Sneezing... is it ever NOT a sign of illness?

[I have WHAT in my yard?]

I had my babies quarantined for 5 weeks with no sign of illness. I let them integrate outside and soon I was hearing a sneeze or two. I keep checking them closely and see no sign of illness. No runny nose, no watery or puffy eyes, no rasping. One chick looked like he had a grain of sand stuck in his nostril. I left it alone, figuring he would work it out better than me messing with it.

What else could make chickens sneeze? And do they "drool?" My friend told me hers do, (teeny amount, but could they be contagious?) they're older than mine, mine don't.....

 

[speckledhen]

Drool? Nope, never seen that. Sneezing is another story. They do sneeze from environmental things like dust, pollen, DE up their nose, eating too fast, new plywood in the coop (glues and chemicals from the laminating process).

 

[redhen]

i'm glad you asked this question..i wanted to know this also.......but..i havent sen mine drool though...

, Wendy

 

[Chicken Boo]

I hear one of mine sneeze every few weeks or so. It is a funny noise. I was hand feeding my ~11-12 week old chicks last week and they were really digging into the crumbles. They all sneezed a few times from what I think is the food dust they were pecking up.