Sick chicken

[Newchickgrandma]

Our Sapphire gem chicken is having a hard time breathing this morning. She strains to breathe sometimes. Right now she's walking around the yard by herself looking mostly normal but sometimes sneezes or makes a funny sound.

 

[azygous]

This could be the start of a respiratory illness or a crop disorder or just some dust in her sinuses. Keep an eye on her for changes. Look for her to become lethargic, have runny eyes and swollen tissue around the eyes.

If it's a crop disorder, it could be sour crop backing into her esophagus. Look for swollen crop, perhaps regurgitation of fluid from her beak, especially when handled. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

 

[Newchickgrandma]

This is day 3 in the house. She seems pretty alert and no discharge. Her breathing is still a bit labored, but hardly any coughs and sneezes. I cleaned the chicken coop today. My question is how long should we keep her away from the flock?

 

[Dakota8472]

I wouldnt want to reintroduce until i knew what the respitory issue was or the symptoms were completely gone for days if not a week.

 

[azygous]

She can go back to the flock when she is free of symptoms, pretty much as @Dakota8472 said.