- Feb 20, 2014
- 10
- 6
- 24
I have 20 young chicks, 19 are 14 days old and 1 is 12 days old. I had initially used a bedding of cardboard covered with newspapers covered with paper towels for traction, changed daily. Yesterday I switched to pine shavings. Within two hours the 12 day old chick (Araucana) started sneezing and shaking its head. It is doing this VERY frequently, like at least 4-5 times a minute. I have attached a short video. The video and audio quality are poor (sorry) but you should be able to see the head shake at 3 seconds and again at 10 seconds. The sound is like a muffled chirp.
The chick seems very healthy otherwise - he is eating and drinking and his poop looks normal so far. I checked his nose holes and they look exactly like the other Araucanas, no discharge or anything. He is also quite strong - I put him in a separate box inside the brooder with another chick for company (I thought maybe the pine shavings were too dusty) and he jumped/flew out. Sides were over 12 inches tall, so he has plenty of strength and energy.
Normally I would not worry since he seems fine but this one is the wife's favorite - he will come running to her when she opens the brooder even though all the other chicks run away. I would hate to see anything happen to it. Does anyone recognize these symptoms? I would appreciate any help or suggestions. Thanks!
More info (added as I think of it): I have been feeding them non-medicated chick starter, and water. Thats it.
The chick seems very healthy otherwise - he is eating and drinking and his poop looks normal so far. I checked his nose holes and they look exactly like the other Araucanas, no discharge or anything. He is also quite strong - I put him in a separate box inside the brooder with another chick for company (I thought maybe the pine shavings were too dusty) and he jumped/flew out. Sides were over 12 inches tall, so he has plenty of strength and energy.
Normally I would not worry since he seems fine but this one is the wife's favorite - he will come running to her when she opens the brooder even though all the other chicks run away. I would hate to see anything happen to it. Does anyone recognize these symptoms? I would appreciate any help or suggestions. Thanks!
More info (added as I think of it): I have been feeding them non-medicated chick starter, and water. Thats it.