Am I overreacting with biosecurity?

[Yuilethu]

I got 2 hens from a breeder. They were still on heat, so they stayed indoors for a couple weeks, and then some while the coop was perfected. I wanted a third, so I contacted someone on an online forum website to get another hen. The hen was young, just started laying I believe. She seemed fine when I brought her home and put her in her quarantine home. She spent a bit of time outside to roam around in a chicken tractor. That night I noticed she was wheezing and had snot coming from her nose. I'm new to chickens, so I figured, just a cold. But, everything I've read says chickens don't get colds. So, I gave her a quarantined day (she never came in contact with my original 2, and they won't be in the same area of the yard). But, she didn't seem to get any better and mostly sat around except to perch and sleep. She was eating/drinking. But, by day 2 her poop didn't look right. I contacted the person and they said to just bring her back. So I did. I don't think the person believed me that there was something wrong with her, because they just put her back where she was held when I got her. They also offered me a replacement chicken (presumably from the same cage or a connected cage?).

Being a new chicken owner, I'm not sure if I was correct in returning her. Maybe it's a normal stress-induced thing that these symptoms can happen. Other online people seem to say this person has great chickens, so maybe I was wrong for returning her.

I was just curious of what people thought. Whether she was sick or I was just being paranoid. I don't have evidence she was sick, I only had her for 2 days and it didn't seem necessary to take pictures or anything.

 

[User635240]

I got 2 hens from a breeder. They were still on heat, so they stayed indoors for a couple weeks, and then some while the coop was perfected. I wanted a third, so I contacted someone on an online forum website to get another hen. The hen was young, just started laying I believe. She seemed fine when I brought her home and put her in her quarantine home. She spent a bit of time outside to roam around in a chicken tractor. That night I noticed she was wheezing and had snot coming from her nose. I'm new to chickens, so I figured, just a cold. But, everything I've read says chickens don't get colds. So, I gave her a quarantined day (she never came in contact with my original 2, and they won't be in the same area of the yard). But, she didn't seem to get any better and mostly sat around except to perch and sleep. She was eating/drinking. But, by day 2 her poop didn't look right. I contacted the person and they said to just bring her back. So I did. I don't think the person believed me that there was something wrong with her, because they just put her back where she was held when I got her. They also offered me a replacement chicken (presumably from the same cage or a connected cage?).

Being a new chicken owner, I'm not sure if I was correct in returning her. Maybe it's a normal stress-induced thing that these symptoms can happen. Other online people seem to say this person has great chickens, so maybe I was wrong for returning her.

I was just curious of what people thought. Whether she was sick or I was just being paranoid. I don't have evidence she was sick, I only had her for 2 days and it didn't seem necessary to take pictures or anything.

There's always a risk of common chicken illnesses (mycoplasma, coccidia, primarily) when buying from private local breeders. (I probably would have returned a sick chicken as well.) In the future, you can seek NPIP certified breeders.

 

[StinkyAcres]

No, you are not overreacting. Always quarantine new birds from other farms for at least a couple weeks, especially if the breeder has not been NPIP certified. Some diseases can easily spread to your existing flock, not just by contact with the infected chicken, but through the air and on your clothes. Mycoplasma gallisepticum infections, for example, are quite common and even if your chickens recover from the symptoms they will be contagious for life.

I quarantined my ducks for a month. I kept everything separate from my existing chickens -- feed was stored in a different room, I designated one pair of coveralls for taking care of the ducks, I showered before going anywhere near my chickens or their feed storage room, and I had someone else take care of my chickens during that time.

 

[aart]

Whether she was sick or I was just being paranoid. I don't have evidence she was sick

You did have evidence, runny nose and lethargy.
You were not wrong to return it, hopefully it didn't get spread to your flock.
BYC Medical Quarantine Article

In the future, you can seek NPIP certified breeders.

NPIP does not test for respiratory disease, so much false security there.

 

[Ridgerunner]

You did have evidence, runny nose and lethargy.
You were not wrong to return it, hopefully it didn't get spread to your flock.
BYC Medical Quarantine Article

I totally agree. You had evidence something was wrong. That's why you quarantine to start with.

NPIP does not test for respiratory disease, so much false security there.

@aart some states do. For New Jersey, the OP's state, I found a Pullorum requirement. I found one online source that said Avian Flu was included. A different source said nothing about Avian Flu but Fowl Typhoid was included. Typical internet confusion. To find out any States requirements you need to contact them directly.

NPIP was set up for Pullorum, not anything else. Pullorum is the only thing that is consistent with NPIP. Some but not all states have added additional requirements. Those additional requirements can vary state by state.

NPIP is a government program that worked. Pullorum used to be really common and threatened the success of the commercial chicken meat industry. Now Pullorum is rare.

 

[User635240]

You did have evidence, runny nose and lethargy.
You were not wrong to return it, hopefully it didn't get spread to your flock.
BYC Medical Quarantine Article



NPIP does not test for respiratory disease, so much false security there.

Ok I think what OP needs to look for is NPIP-AI.

 

[GlicksChicks]

You can never be too careful. Chickens can be very prone to sickness. I personally think that if someone is going to sell a chicken, they should move it somewhere by itself and do a checkup on it, make sure that the chicken is healthy.

Thankfully you quarantined the chicken from your others because then you could've had a big problem on your hands. Respiratory illnesses can take a toll on chickens.

 

[Yuilethu]

Thank you everyone. I was mostly worried that I would be considered a jerk who returns chickens for no reason.

You did have evidence, runny nose and lethargy.
You were not wrong to return it, hopefully it didn't get spread to your flock.
BYC Medical Quarantine Article

I just didn't take pictures to show the person. But, thankfully my two other hens are healthy and happy. I used to foster sick kittens, so I just apply the same procedures to chickens.

 

[CrazyChickLady64]

I got 2 hens from a breeder. They were still on heat, so they stayed indoors for a couple weeks, and then some while the coop was perfected. I wanted a third, so I contacted someone on an online forum website to get another hen. The hen was young, just started laying I believe. She seemed fine when I brought her home and put her in her quarantine home. She spent a bit of time outside to roam around in a chicken tractor. That night I noticed she was wheezing and had snot coming from her nose. I'm new to chickens, so I figured, just a cold. But, everything I've read says chickens don't get colds. So, I gave her a quarantined day (she never came in contact with my original 2, and they won't be in the same area of the yard). But, she didn't seem to get any better and mostly sat around except to perch and sleep. She was eating/drinking. But, by day 2 her poop didn't look right. I contacted the person and they said to just bring her back. So I did. I don't think the person believed me that there was something wrong with her, because they just put her back where she was held when I got her. They also offered me a replacement chicken (presumably from the same cage or a connected cage?).

Being a new chicken owner, I'm not sure if I was correct in returning her. Maybe it's a normal stress-induced thing that these symptoms can happen. Other online people seem to say this person has great chickens, so maybe I was wrong for returning her.

I was just curious of what people thought. Whether she was sick or I was just being paranoid. I don't have evidence she was sick, I only had her for 2 days and it didn't seem necessary to take pictures or anything.

Ok I know this is something new to for likely most everyone. Let me say first that I was a respiratory therapist for 30 years. I am pretty new to owning chickens only a year now. I have had a hen start wheezing añd coughing. This is what I did. I isolated her from the flock and treated her with breathing treatments of 3% food grade hydrogen peroxide mixed with saline. I put it in her face for 1-2 minutes to breath in 3 times a day the first day and 2 times more the next day and she was fine. She is doing good today. I am not sure what was going on with her but what ever it was she was fine the next day. I have used this for myself and family for respiratory viruses and has been a great treatment. Here is an article on using it. https://www.eastvalleynd.com/hydrogen-peroxide-nebulizer-therapy/
Here is another interesting article about it.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8289588/

 

[ChickenCanoe]

You can never overthink biosecurity.
But you started this discussion saying you had hens but then said they still needed heat.
So you didn't have hens, you had baby chicks. Often at that point, one isn't sure if they have males or females.
Hens are female chickens over one year of age. So you didn't have hens.
A bird can be NPIP meaning certified free from pullorum or typhoid. It could have dozens of other diseases, but on the plus side, it doesn't have pollurum/typhoid.