Can I keep sick chicken in area where I put spring chicks?

[fasschicks]

I have a hen that is sick with an upper respiratory infection. I am treating her with duramycin. I brought her in the house and put her in a dog kennel, but it is a terrible mess. Can I keep her in my coop that I raise spring chicks in? It is just storage right now and won't have any chicks until April. Will having a sick hen in there contaminate the coop? I just don't want to have issues with my spring chicks.

Any help would be appreciated! Thanks.

Fass

 

[chickencoop789]

You run the risk of infecting the new chicks but i'd say that as long as the whole coop is completely disinfected and sanitized there wont be much of a problem.

 

[coach723]

I tend to operate with an abundance of caution with sick birds. I personally would not put a sick bird where I was going to raise chicks. Too many variables for me to find the risk acceptable. Viruses vary in survival time on surfaces depending on surface materials, humidity, temp. etc. And because many viruses are so easily spread among birds, I would not take the chance of exposing chicks with immature immune systems. If you had absolutely no other option, I'd say at a minimum you'd need to really thoroughly disinfect every possible surface after the sick bird is out. Just my 2 cents.

 

[fasschicks]

Thanks for the advice. I wasn't sure if I was being paranoid or not. I have another dog kennel I can switch her to and it might be a bit more comfortable (and cleaner) than the one she is in. I figure with upper respiratory infection, that I would need her confined up to 2 weeks. Does that seem right?

Fass

 

[coach723]

It's hard to say exactly since there are many upper resp. infections it could be, and I'm assuming you don't have a definitive diagnosis since you didn't say. A good diagnosis would require lab work or a necropsy. I would certainly keep her isolated until the round of meds is done and you do not see any symptoms, most recommendations I can find say usually 2 to 4 weeks.
Some upper resp. infections are not 'cured' and the bird becomes a carrier and symptoms can reappear. There are many good posts here with info and you can google it also, so you know more for future management in your flock.
Best of luck.

 

[fasschicks]

I have no idea what it is. All I do know is that she is coughing (kind of a rattle/crackle like she is congested) but there is no discharge that I can see. I tried to listen to her chest, but I don't hear anything that would concern me. She is not coughing all the time, just periodically. I just didn't like the sound of it. It has been very wet here in southern Wisconsin with all the mild temps and never seems to dry out.