Hmm, I was just downstairs feeding and watering the chicks, and Tikka jumped on the futon with me (no stopping her, as long as the lid is off the brooder she pops out like she's spring loaded) to beg for mealworms. While she was up there she sneezed a few times. Little sneezes, but a couple were wet. Her eyes are clear, her nostrils are clean, she eats like a pig, and her poop was nice and firm (she was kind enough to leave one on my leg). I didn't hear any of the other birds sneezing, but Tikka was doing it very quietly and I might not have heard it if she wasn't next to me. Every one of the chicks is active and eating, although the GLW are still lagging behind in size and vigor.
Could this be the start of a disease, or could it be from the dust? Everything around the brooder is getting coated in a yellow dust. I really need to get down there with a vacuum and a bunch of dusters. The birds are all scratching in the aspen, which is dusty, and their crumble is super dusty as well. The only other bird they have been exposed to was Gimp, the chick I hatched that didn't make it. I haven't brought in any of the equipment that was used in the other brooder, and I always took care of these chicks first when I had the others. These chicks haven't even been outside.
How much do chickens sneeze, normally?
Jennifer
