Silkie Chick Sneezing

[Aspen Anderson]

My silkie chick of about 6 weeks has been sneezing and flicking her head a lot lately. I at first thought it was because she's molting and silkies do have a lot more...fluff than other chickens, but I'm getting a little worried and would rather be safe than sorry. She's not wheezing that I've noticed, but her sneezes are kinda wet and I've often got "splashed by chicken snot" (for lack of a better term) and her chirps seem a bit raspy (though I originally thought that was because of her aging). I've also noticed she tends to sneeze a lot more often while inside than outside, and especially more often when I hold her than when she's just wandering around on her own. (Can chickens be allergic to humans or is that just stupid?)

I've heard of such remedies like adding garlic to their food or vinegar to their water, but I'm not sure if that would help in my silkie's case. Does anyone know anything about this? I would like to see if I could take care of it myself, but if anyone thinks it's serious enough to take her to the vet, I'd be more than willing to do so!

Here's a picture of her, by the way. I don't know if it'd help, but here it is anyways:

 

[Kristy1979]

I'm no expert but I just had a young chicken with a upper respiratory infection.. I did vinegar in her water, added vitamins, applied vet rx to her ... I tore up some fresh oregano and added to her food... she had goopy eyes and beak issues too... she was separated for about 5 days and went back to the flock and seems ok! Hope this helped a little! Good luck!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

There's many causes of sneezing and snicking - dusty feed, bedding, molds, food/water in the nares and respiratory illness are a few.

Is it snot or is she just clearing her nares after eating/drinking - does she have a discharge from the nostrils?

Respiratory illness you would see a thick mucous/discharge from the nostrils, coughing, sneezing, wheezing and runny eyes.

I would just keep an eye on her. As suggested by @Kristy1979 you can use something like VetRx if you feel she needs it. Offering poultry vitamins in the water won't hurt either.

Not sure why she would sneeze more inside than out - some chicks may be nervous if removed from their friends and taken to another area. Also household chemicals, air fresheners and dryer air from A/C could come into play.

Keep us posted.

 

[Aspen Anderson]

There's many causes of sneezing and snicking - dusty feed, bedding, molds, food/water in the nares and respiratory illness are a few.

Is it snot or is she just clearing her nares after eating/drinking - does she have a discharge from the nostrils?

Respiratory illness you would see a thick mucous/discharge from the nostrils, coughing, sneezing, wheezing and runny eyes.

I would just keep an eye on her. As suggested by @Kristy1979 you can use something like VetRx if you feel she needs it. Offering poultry vitamins in the water won't hurt either.

Not sure why she would sneeze more inside than out - some chicks may be nervous if removed from their friends and taken to another area. Also household chemicals, air fresheners and dryer air from A/C could come into play.

Keep us posted.

Well she certainly doesn't have any discharge. Her eyes and nostrils are pretty clear and she hasn't coughed or wheezed or anything like that. The dryness could be it if that does play a factor. I do live in a very dry climate, so dust and such flies up in the air a lot. I haven't noticed any of our other chicks sneezing much, though. And chicks will sneeze if they're nervous? Because that might actually make sense. Hopefully it's nothing too worrisome, but I'll definitely look into those remedies and vitamins! Thank you for your input.

 

[Aspen Anderson]

I'm no expert but I just had a young chicken with a upper respiratory infection.. I did vinegar in her water, added vitamins, applied vet rx to her ... I tore up some fresh oregano and added to her food... she had goopy eyes and beak issues too... she was separated for about 5 days and went back to the flock and seems ok! Hope this helped a little! Good luck!

I'm glad to hear your chick is feeling better! It's good to know it's very curable. I haven't noticed any discharge, but I'll keep an eye out for that. Thanks for the tips!

 

[Aspen Anderson]

UPDATE: It's been at least a week or two and she's still doing fine! No discharge or coughing. I'm starting to think at least her head flicking is because her feathers keep getting in her eyes (being a silkie). She also has small feathers around her nostrils, which might cause a little bit of sneezing, although the sneezing has gone down quite a bit.

Thank you anyone who showed concern!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

UPDATE: It's been at least a week or two and she's still doing fine! No discharge or coughing. I'm starting to think at least her head flicking is because her feathers keep getting in her eyes (being a silkie). She also has small feathers around her nostrils, which might cause a little bit of sneezing, although the sneezing has gone down quite a bit.

Thank you anyone who showed concern!

I'm glad to hear she is doing well!

Oh, yes, didn't think about little feathers getting into her eyes - a lot of people with Silkies have to trim those feathers - definitely can make for watery eyes. I would suspect you are correct about the feathers at the nostrils as well - sneezing to clear them of food/water and feathers.

Thanks for the update

 

[Aspen Anderson]

I'm glad to hear she is doing well!

Oh, yes, didn't think about little feathers getting into her eyes - a lot of people with Silkies have to trim those feathers - definitely can make for watery eyes. I would suspect you are correct about the feathers at the nostrils as well - sneezing to clear them of food/water and feathers.

Thanks for the update

Not a problem, thank you for your concern!