Chick with runny nose / congestion / sneezing?

[Aziara]

I got 2 silkie chicks last week. They're somewhere between 4-10 weeks, I don't know anymore precisely than that.
The smaller chick was sneezing moments after I got her home, and she hasn't quit since. At first there was bubbles, but now it sounds like she's congested too thickly for the snot to move when she sneezes.
She is otherwise very active, and eats and drinks voraciously. She spends more time near the brooder heat source, but I'm fairly sure she's a lot younger than her sibling--Her crest isn't even growing in yet.
When I showed up at the farm to pick them up, they were left in a cardboard box in the carport...On a 40-50 degree windy day. At first I figured it was some sort of cold or something, but now I'm seeing here on the forums that chickens don't get colds. The farm is NPIP certified, so I doubt it is anything contagious (also the other chick has no symptoms)
They aren't on shavings or sand either, but on absorbent plastic-backed paper, sorta like a puppy pad, but made for people with incontinence issues at night.

I've tried: echinacea, elderberry, and apple cider vinegar in their water. I fed them some crushed garlic, basil, clover, dill and thyme (I've read these are all good for respiratory infections). I've even used homeopathics for congestion, and tried flushing the sinuses by dripping saltwater in the eyes. She's still snotty.

Where do I go from here? I really don't want to pay $100s for a vet visit.

 

[Eggcessive]

The one chick sounds sick with a respiratory disease, such as infectious bronchitis, ILT, or mycoplasma (MG.) Is there any bad odor around her beak that could be a symptom of coryza? They also may need some extra heat on them since sick birds chill. If you have other birds, I would return them if possible. A respiratory disease like one of those may infect other flock members, and they may both be carriers for life, depending on which one they have. Testing if available from your state vet or extension agent. NPIP doesn't always mean that you won't get sick birds, unfortunately. If you keep them and want to treat them, Tylan 50 injectable is the only antibiotic available without a vet prescription. Get syringes with needles, but give it orally (taking the needle off after drawing up the medicine.) Dosage for a silkie chick would be about 0.2 ml orally twice a day for 5 days. You may want to read this article on the common diseases, and those above are listed:
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

 

[Aziara]

No smell other than basic 'chicken/bird dander' smell, so at least that's one off the list. The closest symptom-wise looks like infectious bronchitis, though being super contagious, I don't understand why only one of them has it. Unless the other chick has already recovered..
I'm not sure what a state vet is, or whether we have one in this state. I may have to check with the county agent and see if they do testing.

 

[Eggcessive]

Where are you located? I can get some contact info in the morning. If it is bronchitis, that is the most common resp disease, and will only make carriers of the flock up to a year. MG can look similar, but may also cause foam or bubbles in eyes, conjunctivitis or swelling of a eye.

 

[Aziara]

I'm in Abbeville, Louisiana. I looked up infectious bronchitis on YouTube, and my chick isn't breathing like that at all, (her breathing looks normal) or yanking her neck around. Does that only happen in extreme cases?
Her eyes look perfectly normal, no bubbles or swelling. There is occasionally a bubble out of her nostrils when sneezing.
Is there any possibility that she's allergic to something airborn? Do chickens get hayfever??

 

[Eggcessive]

The IB case you saw may have been extreme, probably complicated with other secondary infections such as ILT or others. Simple IB looks like sneezing with some nasal drainage. There may be watery whites in the eggs, wrinkled egg shells, or decreased laying. When vets test or do necropsies on sick chickens, they frequently will have 2 or more diseases. I would try to get testing to know whether or not to close your flock for more than a year.

 

[Aziara]

I have talked to the seller of these chicks. She said that none of her chicks are showing any symptoms whatsoever, even those from the same hatching that she kept. She said that she's heard of something respiratory going around other flocks in the area though.

I've been trying some colloidal silver in the water for the past 3 days, but both chicks got sweet/sick smelling diarrhea, so I stopped that. Eucalyptus essential oil, mixed with olive oil and spread under the wings, seems to help a lot to clear the congestion. It's basically a homemade Vicks rub.

Now my outside chickens have sneezing, rattly breathing, and my poor roo has puss in his eye and a snotty nose. I don't know how it spread, as my baby chicks were inside my house. Either it's super virulent, or it's something different and spread by airborne/mosquitoes from other chickens in the neighborhood. (I know there's at least one other flock, I can hear a little bantam crowing every morning) My hens are active and foraging as normal, and though my roo is moving around slower than usual, he's still eating and drinking. So I really hope he'll pull through.

And bad news about testing: as far as I can tell, no one will do it. She said she once brought a sick show chicken to a local avian vet, and he just told her "Let it die, then bring it to the local college for a necropsy." No samples or tests taken, and they charged her nearly $300 for the visit!! She said she ended up looking it up herself and treating at home. Turns out it was a case of wry neck, and the bird survived. No thanks to the jerk vet, grumble...

 

[Eggcessive]

Where do you live? I may be able to find low cost testing, depending on where you live. Vets will always charge more if they are involved. They are somtimes necessary for help, but many don't feel comfortable with chickens.
Since your other chickens are now symptomatic, they could have gotten it from infected wild birds who may have visited other farms. It only takes about 2-3 days for mycoplasma, coryza, or IB to affect a chicken when exposed. Now that you are seeing pus in his eye, snotty nostrils, and rattly breathing, I think you are looking at MG or even coryza. Coryza apparently has a horrible odor, but sometimes is hard to tell from MG. With thise two you will really need to use an antibiotic. The only one available without a vet is Tylan 50 injectable. Get 3 ml syringes with needles to withdrawl it from the bottle. You can give it orally or as an injection into the breast muscle. A vet could give you oral antibiotics for the water, or a stronger antibiotic to give orally. Make sure the chickens are eating and drinking well. Probiotics or plain yogurt are good to add to feed.

 

[Aziara]

As I've stated in a previous post, I'm in Abbeville Louisiana.

 

[Aziara]

One of my hens died this morning. I was trying to give her Tylan 50 orally, and I failed to realize that she was breathing only through her mouth. I only got half the dose into her when she started flopping wildly and died. I feel awful. I had really big reservations about giving Tylan, and I really should have listened to my instincts.
My husband buried her for me, but now I'm wondering if I should have put her in the freezer and try to get the college 2 hours away to test the body.

I'm just so tired of dealing with this.