sneezing at night only

[Strong86]

I'm not sure if this thread goes best in diseases/emergencies or somewhere else. I have four 22 week old orpingtons (lavender, blue and 2 black). They are all healthy, but two of them (one of the black ones and the blue) sneeze and have runny noses (clear and watery), but ONLY in the evenings! They both shake their heads and sneeze, spraying watery droplets out of their noses. It's not from over dipping their beaks into the water, as you can actually see the drainage coming out of their noses. They both have had this going on for a good 6-8 weeks. It occurs usually 1-2 hours before they go into the coop at dusk. They have no other symptoms, breathing is normal (sometimes after a big sneeze, they will take a breath with the beak open), energy is good, appetite is good. The lavender and other black orpington do not have this sneezing/runny nose and never have. It hasn't been getting worse over the weeks, but it occurs almost every evening.

The chickens are in a large run in the yard (about 25'x20' for the four of them), partially covered, during the day. The coop is also quite large (8'x8') and we use pine shavings in there.

I'm wondering if this might be an environmental thing that the two of them are more sensitive to? But then why only in the evening? I have never seen sneezing/runny noses in the morning or daytime (other than an occasional sneeze after shaking off a dust bath, for example). I am not super concerned that it is a huge deal as it isn't getting worse, and it does not seem to be contagious as the other two have no symptoms after more than a month sharing space, but very curious if other folks have this happen and what might be causing it. Cooler air? I have no other ideas.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would agree that this is probably an environmental thing that is causing the sneezing, since they are not doing this during the daytime. Dust from feed and the coop/bedding/ feather dust and dander can cause irritation to the nostrils. Make sure the nostrils are not clogged with feed and secretions. Do you have a lot of ventilation and windows?

 

[Strong86]

I considered dust from the feed, but I would also think then they would be sneezing in the morning after they eat as well? Nostrils are totally clear, secretions are very watery, just sort of running out of the nostrils and then droplets fly out when they sneeze and shake their heads. We have 3 large windows and ventilation slits in the coop so I would be more inclined to think it is the feed rather than the bedding. This usually happens when they are still outside the coop.