Respiratory issue in new chickens

[chickentowns]

I recently purchased 5 ISA Browns from a nearby farm intending to integrate them into my existing flock of 18 birds, but after handling them, I’ve noticed a respiratory issue.

One of the five hens has a crackling sound when breathing (rales?) and occasional mucus from her beak but otherwise looks and acts fine. No coughing, sneezing, or labored breathing. The other 4 hens seem perfectly fine.

All new hens are isolated in their own coop/run, completely separate from my flock. The sick hen amongst them is isolated within that coop, so she’s in a separate pen in the coop from the seemingly healthier birds, but still in the same coop.

- How long do I isolate the seemingly healthy birds before integrating them into the flock, or can I ever really trust that they’re healthy given the sick one that they came with?

- What do I do for the sick hen? I’ve got ACV in her water and am researching antibiotics. If she makes it, can I ever put her with my flock, or does it always pose a risk to them?

Please help! I love my birds, and don’t want to risk getting them sick.

Note: while I do love my chickens, getting a vet involved is not an option for us.

 

[chickentowns]

My friend has two ducks that has this issue for a while now, and they’ve had it their whole adult life, but they are fine and well, but ducks are different from chickens, so I don’t know if this is a major issue. I would still separate her just in case until you start to see signs of improvement. Is she breathing heavily or fast? Is it cold where you live?
I hope it’s nothing bad!

She is not breathing heavily or fast, totally breathing easy! Just sounds crackley every few breaths. We’re in Tennessee, so it’s not cold at all anymore. We had a pretty mild winter and it’s in the 70s this week!

 

[Birdsarelife]

Try researching more on it just in case, but not trying to make you worry!

 

[Birdsarelife]

My friend has two ducks that has this issue for a while now, and they’ve had it their whole adult life, but they are fine and well, but ducks are different from chickens, so I don’t know if this is a major issue. I would still separate her just in case until you start to see signs of improvement. Is she breathing heavily or fast? Is it cold where you live?
I hope it’s nothing bad!

 

[Birdsarelife]

She is not breathing heavily or fast, totally breathing easy! Just sounds crackley every few breaths. We’re in Tennessee, so it’s not cold at all anymore. We had a pretty mild winter and it’s in the 70s this week!

Ok that’s great then! I don’t know what it is, but I did see somewhere that this is just a normal thing in some poultry. So nothing to worry about.