7-8 month old hens sneezing for months

[Lielac]

About 5 months ago I got three pullets, two of them turned out to be hens and one a rooster who was sent to a different farm. These hens are registered companion animals in a city so culling is not a option.
Ever since we got them one of them a white mix has been sneezing, no other symptoms, completely healthy, lays great eggs and is quite large. The other one also started sneezing a few months ago, their food is slightly dusty so I've been writing it off as that but what made me post this is that we recently found out the farm we got them from had a very deadly respiratory virus that they had to cull the entire flock from. The pullets we got were isolated from the adults upon discovery, but the sneezing has been consistent since we got them. The vet we have is very expensive so I'm looking for advice on if the possibility of them having a deadly respiratory illness is likely.

The sneezing does not sound raspy and is actually a cute noise, no signs of wheezing, mucus or pus.

The repository illness that the farm had was killing the chickens within a few months, although I don't remember the name the farm owner had offered to vaccinate them when I brought up the sneezing, however she did not get it shipped within the time we were up there and the drive is 3 hours away.

 

[Eggcessive]

There are a number of respiratory diseases including infectious bronchitis, ILT, mycoplasma gallisepticum or MG, coryza, and a couple of others. Have you ever seen bubbles in eyes, swollen eyelids, rattly breathing, wheezing, or nasal drainage? If not, and sneezing was the only symptom, it might be infectious bronchitis, them mildest and most common. It is something most grown chickens get over, but they will be carriers for up to a year after. Because of that, it can spread through the flock, so it would be good to not add new birds or hatch any until a year has passed. If you should lose a chicken, your state vet could check for it and determine if MG or something else might be a problem. My flock had IB when younger, and they can suffer from reproductive issues later on. Wrinkled or corrugated egg shells is a sign.

 

[tcfoster]

About 5 months ago I got three pullets, two of them turned out to be hens and one a rooster who was sent to a different farm. These hens are registered companion animals in a city so culling is not a option.
Ever since we got them one of them a white mix has been sneezing, no other symptoms, completely healthy, lays great eggs and is quite large. The other one also started sneezing a few months ago, their food is slightly dusty so I've been writing it off as that but what made me post this is that we recently found out the farm we got them from had a very deadly respiratory virus that they had to cull the entire flock from. The pullets we got were isolated from the adults upon discovery, but the sneezing has been consistent since we got them. The vet we have is very expensive so I'm looking for advice on if the possibility of them having a deadly respiratory illness is likely.

The sneezing does not sound raspy and is actually a cute noise, no signs of wheezing, mucus or pus.

The repository illness that the farm had was killing the chickens within a few months, although I don't remember the name the farm owner had offered to vaccinate them when I brought up the sneezing, however she did not get it shipped within the time we were up there and the drive is 3 hours away.

Last year I rescued some pullets that brought a respiratory illness, we suspected MG. All my birds got very sick, sneezing, bubble eyes, wheezing. We treated with the antibiotic Tylan (I'm in CA so had to order it online). It's injectable, it can be intimidating at first to have to inject your birds but it's so much easier than trying to get them to orally drink meds. It saved us. I will have to look back over my notes but I believe it was 5 days of injections and then you repeat it a few times, dosage depends on weight. If you only have 2 birds it should be pretty simple. We had 28 chickens at the time and I sure became an expert on injections. You can also try buying water soluble Premoxil anti-biotic which is a powder you can mix in their water. Do you have an avian vet that could test them so you can zero in on what illness they might have?

 

[Lielac]

Last year I rescued some pullets that brought a respiratory illness, we suspected MG. All my birds got very sick, sneezing, bubble eyes, wheezing. We treated with the antibiotic Tylan (I'm in CA so had to order it online). It's injectable, it can be intimidating at first to have to inject your birds but it's so much easier than trying to get them to orally drink meds. It saved us. I will have to look back over my notes but I believe it was 5 days of injections and then you repeat it a few times, dosage depends on weight. If you only have 2 birds it should be pretty simple. We had 28 chickens at the time and I sure became an expert on injections. You can also try buying water soluble Premoxil anti-biotic which is a powder you can mix in their water. Do you have an avian vet that could test them so you can zero in on what illness they might have?

We have a vet, thank you for the advice. I'm going to bring them in soon to see and if it is anything like MG I'll ask for the injections.

 

[Lielac]

There are a number of respiratory diseases including infectious bronchitis, ILT, mycoplasma gallisepticum or MG, coryza, and a couple of others. Have you ever seen bubbles in eyes, swollen eyelids, rattly breathing, wheezing, or nasal drainage? If not, and sneezing was the only symptom, it might be infectious bronchitis, them mildest and most common. It is something most grown chickens get over, but they will be carriers for up to a year after. Because of that, it can spread through the flock, so it would be good to not add new birds or hatch any until a year has passed. If you should lose a chicken, your state vet could check for it and determine if MG or something else might be a problem. My flock had IB when younger, and they can suffer from reproductive issues later on. Wrinkled or corrugated egg shells is a sign.

Thankfully none of those symptoms but we will hold off on getting any more in case it is Infectious bronchitis.

 

[tcfoster]

We have a vet, thank you for the advice. I'm going to bring them in soon to see and if it is anything like MG I'll ask for the injections.

If you need, I think I have a video that I made showing someone how to inject their bird. Would be happy to share!

 

[Eggcessive]

Tylosin or Tylan is an antibiotic that can treat MG. It can be given as a powder in the water, and the injectable can be given orally 3 times a day, not just by injecting. It won’t help with infectious bronchitis. Here is a list of common diseases including IB, MG and others to look at symptoms and compare:
https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/ps044

 

[FoxySonia]

There are a number of respiratory diseases including infectious bronchitis, ILT, mycoplasma gallisepticum or MG, coryza, and a couple of others. Have you ever seen bubbles in eyes, swollen eyelids, rattly breathing, wheezing, or nasal drainage? If not, and sneezing was the only symptom, it might be infectious bronchitis, them mildest and most common. It is something most grown chickens get over, but they will be carriers for up to a year after. Because of that, it can spread through the flock, so it would be good to not add new birds or hatch any until a year has passed. If you should lose a chicken, your state vet could check for it and determine if MG or something else might be a problem. My flock had IB when younger, and they can suffer from reproductive issues later on. Wrinkled or corrugated egg shells is a sign.

I wonder if my 8 month old pullet that been sneezing for over 2 months might have infectious bronchitis. She has no other symptom and has very good appetite and normal poops. She got it from another pullet that was the first that had started sneezing, that one got over it and stopped sneezing after several weeks, but this one is still sneezing and been in quarantine for nearly 2 months. None of my other (9) pullets or (13) hens have gotten infected. All are free from parasites.