that couldnt be good for either the hens or me to breathe. Its possible the one chick is having an allergic reaction to either the shavings or hay, but also possible she inhaled a fine shavings particle(s).

Also, hay doesnt per say Cause mites, just gives them a happy place to live and multiply. Plus, hay is much harder to keep clean than flake shavings. If it were me, i would remove the hay and fine shavings (if fine is what you are using.) Replace with flake shavings only, & see if her symptoms clear up.

It's the flake shavings but there is still quite a bit of dust in those too! I felt like there was less dust in the hay. At this point I'm concerned maybe she has a birth defect? I mean, she has been sneezing basically since I brought them home. I don't know much about marek's disease but I saw someone's post about that and I'm pretty paranoid. Hopefully it's just the dust and maybe I can put a towel down in lieu of bedding?

 

[The Lazy L]

Too many times good intentioned human intervention cause more health problems than if the human would just let nature take its course.

 

[Eggcessive]

Mareks disease would be out of the question here. She is too young for symptoms to show up, and the symptom of sneezing is more a sign of irritation. Switch back to pine shavings, as hay or straw can hold in moisture. Mites can be brought into a coop in straw, but hay or straw doesn’t cause mites. If her nostrils become caked, then clean them off with a wet cloth or Qtips. If they look normal, there is nothing to worry about. Put her back with the others, or you may have a problem getting them to accept her. It doesn’t sound like she has a serious issue.

 

[dawg53]

I agree with @Eggcessive. It's possible she inhaled feed dust or dust from shavings. I've had it happen. You can put a little water in their feed to make a mash to keep feed dust to a minimum. Try not to use shavings from the bottom of the sack where small particles and dust settle.

It would be best to put her back with the others. I've added 3 day old chicks into a group of 1.5 week old chicks in a brooder without any problems at all, that's not a problem.
One possible issue could be your attempts to use deep littler method with your chicks. It might work for your adults, perhaps not with chicks. Personally, I'm dead against deep litter method.