Updated December 11, 2020
What if I told you that your backyard chickens are carrying a respiratory illness? Even if they look perfectly fine. You’d have every right to be offended.
Well the truth is that most flocks carry more than one disease, and yet many never seem to have a problem. You’re about to find out why. You’re also going to learn what to do when one breaks out.
Respiratory infections are the second most common reason backyard chooks come to the vet. They can be very frustrating to control, and even harder to make sense of via Google. Let’s start with what they look like.
Signs Of Respiratory Infections
You may see some or all of:
- Sneezing and coughing
- Runny eyes and nose
- Coughing
- Laboured or fast breathing
- Gasping & mouth breathing
- Lethargy and poor appetite
- Sinusitis
These all look similar to the symptoms of colds and flu in people, with one exception: sinusitis. To see it, go back to the picture above. On the left is a normal chicken and on the right is one with swollen sinuses (arrowed).
Common Respiratory Infections
There are many possible causes of cold or flu-like illnesses. Some are rare, others mainly affect the young. An Australian backyard chicken owner only has three common diseases to consider*.
- Mycoplasma is a tiny bacteria that lives in the airways. On its own it usually produces mild signs known as chronic respiratory disease that slowly worsen over time. It’s impossible to eradicate and extremely common.
- Infectious Bronchitis (IB) is a virus that causes a shorter period of more intense symptoms of cold or flu. A clue that it’s IB is that most birds appear to recover, and then start laying eggs with obvious shell abnormalities. These birds are carriers.
- Infectious Laryngotrachetitis (ILT) is a herpesvirus that produces a more severe respiratory illness, sometimes causing death. Blood is often seen in the mouth or throat. Birds that recover tend to remain carriers.
The worst infections happen when several diseases occur together. Both IB and ILT are more severe in birds who carry mycoplasma. Additionally, all three infections are made much worse by secondary infections with bacteria such as E. coli.
It’s the birds with these mixed infections that end up at the vet most often. But that’s not all. Infection alone doesn’t explain everything.
Management & Care Factors
The way you look after your chickens has a major influence on whether a disease is a problem or not. These are the five important habits of successful chicken keepers:
- Quarantine. Try very hard to keep a closed flock, with no new arrivals. ILT and IB can come in on a healthy-looking chicken and devastate a flock. Even mycoplasma can be introduced into naive birds.
- Buying from quality breeders. Good breeders will vaccinate their flock and raise hens free of the common diseases. This is still unusual in the heritage breeds but very common with commercial breeds like HyLine or ISA Brown. However, click here to see why heritage breeds live longer.
- Keeping litter clean & dry. Wet, soiled litter in the coop causes two problems. The first is the release of ammonia gas from urine, which is toxic to the respiratory tract and makes infections worse. The second is aspergillus air sac infection from fungus growing in moist litter.
- Avoiding stress and overcrowding. Most people do this quite sensibly, but it still needs mentioning. Some of those silly little hutches on eBay can be worse than a battery farm.
- Nutrition. Once again, not rocket science, but there’s still the persistent idea that chickens can get by on table scraps. Read more about good chicken nutrition here.
Treatment Of Respiratory Infections
The correct treatment relies on an accurate diagnosis. Realistically, this is almost never achieved in backyard poultry medicine. Therefore, it’s important that your vet chooses an antibiotic with the following features:
- Efficacy against both mycoplasma and E. coli
- Ease of use
- Affordability
- Safety to chickens
- Food safety
I can’t stress the last point enough. Certain antibiotics should never be used for routine treatment when there are better and safer choices.
Vets who treat chickens regularly are familiar with which drugs work and which can be used in egg-producing chickens. We will also be able to guide you on the correct time, called a withholding period, before eggs can be eaten again.
Related: The Number One Illness Of Chickens | Fox Danger In The City
* It’s important to mention that this regional list misses four diseases exotic to Australia: two (metapneumovirus & ornithobacterium) are probably mild but I am unfamiliar with them, another two (Avian Influenza & Newcastle Disease) are extremely important to detect quickly if they arrive. Yet another reason to take that sick chook to a vet!
Have something to add? Comments (if open) will appear within 24 hours.
By Andrew Spanner BVSc(Hons) MVetStud, a vet in Adelaide, Australia. Meet his team here. The information provided here is not intended to be used as a substitute for going to the vet. If your pet is unwell, please seek veterinary attention.
My chicken LC was pecking around at the dirt and I noticed a slug of some sort as it had the slimy trail, it was long and yellow with a brown line down the centre of it under a small rock she was pecking near, do I need to be worried about critters like this at all. Both of my chickens were wormed and treated for mites with the liquid Ivermectin from the vet in May and June.
Do I need to be concerned about things like gapeworm at all?
Hi Dr Andrew,
I was doing a general check over my 2 hens feeling around gently and when I felt under their wings I could feel on either side in the same spot a soft ballon like shape is this their air sacs? I wanted to make sure I can’t do any damage to them by feeling around, and if there ever was any damage how would I know and is it life threatening.
Thank you 🙂
Hi Tahnee. I’m honestly not sure what that is, but it shouldn’t be an air sac as these are usually not easy to feel. However, it is true that putting excessive pressure on a bird’s body can interrupt breathing. The fact that these are symmetrical, non-painless and soft suggest that they are normal anatomy in your hen’s case.
Thank you, I believe it was their armpits I was feeing as to where it was located.
Also can I please ask I have my hen who is on oral liquid Loxicom 0.4ml and I went to syringe it into her mouth slowly and the syringe went stiff and squirted it onto the top of her beak and at her nostril entrance. She wasn’t coughing or sneezing or shaking her head at all, not showing any signs of distress. I wiped at nostril gently to remove any that was inside best I could. I monitored her for a while afterwards and she was being her normal self and has since laid down napping.
Should I be concerned at all?
Thank you 🙂
Hi Andrew,
we have just got six 7-8 week old chickens
I first noticed one sneezing and seperated her this morning noticed another and moved her and now this afternoon have noticed two more are sneezing , they are still eating and drinking well and scratching about maybe a little more lethargic than normal .
I was told to give them oxymav B to drink and have been doing so making it their only source of water in the coops and feeding them pullet grower MP and some fruit treats as well ,melon ,grapes etc. My main question is now that they all bar two are sneezing and i suspect will be doing so soon do I bother isolating or just treat them all together in the coop now.
Cheers Shane
Hi Shane. I won’t comment on the treatment except to say that there are better treatments at your vet if things do not go well. It’s very likely that by now they all have acquired the same infection. Separating out the asymptomatic birds is still a good idea if it does not cause either of the groups extra stress, but it’s not essential as they are all very likely to be affected by now.
Good morning. I have just lost 2 of my wee girls within a week. Both went downhill very quickly. Only managed to get one to the vet in time but that was too late. Both were uneasy with walking, unable to lift their heads within just a few hours. All my girls were from a repeatable breeder and were vaccinated. They have said that it would have been a respiratory illness due to the huge amount of rain we have just had. My other 2 girls seem healthy and a good heavy weight. I have taken apart their outside coop and they now sleep under the patio. They are free range during the day. Stopped scattering their grain onto the lawn in case they local pigeons carry something as they share the grains. I have been told that this is quite common at the moment due to all the rain. Coop and nesting boxes always kept clean. Is there anything else I can do? I love my wee silkies and would be devastated if I lost anymore ☹️
Hi Dee. There is probably not a lot more you can do after excluding all contact between wild birds and your flock apart from separating those who may yet not be infected and hoping no transmission has occurred. HOWEVER, your comment is also slightly concerning. It is a very timely reminder to always be aware of the more serious respiratory diseases of poultry, especially Newcastle disease, which is known for causing rapidly progressive respiratory and nervous system signs. In Australia, Newcastle disease is considered exotic and notifiable and is a disease of great importance. Please bring it up with your vet if there is any possibility. This link is for Victoria but there is a similar page for each state. https://agriculture.vic.gov.au/biosecurity/animal-diseases/poultry-diseases/newcastle-disease
Thank you for the information. I am particularly interested in the treatment of Mycoplasma as 10 of my birds are being treated at the moment. We have been told to consider culling our flock (45) as we shall never be rid of it. Also having to wait 6-12 months before starting with chickens again. Would you agree? I noted that you have mentioned it doesn’t survive long in the environment?
We are quite devastated but trying to do the right thing. Would most back yard birds carry this disease?
Hi Carol. Probably nearly all non-commercial layers carry mycoplasma from a young age. Culling the flock would only make sense if you could be sure that the next flock could come pathogen free (typically as young commercial-breed chicks who have been fully vaccinated and not mixed with birds from other origins). Otherwise, it will be best to look at improving their husbandry and environment so that the mycoplasma does not cause excess illness. In backyard flocks, it can often coexist with healthy chickens if everything else is okay and cause few issues other than occasional upper respiratory tract signs and reduced egg production.
Hi,
Thanks for your help re the respiratory diseases.
How can we disinfect both the coop the earth in the outside runs?
Hi Graham. None of these diseases persists long in the environment so the focus is really on having a clean flock, not the housing.