Sneezing chicken died last night, rest of flock sneezing too!

[BYCLover]

Hi all,

I'm super new to this chicken thing so I'm asking for some expert advice. I had 6 Red stars that are 14 weeks old (I bought them started) and 2 4 week old Black Australourps (bought from my feed store). We are in the process of building their coop (almost done) and so they have been housed in the garage for the time being in an area with newspaper and large pine shavings. One of my Red Stars died last night. I had noticed that she was getting less interested in food the last couple days. She was also sneezing with a little mucus coming out her nose (I noticed this esp when I went to dispose of her). Anyway, like I said, she died last night and I noticed today that a bunch of my other hens are sneezing as well (I haven't noticed the australourps doing so yet). They have not had any signs of eye congestion or anything as of yet (including the one that died). I've tried to do some research to understand how to combat this illness, but all I can figure is that it's a respiratory illness of some sort (I don't know which one). I would really hope not to have to cull them all before I even get started with a backyard chicken hobby. :-( I've noticed a little loose droppings now and then. I'm so new to this chicken thing, I don't know what's normal.

I clean out their area every other day to try to keep everything clean to lessen the chance for disease until they can get into their new coop, yet here I am. This morning after cleaning out their area again thoroughly, I added ACV to their water and gave them a hot mash with oatmeal, probiotics, honey, egg and a sprinkle of garlic.

Please help!

 

[Suzie]

Hi!

Was there any smell to the discharge from the nose? If so, you may be dealing with coryza... an antibiotic such as a tetracyline based one can help, BUT if it is coryza your flock will be carriers for life - if you intend to keep a closed flock it is OK but you can never sell any of them as the problem is for life.

Suzie

 

[BYCLover]

It's been a little bit, I injected each of the chickens with Tylan 50 for 3 days, they seem to be a little better. Although I did notice that one had a somewhat gunky eye that sometimes seemed like it was sticky/stuck shut and a little red, that hasn't seemed to clear up yet. They all seem to have some rattling/wheezy type breathing. I haven't lost anymore yet though. I haven't noticed any sort of weird smell with the eyes/nose. How can you tell the difference between Coryza and Infectious Bronchitis (other than going to the vet)? I think if I remember right if they make it through the IB then they have immunity for life, but if it's Coryza, they are carriers for life. :-/ Such a bummer to have to deal with this from the very get go. *sigh*

 

[fishnet1971]

Dont give up with it. One stumble, not a fall. I know it can be discouraging losing one. This means get on the books and do some learning quickly. I am going through this same situation with 7 8 day olds right now. Lost one last night and have no idea why - saw discharge from the nose when i picked her up. Keep a close watch on them. I will keep my fingers crossed for you.

PS we are all here to bounce stuff off of from all of our different experiences, so use us as much as you need to!

 

[BYCLover]

It's really nice to know that there's a lot of experienced chicken owners out there that I can bounce ideas off of.

I may have a possible solution to the respiratory issues. I decided to let the flock stay in the backyard for an afternoon or two inside their little run (they've been housed in the garage) and I noticed that the redness around their eyes seemed to clear up quite a bit and although they're still sneezing a little, it seems to be less...so all that to say I suspect the pine shavings or something in the garage? Everyone says that pine shavings are safe for them (I ensured that they were pine and not cedar), but I'm beginning to think not. I googled it and I saw a few other people that had tried pine instead of straw and had respiratory issues within a couple days. Anyone on here have a similar experience? I really hope that one chicken dieing wasn't just due to the pine shavings, that'd be terrible. :-/ We're getting close to have the coop done, it's pretty much down to trim, paint, hardware cloth and finished wheels. I'm SO ready for them to be out there. lol