micknapp
Chirping
Hi all,
I’m new to owning chickens and i have flock of ten (10) five week old (5) pullets. Recently i noticed a chick in the back of the brooder opening her beak to breathe, breathing very heavy, sneezing (no nasal discharge, or discharge from the eyes, or discharge coming from anywhere). I picked her up and heard wheezing and rattling breath- it sounded like there was something in the back of her throat. I peeked- nothing. And super SUPER mild facial swelling. normal eating, drinking, and somewhat normal somewhat watery droppings. Lethargic, but active if she wanted to be. So, I quarantined her & gave her electrolytes, warmth, and a dark place to rest. I came back to check on her and she was COMPLETELY fine. But i left her quarantined just in case- the symptoms returned later that evening but have since gone away. None of the other chicks had similar symptoms. A day or so later we decided to put another chick in quarantine with her to see if she would develop symptoms- nothing. However, later that evening i noticed another chick in the brooder having the exact same symptoms. so i put her in a separate quarantine, away from the other two. Just like the other, the symptoms stopped, returned, and stopped again. it’s been 24+ hours for the second chick and going on 4 days of quarantine for the primary chick. Oh, and we use aspen bedding and change it regularly. brooder is free of drafts and they have access to a very distanced heat lamp if they want it, but they prefer not. they’ve been on Purina medicated starter feed since day 1, and we’ve given them a gallon of Sav-A-Chick electrolytes since having them. they are not vaccinated or medicated. The current count of birds is 2 ill white leghorns, 1 healthy but quarantined white leghorn, 3 healthy white leghorns in the brooder, and a cochin, bantam something, and 2 easter eggers all healthy in the brooder.
whew! that was a lot. hopefully i covered all the bases to give accurate and helpful info- we just need some help. they sick birds don’t seem contagious, as the healthy one in quarantine is still fine after 4+ days of being in quarantine with sick birds. any ideas on what might be bugging them? they seem to fit the symptoms for MG but definitely don’t have the clear road signs for it. we practice good biosecurity- but it seems that even if we didn’t, nobody else would get sick. oh, and we haven’t lost any since we got them. they haven’t been sick til now- i catch the healthy birds sneezing occasionally but that’s usually after we put in fresh bedding and the dust is out and about. i figure that if it makes me sneeze, it’ll make them sneeze too. any thoughts?
I’m new to owning chickens and i have flock of ten (10) five week old (5) pullets. Recently i noticed a chick in the back of the brooder opening her beak to breathe, breathing very heavy, sneezing (no nasal discharge, or discharge from the eyes, or discharge coming from anywhere). I picked her up and heard wheezing and rattling breath- it sounded like there was something in the back of her throat. I peeked- nothing. And super SUPER mild facial swelling. normal eating, drinking, and somewhat normal somewhat watery droppings. Lethargic, but active if she wanted to be. So, I quarantined her & gave her electrolytes, warmth, and a dark place to rest. I came back to check on her and she was COMPLETELY fine. But i left her quarantined just in case- the symptoms returned later that evening but have since gone away. None of the other chicks had similar symptoms. A day or so later we decided to put another chick in quarantine with her to see if she would develop symptoms- nothing. However, later that evening i noticed another chick in the brooder having the exact same symptoms. so i put her in a separate quarantine, away from the other two. Just like the other, the symptoms stopped, returned, and stopped again. it’s been 24+ hours for the second chick and going on 4 days of quarantine for the primary chick. Oh, and we use aspen bedding and change it regularly. brooder is free of drafts and they have access to a very distanced heat lamp if they want it, but they prefer not. they’ve been on Purina medicated starter feed since day 1, and we’ve given them a gallon of Sav-A-Chick electrolytes since having them. they are not vaccinated or medicated. The current count of birds is 2 ill white leghorns, 1 healthy but quarantined white leghorn, 3 healthy white leghorns in the brooder, and a cochin, bantam something, and 2 easter eggers all healthy in the brooder.
whew! that was a lot. hopefully i covered all the bases to give accurate and helpful info- we just need some help. they sick birds don’t seem contagious, as the healthy one in quarantine is still fine after 4+ days of being in quarantine with sick birds. any ideas on what might be bugging them? they seem to fit the symptoms for MG but definitely don’t have the clear road signs for it. we practice good biosecurity- but it seems that even if we didn’t, nobody else would get sick. oh, and we haven’t lost any since we got them. they haven’t been sick til now- i catch the healthy birds sneezing occasionally but that’s usually after we put in fresh bedding and the dust is out and about. i figure that if it makes me sneeze, it’ll make them sneeze too. any thoughts?
