Runny Nose HELP!

[BarbiD]

Is there any instance where a runny nose not some awful infectious disease??? I'm just sick that I purchased 3 new 14-week old hens to add to my flock and 2 of them have runny noses. I've called the owner of the feed store and left a message but no call back yet. The new hens are confined to my run but I'm not sure that is good enough to protect my other babies?

 

[LessardFlock]

So I have run into the same thing. 3/12 hens have dried boogers around their nose and sometimes a clear drip. One tends to sneeze from time to time. They all look healthy, nice poops, combs have a nice color and are turning darker as they get closer to laying. My coop and pen are kept clean. They all eat and drink like pigs. Everything I've read here on this site is "All hands on deck kill your chickens prepare for the plague". I'm going to try and use Dyramycin 10 this Tuesday for a complete flock antibiotic sweep. I'll post back to update you guys and let you know how it went. I'm not sure if they have an infection or it's just a runny nose due to the changing seasons. I'm new at this but am not going to spend hundreds of dollars at the vet.

 

[BarbiD]

So I have run into the same thing. 3/12 hens have dried boogers around their nose and sometimes a clear drip. One tends to sneeze from time to time. They all look healthy, nice poops, combs have a nice color and are turning darker as they get closer to laying. My coop and pen are kept clean. They all eat and drink like pigs. Everything I've read here on this site is "All hands on deck kill your chickens prepare for the plague". I'm going to try and use Dyramycin 10 this Tuesday for a complete flock antibiotic sweep. I'll post back to update you guys and let you know how it went. I'm not sure if they have an infection or it's just a runny nose due to the changing seasons. I'm new at this but am not going to spend hundreds of dollars at the vet.

LessardFlock, thank you for your post. I felt so lost all those days ago! I did not cull any of my baby girls and we went through many variations of antibiotics until something seemed to work. Before you go the antibiotic route though, consider garlic and/or Apple Cider Vinegar with the mother. Both are great, natural antibacterial remedies! I used a large crushed garlic clove and 1 Tlb of ACV in one gallon of water. I also offered fresh minced garlic and I sprinkled some Flax seeds on it to entice my new girls to peck around and eat it. I'm sure they were never given garlic at a young age to acquire a "taste" for it....hence the Flax seeds.

If that does not improve your girls, then post back and I will let you know what I tried that didn't work in the antibiotics realm. The problem with these "colds," and, yes, I know chickens do not get colds, is that antibiotics only work if it is a virus. They really do not help if the issue is bacterial or fungal. I did not learn this until I'd already pumped them with antibiotics first because I was so scared with what I was reading about respiratory diseases and culling and closed flocks, etc. SOOOOO...In the future, I will always treat first naturally for bacterial or fungal with ACV and garlic, then look to antibiotics of that does not work. Oh, and I did use VetRx and a Q-tip to help get those stuck little "boogers" off their little beaks so they could breath better

Let me know how it goes! Wishing your girls a speedy recovery!!