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chickensarecoolsoye
In the Brooder
Most chicken respiratory diseases make them and their flock carriers for life. One, infectious bronchitis makes them carriers for up to a year. Symptoms of a respiratory disease include rattly breathing, wheeze, sneeze or cough, and some just may cause watery eyes, bubbles in an eye and nasal drainage.
Occasionally a crop problem may cause gurgling, so check the crop to see if it is emptying overnight. It should gradually fill up with food and water over the day, and empty by early morning.
Respiratory diseases remain in a flock until the last bird is alive. To have a healthy flock, when all birds are gone, wait a couple of weeks to get healthy baby chicks from a hatchery or feed store. That would lessen the chance of bringing in some disease from someone’s flock. Just the transporting of chickens can stress them enough to bring about symptoms that may have been dormant. Here is some reading about common diseases including the respiratory diseases—mycoplasma (MG,) coryza, infectious bronchitis, ILT, and aspergillosis:
https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044
Thank you.