Quarantining chickens is an important practice to maintain the health of the flock and prevent the spread of disease.
A quarantine period should begin whenever you introduce new birds into your existing flock, if one of your birds becomes ill, or if you brought your chicken somewhere it could possibly have caught a contagious illness (eg. trading or showing your chickens).
To be safe, confine any incoming chicken that is returning for a month, and only feed it after you’ve taken care of all of your other chickens.
During quarantine, the bird should be housed separately from the other chickens and monitored carefully for signs of illness such as wheezing, coughing, sneezing, nasal discharge, or lethargy.
It’s important to inspect its feet and feathers for any sign of mites or lice as well as check its droppings for worms or parasites.
If any symptoms are present during this time then veterinary advice should be sought immediately to diagnose and treat accordingly.
House 2 or 3 sacrificial chickens from your flock with the isolated chicken as an extra security precaution. By the end of the month, if your chickens are still in good health, there is a good chance that the initially quarantined chicken is also healthy.