Chicken sneezing over and over again?! Possible causes?

[Random Fluffy Chicken]

Hello there, my chicken was sneezing over and over again earlier today. She seems fine currently now, but I wonder what was making her sneeze so much earlier. She sneezed over and over again and opened her mouths few times, but acted fine after a few times. I know sneezing could be a sign of respitory problems, but she hasn’t shown any other signs of a RP other than sneezing, no bubbly eyes or liquid coming out of the nose. What are the other causes for sneezing? I know that chickens, and birds in general have a delicate respiratory system, and that dust causes them to sneeze. Could it have been that something that was stuck inside her throated or maybe something irritated her nostrils?

 

[ChookieG]

When I bought my four chooks 3 months ago one came with a respiratory problem. As I was new to chooks, I didn't know it then and it eventually spread to my other girls. One of them still sneezes every day now though her nose doesn't run. She often does it early in the morning when it's a bit chilly and lesser during the day when it warms up. I'm hoping she recovers soon as the rest are ok now but I give them basil and chilli which seems to help a lot.

 

[Random Fluffy Chicken]

When I bought my four chooks 3 months ago one came with a respiratory problem. As I was new to chooks, I didn't know it then and it eventually spread to my other girls. One of them still sneezes every day now though her nose doesn't run. She often does it early in the morning when it's a bit chilly and lesser during the day when it warms up. I'm hoping she recovers soon as the rest are ok now but I give them basil and chilli which seems to help a lot.

My girl does it early in the morning too. Sometimes when it’s windy, she might also sneeze a bit. Have your chooks shown other signs of respiratory infection such as discharge from the nose or bubble in the eyes?

 

[ChookieG]

My girl does it early in the morning too. Sometimes when it’s windy, she might also sneeze a bit. Have your chooks shown other signs of respiratory infection such as discharge from the nose or bubble in the eyes?

No bubbles. Discharge, yes. I noticed that the existing one that's still sick poop out a roundworm 2 weeks ago so I'm guessing she's taking a while to recover as her immune system is down. You might wanna check for that too. Read in BYC that they'll always have worms so it's a matter of controlling them. I give them wormwood, pumpkin seeds, and apple cider vinegar to help. You can also give them some warm oat porridge in the morning? I do that too.

Yeah all my chooks sneezes when it's windy too!

 

[Chickie friend]

The same thing happened to me! Turned put that the Pullet had something stuck in her nostril that she sneezed out (eventually)

 

[Mamatomany123]

No bubbles. Discharge, yes. I noticed that the existing one that's still sick poop out a roundworm 2 weeks ago so I'm guessing she's taking a while to recover as her immune system is down. You might wanna check for that too. Read in BYC that they'll always have worms so it's a matter of controlling them. I give them wormwood, pumpkin seeds, and apple cider vinegar to help. You can also give them some warm oat porridge in the morning? I do that too.

Yeah all my chooks sneezes when it's windy too!

Since your chicken is sick, I would go ahead and worm her. Also, any respiratory disease they have will make them carriers for life. If she has not yet been introduced to the rest of your flock then I wouldnt introduce her as she will infect all of them. Respiratory infections dont go away in chickens, you just treat the symptoms when needed.

 

[Myrshine]

In my experience and research, this looks like classic Chronic Respiratory Disease (CRD), or most commonly known as Mycoplasma Gallisepticum (MG). MG is a bacterial infection of poultry, affecting all different species of birds. This disease is most commonly given from infected parents to the offspring, as the MG bacteria can be transmitted vertically into the eggs of developing embryos, making any chicks that hatch, always infected and sick with the bacteria. So please don’t ever breed from your sickly infected flock to sell or giveaway chicks/hens/roosters to anyone. You can freely choose to hatch for yourself, but you should not ever sell and or giveaway any extra roosters as you’ll just be giving someone else your flock’s disease, causing them a devastation. MG is a permanent lifelong chronic disease- meaning, that you can treat or have the symptoms go away, but whenever the bird gets stressed again, the symptoms will keep coming back or get worse. All birds (even recovered birds) remain lifetime long carriers of the MG bacteria, spreading and shedding it through their feces, feathers, dander, respiratory secretions and other bodily fluids. This is a serious permanent lifetime disease of poultry and is incurable, but treatable with antibiotics. Since MG is caused by a bacteria, antibiotics can help keep symptoms at bay until the symptoms resurface whenever birds become stressed again. Keep in mind that over-use and/or misuse of antibiotics also creates antibiotic-resistant bacteria, making the disease harder to treat than before. It’s critical in any livestock animal, especially poultry, to get any sick or symptomatic birds tested to find out which specific disease they have as soon as possible. That being said, most choose to cull all birds, disinfect and start over fresh. If you’d rather not, then the other option is to keep a closed flock- no new birds into your flock and no birds leave your sick flock. If you choose to start over, always quarantine any new birds that you decide to bring into your flock, 30 day quarantine isn’t always enough, therefore, it’s best to do a 60 day quarantine AWAY from your healthy birds, in another area.



Here's more information about MG:



https://extension.umd.edu/sites/ext... Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) Infecti....pdf



https://www.freedomrangerhatchery.com/blog/protecting-your-flock-what-you-need-to-know-about-mg-ms/



https://afarmgirlinthemaking.com/respiratory-conditions-poultry-mycoplasma-in-chickens/



https://www.maine.gov/dacf/ahw/animal_health/documents/backyardpoultry/Mycoplasma Factsheet.pdf



https://www.oie.int/doc/ged/D9107.PDF



I hope this helps!

 

[BDutch]

Since your chicken is sick, I would go ahead and worm her. Also, any respiratory disease they have will make them carriers for life. If she has not yet been introduced to the rest of your flock then I wouldnt introduce her as she will infect all of them. Respiratory infections dont go away in chickens, you just treat the symptoms when needed.

I don’t have much experience with sneezing hens but I did have sneezing chicks. Almost 6 years ago, all of my month old chicks went sneezing after a period with rain (they went outside in net covered run with their mothers).
One after the other got a ‘Cold’ and I feared the worst after reading about bacterial infections that cause sneezing and people on another chicken forum telling me they need antibiotics.

I didn’t want to give them antibiotics and just waited to see what happened. The chicks cured. Some after 1 week, the weakest after 6 weeks. The adult chickens didn’t get infected. The female chicks grew up to be healthy laying hens. I never gave them medicines and I still have them today, all laying eggs again after a winter break. I never had this sneezing problem again.

 

[ChookieG]

I don’t have much experience with sneezing hens but I did have sneezing chicks. Almost 6 years ago, all of my month old chicks went sneezing after a period with rain (they went outside in net covered run with their mothers).
One after the other got a ‘Cold’ and I feared the worst after reading about bacterial infections that cause sneezing and people on another chicken forum telling me they need antibiotics.

I didn’t want to give them antibiotics and just waited to see what happened. The chicks cured. Some after 1 week, the weakest after 6 weeks. The adult chickens didn’t get infected. The female chicks grew up to be healthy laying hens. I never gave them medicines and I still have them today, all laying eggs again after a winter break. I never had this sneezing problem again.

I've read quite a bit about cures for respiratory illnesses and worm infections on BYC too. I'm the same, trying to avoid antibiotics or other chemicals. Since my other 3 girls eventually recovered, I don't see why this one shouldn't. She sounds better than a couple of days ago and she's one of the stronger ones in the flock. I'm doing everything I can (apart from giving chemicals) to help boost her immune system. Apart from the worm and respiratory issues, she's eating and pooing well and looks healthy.