[jackieand glenn]

hi everyone, can anyone help please. one of my chickens has a discharge from her breathing passage and sort of cough. can chickens get cough and colds?. also what do i need to do, she,s in with the other girls and worried it will spread. they have all been wormed, had red mite of late but seem to have got rid of it, touch wood at mo.  she,s eating well, still laying and seems ok.

[daisy1990]

chickens can suffer all sorts of respiratory ailments (minor and problematic) simple causes can be draughts, dust from bedding and major problems can be caused by bacterial and viral infections.  If possible it is always best to isolate the chicken to prevent spread, but if impossible keep an eye on her to make sure she does not develop a temperature (feel under her wing and see how hot she feels compared to other birds)  If she has a temperature, or stops feeding or looks unwell take her to a vet- good luck!

[jackieand glenn]

will check her tomorrow, shes had it about 3 days now. shes the smallest one of our girls, when we got her the others pecked her badly, shes ok now but never has grown, poor thing. i would hate to loose her now as its been a long hard struggle to get her with the others and to point of lay. i just wondered if there was anything i could buy to help. we have a spare coop and run for sick chooks but have a chicken at mo whats laying a weird egg and others pecking at it, so shes in there. so many problems at mo. real hard work. love them all the same so trying to do my best for each one.

[Alison_T]

I seem to say this a lot, but Baytril from your farm vet seems to work a treat. We never treat the whole flock - just the poorly one and then isolate her eggs. This is what our vet told us to do and we have made a fair few better by doing this. There will be an occasional one who just doesn't make it, but Baytril seems to be brilliant!

[hillfooter]

More than likely your chicken has got a disease called Chronic Respiratory disease or some times Mycoplasma or Mycoplasma Galisepticum or MG.  This should not be taken lightly and will need early treatment with an antibiotic such as Tylosin (Tylan) or Baytril only obtainable from a vet.  Isolate the bird and treat quickly.  It can easily be passed to other birds so disinfect the house and clean up as much as possible.

This disease is often chronic and can return in times of stress as it strikes birds when their immune systems are low or challenged by other diseases or stress factors like moult, mite infestation, bullying or heat.  Don't breed from her and consider culling her if the treatment is ineffective and the symptoms persist.

There are other respiratory diseases which can cause these symptoms including Infectious Coryza (usually produces a smelly discharge).  Try googling for these diseases for more information.  Birds do not catch the common cold.

HF

[brick22]

My chicken had exactly the same symptoms, I took her to the vet, she had a slight temperature but her breathing was all good. She was put on a course of Batril (just syringe in mouth) and it cleared up in a couple of days. Like others have said, isolate her until its cleared up. It cost me £20 in total and it was the best £20 I have spent on her so far. I'm hoping it has all cleared up and doesn't turn in to anything more serious, I guess only time will tell. She hasn't started laying yet, not sure if she is just still too young or the antibiotics have halted things for a bit.