!Update:Sneezing in the coop - HELP Now also diarrhea!

[binders]

For about a month now I can hear little sneezes from my pullets. It is not very often and I can't tell which ones are the sneezers. I put them on Duramycin-10 for 10 days and have seen no results, the chickens are still sneezing. One of the pullets seems to want to keep one of her eyes shut also. She will open it when needed but obviously does not want to. I can see no discharge or oozing of the eye. None of the chicken have any nasal discharge so weazing. What should I do now?????

 

[dawg53]

It could be environmental. There are many things that cause sneezing; dust from their feed, dust in bedding or ammonia fumes from fecal matter, pollen, chemicals in lawn, smoke etc...
This could be a reason the duramycin didnt have any effect. Most environmental issues can be corrected, if this is what it is.

 

[mons02035]

my girls also sneezed quite a bit in the begining. Now, almost never. I assume it was enviromental. Not sure if it is the case with yours but I just wanted to let you know to put your mind a little at ease about it because it did concern me as well. All is well though.

 

[binders]

Any way to find out if it is enviromental or not? I live in New Mexico where it is quite dry but we have had a little rain so it is not as dry as it was before. The coop doesn't have an ammonia smell to it, there are no chemical on the lawn because there is no lawn, no smoke ( there was some this spring when so much of New Mexico was burning, but not now.). I'm using wood chip for bedding ( bottom of coop floor) and I clean it and scoop up most of the droppings everyother day, and they spend most if not all of the daylight hours outside in a 200 sqft run. Every evening they get 1-2 hours free ranging time (when I keep my 4 dogs inside) so that they can have some fun and explore it wide world around them. They are fairly active but not as much has they use to be. I see them lieing down often even when they are free ranging (which sems strange to me).Any idea so suggestions of what I should be looking for??

 

[jelly_biscuit]

Mine sneeze sometimes when they come into the coop to eat. The coop stays really dry and I think it stirs up the dust when they all rush in to eat which leads to the sneezing. I'm no expert, but that's my best guess.

 

[binders]

I don't think it is due to dust in the coop because they are also sneezing when they are in the run. They only go into the coop to sleep at this point ( not laying yet so nestboxes are closed off to them). Their food and water are in the run also not in the coop.

 

[binders]

Now it seems that at least one of the chickens has diarrhea! What should I do??

 

[dawg53]

It could be cecal poop, excreted about every 8-10 droppings which is normal. Hot temps can cause chickens to drink more water causing watery diarrhea. Here's the poop chart for you to check out:
http://www.chat.allotment.org.uk/index.php?topic=17568.0

 

[binders]

Thanks dawg53 for your reply.

I have looked at the poop chart many times and that is not what I have (well I do have it but it is not what I mean by diarrhea). I found several spots in the coop with really watery dropping and also a pile in a dog crate I have in there. It is more water than substance. It is like the image under watery. The weather here has not been very hot (low 80s) so I don't think it is that.

I have seen all my pullets (7 of them) eating but don't know if one is not eating as much as the others.

What do you think about the one that doesn't want to keep one of her eyes open? Is it related? Is there something else I should try??

 

[dawg53]

It's possible she might've scratched her eye or it might have been pecked by another bird. You could put some terramycin eye ointment in her eye and see if that will help. Your feed store should carry it.
Ensure you are feeding your pullets starter/grower feed til they are 18-20 weeks then switch them over to layer feed. If you are currently feeding them treats, fruits, vegetables, scraps, or scratch...stop. Feed them only the starter/grower. If you are adding vitamins, electrolytes etc... in their feed or water...stop. Just give them plain freshwater. When you switch them over to layer feed when the time comes, you can add 1-2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar (ACV) per gallon of water for them to drink.
Pick them up and put your ear to their side and listen for any wheezing, gurgling, rattling or clicking. If you hear wheezing, gurgling or rattling, it's a chronic respiratory disease. If you hear clicking, it's a bad heart valve or other heart problem.
Here's a link to respiratory diseases in poultry. Check out infectious coryza and mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG.) It seems there's alot of those diseases passing around in flocks. You can also check out the other diseases if you wish.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044