Sneezing and raspy?

[SCmama]

I have a 14 week old Blue laced Wynadotte that I've heard sneezing lately. The weather is changing, so I thought it was just that. Now she sounds raspy or wheezy when she's breathing. What's wrong with her? Is it just a cold, like humans get when the weather changes, or something more? Otherwise, she's acting fine, eating well, etc. We live in SC, and the temp changes are crazy, 72 for the high, 44 for the low. I'm Really hoping its just that, but if its not, what is it what do I do?!

 

[dawg53]

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I recommend that you seperate her. It could be an environmental issue...feed dust, pollen, ammonia in bedding, smoke etc...otherwise it could be a respiratory problem. Chickens dont get colds, they get a specific disease. Some are treatable with antibiotics, but wont cure the disease and birds remain carriers for life. You would have to maintain a closed flock...none in, none out. Some diseases are passed in eggs as well, no giving away or selling eggs to be hatched. Your other option is to cull. Have you introduced new birds into your flock recently? That could be a source if you didnt quarantine newbies. Here's a link to respiratory diseases in poultry. Scroll down to mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG.) That could possibly be what she may have if it's not an environmental problem:
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

 

[SCmama]

We did just get 2 new birds, we traded them for our rooster. I didn't quarantine them, I didn't know I was supposed to. How do I separate her? I don't really have any place to put her away from the others. We just started with chickens about 2 mos ago. So we're really new at this. Ack, now I'm really nervous.

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

i second everything Dawg53 said. You need to separate the sick bird immediately. Put her in a crate or carrier or cage away from the others. Find a way. Treat her with Tylan 50 either injectable or in the water. Watch the others carefully. Question, is this sick bird one of the new birds or one of your previous flock? And how long have you had the new birds. Because, if not long, i would get those two birds out and into another area right away.

The reason we quarantine is that new birds can have diseases or viruses that aren't immediately apparent. Some viruses, like the mycoplasma gallisepticum can lay dormant, then become active when the bird is stressed, like being introduced to a new flock. All of a sudden, all your birds are sneezing and raspy. At that point, you can save some birds by treating the symptoms, but they will always be carriers. It's a tough situation, believe me, i know from personal experience.

 

[SCmama]

The sick one is one of my original hens. We got the 2 new ones 3 days ago. How do I give them shelter if I separate them? I only have one coop. We live in a neighborhood, so we don't have a barn or anything to put them in.

 

[MommyMagpie]

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Can you bring her indoors? I have five chickens inside right now, four in the basement and one in the front hall. They are new to us and we don't have a quarantine coop either.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

http://shagbarkbantams.com/contents.htm
If you click on "my chicken has a cold, parts I, II, and III" he goes into what the incubation periods are for the common resp. diseases.

Sneezing might be environmental but it is wise to separate.

I would go buy a dog crate (the cheaper plastic kind works) and put her in the garage or something. You can put shavings on the bottom and food/water in there.