Sneezing duck…Do I need to worry?

[anonymous99]

I noticed one of my pekin hens sneezing today. She did it about 3 times. This isn’t the first time that I noticed her sneezing. She sneezed a couple of days ago too. I don’t know if she has any other symptoms when I’m not around. I’ve only noticed her sneezing. She seems to act normal and she’s quacking like always. Will this pass? Unfortunately, I don’t have any videos of her sneezing and it’s hard to predict when she’ll sneeze again. I don’t know if she often sneezes when I’m not around. If it helps, my ducks have started eating pellets and they’re 21 weeks old. My ducks tend to scatter their straw around a lot with their beaks, so could that factor into it? I’ve never noticed my hen sneezing before until a couple of days ago. Could she have a cold? If so, how do i treat it?

 

[Brooke_R]

I’m not sure but as long as her nose or eyes aren’t running and it’s not super frequent I don’t think you should worry much. Vet Rx for poultry can help with that stuff if she’s a little sick. Does she happen to have fuzz in her nose when she does it or is she cleaning her nose in water? There could possibly be a small piece from the straw in her nose that she’s trying to get out. I’d just make sure she has deep enough water to clean her nose if she doesn’t already

 

[DukesDucks]

My thought was also is the water supply deep enough. They need to get most of their head under water, at least deeper than their nostrils. My ducks regularly dunk they heads then sneeze to clear their nostrils.
Also make sure that there isn't any mold building up from wet straw. I find shavings much easier to manage.

 

[Crazy Maizie]

It could just be dust or a feather. If you don't see any extra mucus, I'd just keep an eye on her. Plus, have fresh clean water available sp that she can rinse her nares well.

 

[Quatie]

Most of the times I have had ducks sneezes is when I had to feed crumble because the stores were out of pellets. All the dust in crumble can get into their lungs when they inhale the food. If you see it happening when they eat, this is likely what is happening. I have even seen them do it after drinking and getting water down the wrong pipe. That would be my first guess unless you continue to see it.

 

[igorsMistress]

My ducks sometimes sneeze a bit when they root around in fresh straw. I second the water deep enough to dunk their heads. It can be as simple as a short bucket of water.