Chicken noises can mean a lot of different things. Did you know that these intelligent, little poultry animals are capable of making 24 different sounds? While there are other purposes behind the sounds, if you have a chicken making wheezing or cough-like noises, it is most likely sick.
If your chicken sounds like it has a cold, it is probably going through Chicken Respiratory Disease (CRD). It is a very common disease that happens to poultry fowls and can majorly damage your chicken’s respiratory system. We shall be going in-depth about this bird-specific disease in this article, so read on to find out!
What Is Chicken Respiratory Disease (CRD)?
There is a bacterium called the Mycoplasma gallisepticum, which causes Chicken Respiratory Disease in fowl. It is a type of chronic respiratory disease and causes infection in a lot of birds. If left untreated, it can cause a lot of other illnesses in your poultry bird.
The symptoms of CRD can be recognized easily in chickens. Some of the signs your fowl is suffering are as follows:
- Wheezing breaths
- Watery eyes
- Nasal discharge
- Loss of weight
- No movement or lethargy
- Lesser egg production
- Sneezing
- Loss of appetite
- Runny or discolored stool
Chickens do not suffer from cold or flu. The sneezing and cold-like sounds occur due to bacterial infection.
What Are The Causes of Chicken Respiratory Disease?
Chicken Respiratory diseases can be caused by the simplest things as birds are very sensitive creatures. Some of the causes of this are:
- Temperature Change
Even a drop in temperature can cause a problem for your poultry birds. Chickens do not put up so well with temperature changes and need some time before they can get accustomed to it – especially when cold.
- Accumulation of Dust
A clean coop is important to maintain the well-being of your chickens. If too much dust gets accumulated around your pen, your birds might breathe them in, and their lungs can get irritated.
Make sure to always clean your chicken’s abode and change the bedding regularly. Also, be careful while pouring feed out of the sack to ensure not too much residue is released.
- Unhygienic Coop
An unhygienic coop is a direct call for disease as damp bedding, or moist litter can collect moss over time. It is important to keep replacing these items to maintain your chicken’s health.
Chickens also need a lot of room to move around in, and overcrowded coops can cause stress in chickens. Ensure that your cage gets proper ventilation as well so that your birds get enough fresh air.
- Stress
High levels of anxiety or stress can also cause chickens to get sick. They can get distressed by a lot of things – predators, new chickens being brought into the coop, a congested room, or even laying eggs!
All these things trigger stress in chickens, which is the main cause of Chicken Respiratory Diseases. This anxiety can also lower a chicken’s immune system, so there is a high chance of catching the sickness.
How To Treat Chicken Respiratory Disease?
Although CRD can be fatal, with proper medical treatment and care, there is a chance of survival for your chickens. Following are some tips on helping treat respiratory disease in chickens.
- Isolate Infected Birds From The Coop
Chicken Respiratory Disease can spread like hellfire in a matter of days through your flock. Chickens are social animals, and since CRD is infectious, you need to keep the batch that shows the first signs of illness right away.
- Tend to the Infected Batch
Proper care for sick birds is important. You need to give your chickens proper food for nutrition, warmth, and hydration. Drinking water can cure a lot of illnesses in animals, so make sure to feed your birds enough water. Use a dropper or a spoon if necessary until your bird recovers.
- Give Proper Medical Care
Without a doctor’s attention, it can get difficult to treat such a deadly disease. Though there have been cases where CRD was treated naturally, I highly recommend you go with probiotics to help boost immunity as well.
- Maintain Hygiene to Avoid Reinfection
CRD is not something that goes away easily. If the area where the infected birds were kept is not cleaned properly, there is a high risk of reinfection. Sanitize the place well and wait for a few days before letting that area be used normally by other chickens again.
How Can I Prevent Chicken Respiratory Disease?
The key to preventing CRD in chickens is avoiding letting your chickens get stressed. This can be done by proper managing techniques like maintaining the cleanliness of your chicken coops and following the rules of biosecurity in poultry farming.
Do not just let anybody enter the chicken coops without proper sanitization and attire to keep clean, like masks and gloves. When buying your chickens, make sure they come from commendable hatcheries. Good quality chicks have better immunity.
Keep changing the bedding and water of the pen to avoid the accumulation of harmful bacteria, and make sure your birds are isolated from noise and commotion.
Related Questions:
Can Chickens Recover From Chicken Respiratory Disease?
Chicken Respiratory disease is almost impossible to cure, and the treatment is complicated. There is very little chance of recovery.
Does Chicken Respiratory Disease Only Effect Chicken?
This disease is most common in poultry birds like broiler, layer, and breeder poultry chicken, but it can also affect other birds like pheasants, pigeons, ducks, etc.
Is There A Vaccine For Chicken Respiratory Disease?
There is a vaccine called the F-strain Mycoplasma gallisepticum (FMG) vaccine, which is currently used to reduce the strain of CRD.
Final Thoughts
As chicken owners, it is obvious that we would want our precious birds to be in good health at all times. A lot of diseases can be prevented just by giving your hens a healthy diet and maintaining a clean coop for your little ones. Since prevention is better than cure, make sure you tend to all the needs of your poultry friends.
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