Sneezing or Coughing chicks

[Prairie Chicken]

I am brand new to raising chickens. My chicks are about two months old. They have started to cough/sneeze. We have a pen in the barn built for them. It is fairly well ventilated as its next to the door. There is drywall on the bottom of the pen to keep out coons so there isn't a bad draft in the pen. We used pine bedding and then I just cleaned the floor with vinegar and put down hay. The chicks seem fine otherwise, they are just sneezing. They eat well and drink well. I've added VetRx to their water. The coop is large and they have plenty of room. They do have a heat lamp still on. Do I give them anti biotics at this point? Someone mentioned Tylosin powder.

 

[Eggcessive]

At 2 months, they normally would not need a heat lamp if they were fully feathered. Where did you get the chicks? Respiratory can be spread from direct contact with a carrier, or sometimes with MG, it can be spread through the hatching eggs. Antibiotics (tylosin for pigeons) would not help if it was a virus, but might help if it was MG or coryza. Do you see bubbles or foM in an eye, or awelling of the eyelid or face? Watch to see if the same chicks are sneezing every few minutes. That can be a sign of infectious bronchitis. If it is an occasional sneeze, it sounds more like irritation from feed or dust.

 

[Prairie Chicken]

At 2 months, they normally would not need a heat lamp if they were fully feathered. Where did you get the chicks? Respiratory can be spread from direct contact with a carrier, or sometimes with MG, it can be spread through the hatching eggs. Antibiotics (tylosin for pigeons) would not help if it was a virus, but might help if it was MG or coryza. Do you see bubbles or foM in an eye, or awelling of the eyelid or face? Watch to see if the same chicks are sneezing every few minutes. That can be a sign of infectious bronchitis. If it is an occasional sneeze, it sounds more like irritation from feed or dust.

Thanks for the reply,

I got these chicks at Farm and Fleet. They were fine until a week ago. I will remove the heat lamp as they seem to be about fully feathered. They sneeze sporadically and not consistently. I see no bubbles or foam in the eyes or any swelling. They seems fine but started sneezing suddenly so I didn't know what the cause was. I will watch them.

Thanks,