Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat

Poultry and Pets => The Hen House => Topic started by: sarah* on June 08, 2006, 20:32

Title: coughing or sneezing....help..
Post by: sarah* on June 08, 2006, 20:32
Hello...is there anyone there?



I'm very worried about my chickens - I think I may have a few poorly birds!!  

Two of my chickens are coughing or sneezing I haven't worked out which...and I don't quite know what to do?
Do I need to worry or do they have hayfever!   only joking...my bluebell seemed to spit something out the others rushed over to see - it wasn't anything horrible i just felt a bit unnerved not knowing whether I should be doing anything????

Sarah
 :roll:  :shock:
Title: coughing or sneezing....help..
Post by: John on June 08, 2006, 23:11
Are they acting ill in any way? It won't be the plague - so don't worry yourself about that.
Title: coughing or sneezing....help..
Post by: sarah* on June 09, 2006, 08:51
Hello John
Thanks for coming back - I have just spent some time with them this morning and the strange thing is they seem fine, although I have noticed a bit of bullying...I'll go back out there once I've finished some work - the thing that concerned me was it wasn't an occasional cough it was every couple of minutes and when Darren put them to bed the sussex was crackling when breathing and then coughing - but there wasn't anything like that this morning? :?
Title: coughing or sneezing
Post by: sarah* on June 09, 2006, 09:27
...I spoke to soon - just hung some washing out and could hear some coughing or sneezing, they do seem quite happy though...
Title: coughing or sneezing....help..
Post by: Southmead on June 09, 2006, 09:40
Hello Sarah

Do they have any discharge from their nostrels? and if you put the chicken's chest up to your ear can you hear a rattling/congestion?
Title: coughing or sneezing....help..
Post by: sarah* on June 09, 2006, 10:19
Hello and thanks for responding -

There is nothing running from their beaks and there doesn't seem to be any rattling like last night (which sounded like congestion although during the day it was all in her beak), even yesterday there wasn't any discharge from their beaks, it was the bluebelle who spat up some clear liquid up after a cough -
Title: coughing or sneezing....help..
Post by: John on June 09, 2006, 10:22
There's an article HERE (http://www.poultry.allotment-garden.org/Chicken_a/poultry_illness/index.php)
Hope it helps

Big problem with chickens is that most vets know very little about them - big flocks tend to have specialist vets and they're not often taken along to the surgery with the cats and dogs.
Title: coughing or sneezing....help..
Post by: sarah* on June 12, 2006, 18:38
Hello and thanks for your concern, I had a read of those pages and they were very useful and we monitored all the chickens very closely over the week end and we think she might seriously have hay fever or something similar, we live in the middle of some farm fields and the field next to them at the end of the garden has been left to grass and my husband over the last week has been suffering terribly, our Sussex seems to have started at the same time she hasn't got worse and the others haven't got it, its all in her head and we can't hear any rattling(other than one evening last week ending) in her chest -she had one bad day and she now seems to be sneezing at odd times not regularly - does this make sense to anyone?
...the pollen count has been really high and we can't see anything else that it could be as she doesn't seem to be unhappy her house is clean and is eating and walking around OK, her tail and wings haven't dropped...
Sarah* :?
Title: coughing or sneezing....help..
Post by: John on June 12, 2006, 18:47
I sometimes have hayfever and it's been really bad for the last few days. Even a couple of our cats have been sneezing so I don't see why chickens shouldn't suffer as well.

I'm sorry that I don't know too much about chickens, my egg empire is still on hold but  from what I can gather for most things they recover OK.  I was hoping you'd get a reply from someone with a bit more knowledge,

Good luck!
Title: coughing or sneezing....help..
Post by: Rural Living on June 12, 2006, 23:28
Hi Sarah

Pleased to hear your chicken is no worse. It could be hayfever in as much as sneezing is a symptom of irritation in the nazal passge. The rattle and spitting up of fluid has me rather foxed, to excuse the pun. If this had continued, I would have suspected a low level infection of mycoplasma. Its also worth checking if she has anything stuck in her nazal passage, perhaps some grass seed, or a piece of grass. It is always suggested that if you have any concerns about a hens health she should be kept seperate from the flock. As she seems otherwise healthy this has to be balanced against any problems this could cause when she is re introduced (getting picked on). As it effected a couple of chickens in the beginning could something have lodged in the nazal passage, which the other hen has managed to clear?. Hope this may help your thoughts.  John.