Young pullet sneezing, clear discharge, somewhat foul odor.

[BiologusXCVII]

Hi, I purchased a new juvie plymouth rock today (about a month and a 1/2 old). She has been sneezing consistently, with a clear thin discharge spraying out with every sneeze. The discharge smells foul, kind of like really bad breath. She is not that active either, but she did drink some water and ate a little bit of food. I'm currently keeping her in a 30 gal plastic bin in the house, because my big hens were bullying her outside. She was kept in a wooden enclosure with about 20-25 other pullets about her size/age. The conditions were not exactly "sanitary". What kind of illness would you say this is, and how should I treat it? I'm kind of leaning towards upper respiratory infection, but I'm not sure how to treat it in birds. Should I set up a heat lamp for her? Give antibiotics? I know very little about illnesses in chickens, so any help would be much appreciated.

 

[speckledhen]

With a nasty smell, could be Coryza, though no one can say that for 100% certain without a test. That is not a curable disease, in that you can maybe help the symptoms but it leaves the bird a carrier, like a Typhoid Mary in the flock.

Most chicken diseases are similar to herpes viruses, some are bacterial, some viral, but most will make them carriers, which is why breeders do not treat contagious respiratory illness. They euthanize. Some will tell you to treat her, but that won't change her carrier status.


You didn't quarantine her? You must ALWAYS quarantine for 4-6 weeks away from your flock if you buy a new bird. This is exactly why. Now they are exposed to whatever she had. Do not put her back with them. Disinfect all the waterers and watch them for symptoms. Do not treat her with antibiotics and observe her. If it's not related to her previous conditions, and is contagious, my only advice is to cull her and never put her with your birds.

If your hens are grown and she is only 1 1/2 months old, she shouldn't be with them anyway.

Here is a thread on quarantine: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/12751/urgent-reminder-please-quarantine-newly-acquired-birds/180

 

[BiologusXCVII]

Thanks for the response. I probably should not have exposed her to the other chickens, however they were only together for about 5 minutes, so hopefully they weren't together long enough for any bacterium to be transmitted (I know, no excuse for not quarantining). I will keep a close eye on her for a while, an if the symptoms persist, I'll be promptly returning her.

 

[speckledhen]

The seller may not take her back, though he/she should be ashamed of selling you an ill bird, though so many are woefully ignorant of chicken diseases, the seller may have the mistaken idea that chickens just get head colds (not true). I will not take back any bird who leaves my property, for biosecurity reasons, but, of course, I will not sell a sick bird, nor have I had any with contagious diseases. Another problem with returning her is the seller may just turn around and sell her to some other unsuspecting person.


What you may have to do is to do the deed yourself. If you are going to have chickens, sooner or later, it's something you will have to do. There is no getting around it. Hopefully, the others weren't exposed long enough to have contracted anything. Experience can be a harsh teacher and you have your first not-so-pleasant lesson. We all learn them along the way with chickens!

This is why I don't buy started birds, not even chicks. All are hatched right here. If I must go off the reservation, so to speak, for hatching eggs, I buy only from reputable breeders whose husbandry and culling practices are well-known to me.