Whirring chooks

[graphicali]

I am having a problem getting my chickens sorted out. For quite a while now, 5 out of 10 chickens in my little flock have been making whirring, rattley noises. The ones which are affected are, with one exception, older birds, around 6 or 7 years old. The younger birds have no symptoms bar the one mentioned. I have taken a couple to the vet and at the moment the vet is stumped too.

There have been no mortalities, they are still laying eggs, foraging and eating and pooing normally. We have wormed them twice with Flubenvet, three weeks apart and they have been on a 10 day course of Tylan. There is no discharge visible from their beaks or eyes and the vet couldn't see anything untoward down their throats. They haven't got any mites either.

We haven't yet sent off swabs taken from the bird's throats as the cost is astronomical. Anyone got any ideas?

 

[GitaBooks]

If you could compare the sound to an every day machine or animal, what would you describe it as sounding like?

Respiratory problems can be caused by crowding (doubt that), humidity, extreme temperatures, changes in the environment, dust, wet bedding or coops, moldy food or dirty water, or viruses. Before I get into all the diseases it could be, I want to say, it likely isn't something to be worried about if they remain active, eating and laying.


I hope they remain healthy and happy for years to come. Best of luck!

 

[graphicali]

Thank you so much for replying, it helps having someone with whom to discuss this problem.

The noise is like a more bubbley version of the purr that they do when happy. They also do they odd sneeze but that is very infrequent. There isn't any visible discharge though.

They are in a large coop with plenty of perching room and ventilation near the roof. I use wood shavings as bedding. The coop gets "poo picked" every day and cleaned out completely once a week, or more any bedding is wet. If the weather permits then I leave the main door wide open.

They have their drinkers cleaned every day and fresh water put in, the drinkers are elevated to stop muck getting in.

As the antibiotic hasn't touched it, I am guessing that it could be a virus or fungus. Their food is kept in metal bins and it doesn't smell or look mouldy. I only buy one bag at a time, so it doesn't get stored for a long time before use.

We live in a rural area, so our vet is used to treating livestock but she cannot work out what it is either!

 

[GitaBooks]

Older birds can be effected by things younger birds usually aren't and vice versa. Some viruses effect the birds their whole lives and symptoms return during times of stress, or perhaps in their older age when they are weaker, such as ILT (Infectious LaryngoTracheitis virus).

 

[graphicali]

They have been in this state for about 3 months now and not got any worse. The vet wasn't sure that we would find anything if we sent of the swabs but I think that might be the next thing to try.