Need advice!

[Slowtown]

I recently went to purchase a serama trio from Craigslist and I couldn’t believe the living conditions they were in. The lady had obviously never cleaned the pens ever, feces layered the ground, the water was green and it’s over 100° in Arizona. Out of the dozens of other birds sharing space with goats, many of them had feather loss, but i didn’t see any other concerns, distinguishable feces looked normal. I ended up taking the trio home with me anyways, how could you leave them there? My concern is their health, the roo’s beak is way overgrown and I plan to trim it tomorrow, but how can I be sure they arent sick? It’d be a miracle if they weren’t. They have a normal appetite and thirst, they’re aware and active, normal coloring and feathering, normal eyes, normal droppings. Although on the ride home i heard funny noises once in a while, couldn’t figure out which chicken they came from, sounded like slurping the last sip of a drink from a straw. How do I find out if they’re sick? I’m not open to eithanization.

 

[JedJackson]

Time will tell. You just have to watch them. If you have chickens already, definitely quarantine these birds and don't put them with your old flock for at least a month, if ever.

Some diseases may never show symptoms if the birds have already survived them. They will still be carriers of those diseases, and can affect other birds who may not survive. So you will need to be very careful when and if you do introduce them to other birds.

The sad fact is that a lot of birds living in these conditions are sick and will contaminate another flock. I think you showed compassion in taking these three, but buying from such sellers perpetuates the problem, because that person will probably continue on the way he or she is going because they're making money.

There really is no easy answer to this kind of thing. I, personally, won't buy from such flocks even if it breaks my heart to leave them in such conditions because I know it would hurt a lot worse if my own flock was infected. And I sometimes sell extra pullets, and would never be able to do that if I even suspected disease in my flock.