Please help a fellow BYCer! My chicken has a cold!

[chickiyo]

Hi all!

So as the title says, my 3 year old silkie has a cold. I'm in California and the weather here isn't as bad as the east cost but lately it's been rainy and in the mid 50's Fahrenheit. It doesn't look too serious, she is sneezing but she still is going around looking for bugs. It's been crazy rainy recently so today I took her inside for some downtime. I gave her a quick bath as she got into something smelly (my chickens are free range) and blew dry her immediately after. I fixed her some warm boiled beets (its good stuff, its like chicken noodle soup but for chickens) which she ate. She has been eating and drinking like a pro. I noticed some mucus discharge, and she has been sneezing. Is there anything else I should do?

 

[Judy]

Chickens don't get colds, they get specific respiratory diseases: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

They can also get fungal infections that mimic certain respiratory diseases: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...-poultry-often-mistaken-for-crd-mycoplasmosis

They can also sneeze and get irritated respiratory tracts from irritants such as pollen and dust, just as people do.

 

[Suzie]

For mucous discharge... add four teaspoonfuls of ACV per gallon to their drinking water! Cheap and very effective!

Suzie

 

[dawg53]

ACV will not treat nor cure a respiratory disease, nor an environmental problem which the OP's bird may have.

 

[chickiyo]

Thanks for all the help! Okay so after a day inside, and some pampering the sneezing has stopped. I mixed hot cereal with garlic paste to give her an immunity boost. The hen house is cleaned every two weeks, and I have 4 chickens. I put diatomaceous earth in the house to keep chicken mites at bay. Is the DE what is giving her this respiratory issue?

 

[dawg53]

Thanks for all the help! Okay so after a day inside, and some pampering the sneezing has stopped. I mixed hot cereal with garlic paste to give her an immunity boost. The hen house is cleaned every two weeks, and I have 4 chickens. I put diatomaceous earth in the house to keep chicken mites at bay. Is the DE what is giving her this respiratory issue?

That's a very good possibility. I kinda figured it could be something environmental, DE could possibly be the cause.