Should I give antibiotics?

[chickity-chick]

Hi all,
My flock has been sneezing for a little over a month now. I gave them rooster booster for a week and I didn’t notice a difference. I have smz from the vet that I could give them. Should I do this? Or keep with the rooster booster? Could it be the coop that is causing this sneezing? I have 7 pullets. One just stared laying born April 30th for 4 and June 12th for the last 3. They have two coops which was the goal to have the groups separated till I can build a big walk in coop however they all squeeze into the eglu cube coop now. The way the eglu works is there is a tray under the bars so the poop only sits on the shaving and never gets covered. I’m thinking this gives off a higher ammonia smell which could be causing these issues? I change the tray once a week. Should I try changing daily and not give antibiotics yet or should I just give the smz now? I would really appreciate some advice and guidance. I keep trying to post a video of the sneezing but it is not letting me so any advice on how to do that would be great too. Thank you!

 

[DobieLover]

Hi all,
My flock has been sneezing for a little over a month now. I gave them rooster booster for a week and I didn’t notice a difference. I have smz from the vet that I could give them. Should I do this? Or keep with the rooster booster? Could it be the coop that is causing this sneezing? I have 7 pullets. One just stared laying born April 30th for 4 and June 12th for the last 3. They have two coops which was the goal to have the groups separated till I can build a big walk in coop however they all squeeze into the eglu cube coop now. The way the eglu works is there is a tray under the bars so the poop only sits on the shaving and never gets covered. I’m thinking this gives off a higher ammonia smell which could be causing these issues? I change the tray once a week. Should I try changing daily and not give antibiotics yet or should I just give the smz now? I would really appreciate some advice and guidance. I keep trying to post a video of the sneezing but it is not letting me so any advice on how to do that would be great too. Thank you!

To post a video you need to first upload it to YouTube or a similar online video sharing platform then post a link to it here.
If you have inadequate ventilation for the number of birds you keep, that needs to be addressed immediately. I would most definitely remove the nightly poop load each morning.
You can also try spreading a layer of Sweet PDZ down and scooping the poop out of it daily. The PDZ will help absorb ammonia.

 

[Eggcessive]

If your flock has been sneezing for a month, and no other symptoms, you probably are not dealing with a mycoplasma or coryza infection. It could be infectious bronchitis virus if the same ones are sneezing wvery few minutes. Wrinkled egg shells or other shell abnormalities are signs of IBV. If they are sneezing due to an environmental allergen, ammonia odors, or poor ventilation, then improving ventilation can help.

 

[chickity-chick]

If your flock has been sneezing for a month, and no other symptoms, you probably are not dealing with a mycoplasma or coryza infection. It could be infectious bronchitis virus if the same ones are sneezing wvery few minutes. Wrinkled egg shells or other shell abnormalities are signs of IBV. If they are sneezing due to an environmental allergen, ammonia odors, or poor ventilation, then improving ventilation can help.

They are eating and acting fine except for the sneezing. The one hen that is laying has perfect eggs with no abnormalities. Do you think I should just clean coop daily for a bit and see if that helps? Or just give the medicine? Thank you!

To post a video you need to first upload it to YouTube or a similar online video sharing platform then post a link to it here.
If you have inadequate ventilation for the number of birds you keep, that needs to be addressed immediately. I would most definitely remove the nightly poop load each morning.
You can also try spreading a layer of Sweet PDZ down and scooping the poop out of it daily. The PDZ will help absorb ammonia.

does DE Diatomaceous earth also remove amonia odor? Thank you I will remove poop daily now

 

[Eggcessive]

DE can be dangerous to breathing and eyes of both people and chickens. I don’t use it or recommend it. Can you post any pictures of your coops and set-up? Since you live in a warmer climate, you should try to have a coop with mazimum ventilation. That will help to prevent respiratory diseases.

 

[chickity-chick]

DE can be dangerous to breathing and eyes of both people and chickens. I don’t use it or recommend it. Can you post any pictures of your coops and set-up? Since you live in a warmer climate, you should try to have a coop with mazimum ventilation. That will help to prevent respiratory diseases.

This is my set up. Its now more of a muddy grass and then you see the eglu cube and then in the back you can see the wood coop and tunnel. There is a tunnel that connects the eglu run to that other coop. The initial idea was they would sleep divided up half in the eglu half in the wood coop till I can finish my bigger new coop build that will be a 6X8ft walk in coop. However that didn't end up happeing and they all cram into the eglu shown. I initially had sand in the run which i removed. Now the only sand left is on the outside and I thought that was causing the sneezing but they are still sneezing. The eglu cube normally has a panel on the back of it but I took that entire panel off and have it covered in hardware cloth instead with a lose tarp to keep rain out. I did this to try and aid in ventilation. Should I not cover it with the lose tarp 24/7? Again- they are acting fine but sneezing every few minutes- the smaller white/grey little ones are now sneezing worse than the adults. Sometimes there is a clear discharge coming out of the nose and sometimes the sneezes are powerful and have a lot of spray so if your standing close you get wet. Do you think I should do the antibiotics?