sneezing....?

[AndreaS]

I hope this is my last question for awhile!

Should I be worried that my chicks have started to sneeze? They are 8 days old. There are 5 of them. They are on pine shavings, eating medicated crumbles, drinking water with cider vinegar and poly-vi-sol added every few days.
Yesterday one of them started sneezing, by the end of today three more of them are. They are all eating/drinking/pooping just fine. The only other change is that two of the ones who are sneezing also have started panting a little when they all lay down. I have a 2x2 foot brooders box and the heat lamp is in one cornet at 90 degrees. They have plenty of space to get away from it.

Should I be worried? If they developed a respiratory problem is tylan 50 soluble what you give them?
I am so paranoid......I probably should never have kids!

 

[Airilith]

From what I understand sneezing alone is not a cause for concern. So you should be looking for discharge (don't confuse it with water after they had a drink), bubbles in the eye (usually means respiratory illness), and/or any other odd symptoms.

Tylan 50 is usually the go to antibiotic, but you really shouldn't treat until you know exactly what is wrong with your chicks.

Let us know if any other symptoms show up.

 

[AndreaS]

Great, thank you so much. I'll keep an eye out for other symptoms!

 

[AndreaS]

The fifth one just sneezed. No other symptoms still, but....what could be causing irritation for them.....? Even if they aren't sick....maybe the pine shavings I got are too dusty....?

 

[Airilith]

It could very well be the pine shavings. If you think it is you can try removing them from the brooder, putting down just towels, and seeing what happens. If the sneezing goes away then you know its the shavings, and it's time to find an alternative.

 

[Layira]

Quote:
This will probably sound stupid, but what is cider vinegar in the water for?

 

[bantamchick]

as long as they arent drink too much water, ( or the water is not too deep)or eating too much food they should be fine, when i was raising my chicks they sneezed, and all of the sneezing oe lived the other two died from drowning and eating too much, you may also want to try hay tat is what i am currently using, however when i was raising my chicks i used pine shavings also

 

[AndreaS]

Layira, the apple cider vinegar is supposed to be good for their digestion and aide absorbtion of nutrients. I've been giving them a splash in their water every day.

Can they really eat too much and die from it???? I have one baby now who had a hard crop and I'm really worried about it. I will be at work until 10 tonight. This is the first day I've left them and I am so worried!

 

[Layira]

Quote:
Oh okay, thanks!

Could you also feed yogurt to the chicks at the same time giving them the apple cider vinegar in their water? Or would that be too much of a shock to their system?

 

[IggiMom]

Honestly, I have never had chicks sneeze, and I have always used pine shavings.

I don't mean to alarm you, but I think I would be worried.

If they were mine, I would try changing the litter to something else, maybe hay if they are big enough, or if they are little, cover with paper towels with the feed on them.

I always give mine all the food they want, I never had one die from overeating, either.

Look for the signs that someone else mentioned, runny eyes or nostrils, droopy chicks.

If you get any of those you will have to look at putting tetracycline or some such in their water.

I hope someone else with more experience than I have responds. Since I have not had sneezing chicks I don't have much experience in treating it, of course.

I once had a hen sneezing on her roost, and I isolated her and brought her inside in a box, and gave her antibiotics in her water until it cleared up. None of the other hens got whatever it was that she had, and she got better and had no more problems. When I go outside at night I always listen for anyone who might be coughing or sneezing on their roosts.

Catherine