Sneezing and diarrhea in my hens for weeks!

[Nlips]

Hello! I am in need of help because I am a first time chicken owner (so please be kind haha) I have 10 salmon faverolle hens that are around 7months old and for probably over two months now I have been trying to figure out what is wrong if anything. I first noticed a high pitch chicken sneeze sound. Then I noticed a lot of them had pale combs so I did some research on what might be wrong. They also hadn’t layed eggs at the time but they were just around 4/5mo the when I first noticed anything might be wrong. They have always been happy clucking along lively eating well and drinking well none of seemed lethargic. The only symptoms I have noticed are the sneezing and now they all seem to be having loose stools and their vent area is very messy and like liquidy poop. I have tried giving them deworming and that did seem to help the poop color change from a rusty color to now like a greenish whitish color and their combs brightened up to a nice bright red and then I got my first egg on Christmas! However we haven’t eaten any eggs yet because I am afraid to because I’m not sure what exactly is going on. The eggs are still pooped on(the nests are clean) And I’m waiting for the deworming medicine to be totally out of their system. I also tried antibiotics, probiotics, vetrx, garlic and apple cider vinegar and nothing is working for the sneezing and diarrhea. I love these little hen so much they are just the sweetest. I am trying so hard to get them healthy again and I feel so badly if I did something wrong. Oh I also have been cleaning their coop and deodorizing it as much as possible I have been spraying them with my/lice spray and just doing everything I can think of to make sure that they are healthy but I feel like some thing is definitely not right. So any help anyone may have would be greatly appreciated I have tried contacting an avian vet that is way far away from me but they won’t answer the phones.

 

[Happy hen lover]

Hello! I am in need of help because I am a first time chicken owner (so please be kind haha) I have 10 salmon faverolle hens that are around 7months old and for probably over two months now I have been trying to figure out what is wrong if anything. I first noticed a high pitch chicken sneeze sound. Then I noticed a lot of them had pale combs so I did some research on what might be wrong. They also hadn’t layed eggs at the time but they were just around 4/5mo the when I first noticed anything might be wrong. They have always been happy clucking along lively eating well and drinking well none of seemed lethargic. The only symptoms I have noticed are the sneezing and now they all seem to be having loose stools and their vent area is very messy and like liquidy poop. I have tried giving them deworming and that did seem to help the poop color change from a rusty color to now like a greenish whitish color and their combs brightened up to a nice bright red and then I got my first egg on Christmas! However we haven’t eaten any eggs yet because I am afraid to because I’m not sure what exactly is going on. The eggs are still pooped on(the nests are clean) And I’m waiting for the deworming medicine to be totally out of their system. I also tried antibiotics, probiotics, vetrx, garlic and apple cider vinegar and nothing is working for the sneezing and diarrhea. I love these little hen so much they are just the sweetest. I am trying so hard to get them healthy again and I feel so badly if I did something wrong. Oh I also have been cleaning their coop and deodorizing it as much as possible I have been spraying them with my/lice spray and just doing everything I can think of to make sure that they are healthy but I feel like some thing is definitely not right. So any help anyone may have would be greatly appreciated I have tried contacting an avian vet that is way far away from me but they won’t answer the phones.

@Eggcessive , @azygous ,@aart
@Wyorp Rock

 

[azygous]

You seem to be doing everything you can to help these chickens. Absent any other symptoms, the diarrhea could be a product of all of the remedies you've been trying.

What are you feeding? Is it pellets, crumbles or a fine dry mash? Very often, crumbles and mash are very dusty with very fine particles. This can cause sneezing when they eat as the dust gets sniffed as they eat.

I suggest a little experiment for two or three days. Dampen their feed. Make it the consistency of thick oatmeal. See if they still sneeze.

 

[Nlips]

You seem to be doing everything you can to help these chickens. Absent any other symptoms, the diarrhea could be a product of all of the remedies you've been trying.

What are you feeding? Is it pellets, crumbles or a fine dry mash? Very often, crumbles and mash are very dusty with very fine particles. This can cause sneezing when they eat as the dust gets sniffed as they eat.

I suggest a little experiment for two or three days. Dampen their feed. Make it the consistency of thick oatmeal. See if they still sneeze.

Thank you! Yes it is crumbles definitely worth a try! Are pellets a better option in the future?

 

[azygous]

Pellets would have less dust and it would be worth trying them out if wetting the feed stops the sneezing.

Another option is to ferment the feed. It amounts to taking it another step beyond wetting it. Adding a little ACV to get the ferment going, and letting it sit for a couple days, stirring occasionally, will allow yeasts to ferment the feed and it turns it into a fluffy pleasant smelling mixture that chickens really like, and it's full of extra nutrients that aren't available with plain feed. I've been feeding fermented feed for ten years.