Please can some one help me...

[Amy]

Hi, Im new on this forum so excuse me if I ramble...
I have had 2 bantams sneezing for a couple of months. All other behavious normal ie: scratching, eating, dust bathing, friendly etc. The vet has treated them with Tylan powder in their water (the whole flock) and this did nothing so the vet said to see how they got on.
Then a friend bought me to POL chickens and one of which had the runs so the vet treated them plus the whole flock with Coxi powder as he thought they might have Coccilliosis...which in the end we think was just stress at moving and the new food etc. as she is still occasionally runny.
However, one of the bantams got very sick, couldnt lay, was all swollen round her vent and had constant runs. Vet treated her with Baytril but unfortunately she died 24 hours later with her mouth open like she couldnt breathe.
I have since treated the whole flock with baytril and now am putting Herban in their water. They have also have Apple Cider Vingar in the water but to no avail. No they all seem to be sneezing!
There is no mucus or discharge from the mouth, nose or eyes and they dont seem to be wheezing. They were originally bedded on hay and straw but last week I removed this and replaced with wood shavings. I remove all the poop from their hut daily and remove it from the grass also, the hut also gets disinfected once per week. They are all fully wormed too.
I feed them on mixed grain, layer pellets and fresh fruit, veg, rice and potatos etc.
I have absolutely no idea what is wrong, how I fix it and if Im doing something I shouldnt.
I am worried that another of my girls is going to go down hill like the Buff Orpington Bantam, which was so quick I couldnt help her.
Please can anyone give me some advice. :?

 

[Davidd]

Hi Amy and welcome, if they are sneezing- and had antibiotics then i would think it isn't an infection- no runny nose etc- The hen you lost sounds like a egg bound or ovary problem- sad but it happens sometimes. I would try and only feed layers pellets- plus a small handful of corn in the evening- no treats for a few days- just give them plain, fresh water, stop all treatments - including disinfecting- what are you using for that?
Then see if they improve over the next week or two.
Sometimes people can, without of course meaning too, and with the very best intentions- have a bit of an "over kill" effect.
regards, David

 

[snifter]

Sneezing is normal. I had a chook who sneezed a lot. Healthy, long lived but did sneeze a bit.

Often it can be the bedding if its too dusty. Which is often the case with hay and straw. And shavings. I'd suggest buying dust extracted shavings from a feed merchant and seeing how you get on. Don't have to have masses of it in the housing, just an inch or so. Or you can buy shredded paper bedding or other stuff similar that is dust free.

Like David, I think sometimes people look for problems that are not there. Cocci in chooks would make them very ill and if bringing new hens in its always advisable to quarantine them for a few days and give them time to settle. As you found, chances are its probably just the stress of the move and they are fine. Ditto David on the keeping their diet simple and don't go overboard with the cleaning product for a couple of weeks.

Also consider it may just be dusty in the air. If they are having dust baths or people are cutting their lawns or some such it all carries in the air. And like people who are prone to sneezing when little things irriate their noses, some hens may do the same.

If you hens are fit and healthy, eating and drinking and laying eggs I don't think you've got much to worry about tbh. I'd try to relax a little about them Your hen that died sounds like she was genuinely ill and there wasn't anything to really be done to save her. The others sound like they are ok and I'd just sit back and let them adjust to the new shavings for a bit.

I use dust extracted shavings and they are only £1 more per bale than the non extracted ones.

 

[Amy]

Thank you so much guys...I thought I was probably over-reacting, just built up fabulous friendships with them and didnt want to lose them all.

My husband says Im overly clean with them. I use pine disinfectant that I got from an animal merchants and some special chicken V1 disinfectant that kills bacteria etc.

I think by the sounds of it, I have maybe been over-feeding them also. I give them layer pellets mixed with mixed corn in a sort of 60:40 ratio (60 being layer pellets)...guess too much corn.

Will try everything you have suggested!

Thanks for all your help and advice, appreciate it.
Best wishes
Amy x

 

[dawn]

Hi Amy and welcome. I'm no expert and am fairy new to chickens and have found the forum invaluable. I have a few bantams and they sneeze, always have. They do it particularly after grooming and drinking, at first I was convinced they were about to go down with some awful chicken disease but now just laugh when they do it as they look so surprised

 

[Amy]

Hi Dawn

thank you so much for that. I agree this forum is already saving my sanity!! I must admit they do look cute sneezing and it is not all the time so I think I will relax!
Best wishes
Amy

 

[Tim]

Hi Amy,

Just wondering, what product have you used for worming?

With respiratory problems, you can listen carfully to their breathing when you pick them up and when they are flustered, you will hear rattling from the trachea (wind pipe). They will usually hold their beak open to breathe when you hold them unless they are really tame and used to being handled. As already said, a little sneezing can be quite normal, if it is more serious, the sinuses swell, there are bubbles in the corners of the eyes and eventually, they get the rattling / darth vader breathing. This is what needs treating with antibiotics such as Tylan or Baytril and you need to catch it as early as possible.

Garlic is wonderful for the immune system - I give fresh crushed garlic into water for a few weeks every now and then which may help your birds to keep healthy. ACV that you are giving is also really good for this sort of thing - it cuts through the mucus with breathing problems and helps in many other ways too from dicouraging worms in the gut to supplying many vitamins and minerals and reducing stress from changes.

Tim

 

[Amy]

Hi Tim
Sorry for the late reply. Been ill my self!

The vet recommended a spray on product called Exon I think. But I have also started using Verm-X parasite control which are the little pellets you add into their food for 3 days once per month?!?!

My little bantum sneezes the most...she has been sneezing now for over 2 months. No swelling, discharge or any other issue with her sinus etc. When I pick her up she does hold open her beak like she is panting but I cant hear too much of a rattle.
My black rock who is sneezing doesnt really hold her beak open as I handle her quite alot as she is 6 and a lot tamer than the Bantum. She rattles a little but again no mucus, swelling or bubbles.
Other than the sneezing they are acting perfectly normal...eating, scratching, drinking, dust bathing etc.
I changed their bedding AGAIN at the weekend to a special chipped wood that is dust extracted etc so I hope that helps.
Both chickens have been treated with Baytril and Tylan but this has not cured anything so I am wondering if it is just a little dust or something less serious?!?!
I give them ACV regularly, along with vitamin powder and the Verm-X pellets for healthy chucks. They also get a daily varied diet of fresh veg, fruit, potato and pasta!
x

 

[snifter]

If your hen has been sneezing for 2 months and is still alive and well I'd say there isn't much wrong with her :lol:

If there was nothing wrong with them it would explain why Tylan and Baytril have not made a difference.

I'd really try to relax a bit about it and not worry overly. Honestly, I had a hen who sneezed a lot, another who didn't. But both were fine and healthy. Chances are some of them are more sensitive to dust in bedding than others is all.

As has been said before if they are eating, drinking, pooping, laying eggs and are active and alert there probably isn't really anything wrong with them. And if its been 2 months then I'd really think your hen is fine, just a sneezer. Most chooks that are ill tend to drop off within a week or less. And its then noticable they are unwell as they become lethargic, don't eat as much, stop moving round, possibly stop laying and other things that are not the norm. As your girls are all doing everything you'd expect, please try to relax and just keep an eye on their overall wellbeing and behaviour. If it alters dramatically and they become ill you'll know I am sure, as you'll know how your girls are when well.

 

[Amy]

Thanks Snifter! I was thinking they were just sneezy as I thought they would have keeled over by now had there been something serious wrong!
I will keep up with the ACV and try the crushed Garlic as per Tim's instruction!

Many thanks

 

[Tim]

If she is holding her beak open and you can hear a rattle (this comes from the trachea or wind pipe) there is a possibility it is being caused by gape worm that live in the trachea. This is often confused as a respiritory problem. Wild Pheasants are the classic Gape Worm carriers. It might not be this at all - but it might be worth you worming them with a chemical wormer such as Flubenvet

There is alot of debate at the moment over using herbal products for worming. It is illegal for them to advertise them as wormers unless they have a licence to support their claims. Currently, as far as I am aware, Flubenvet is the only licenced in feed wormer for poultry. Lots of other products are used by vets under their own 'clinical judgement' so often they have experience of cattle pour ons and will prescribe these.

There have been cases of herbal products, claiming to be wormers being used but when problems occured and post-mortems have been carried out, the birds were found to be impacted with worms.

I'm not saying they don't work - in my own tests, they have reduced worm count - but personally I do not use them as a wormer. I use them as an aid to reducing worms, like ACV and garlic and so on.

Hope this helps.

Tim