Baby chickens and battery chickens

pacelli27

In the Brooder
Mar 24, 2017
15
11
49
First time chicken owner here! I just bought 3 young chickens at the feed store and tomorrow I'm getting 6 ex battery hens. My questions are do I have to keep them separated for a certain amount of time? Also how long do I keep them in their "run" before I let them free roam my yard. Thank you
 
welcome-byc.gif


When you get chickens from 2 different sources, I think it's wise to have a period of separation between the 2 groups (30 days is the recommended isolation period). That way you'll be sure you aren't introducing an illness or pests between the birds. If the 2 groups of birds are different size, you'll want the smaller ones to be closer in size to the larger ones so the inevitable squabbling over the pecking order gives everyone an equal chance. You can read more about isolation and integration here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/adding-to-your-flock

Good luck to you!
 
Hello, and welcome to our wonderful forum! I am so glad you joined Backyard Chickens, I hope you will make yourself at home here and enjoy it as much as I have! :frow

~Cuz
 
G’Day from down under pacelli27
frow.gif
Welcome!

Integration was a Topic of the Week and you might also find this thread interesting reading: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1126547/topic-of-the-week-integrating-chicks-into-an-adult-flock

I hope you enjoy being a BYC member. There are lots of friendly and very helpful folks here so not only is it overflowing with useful information it is also a great place to make friends and have some fun.

You might want to also pop in and say hello on your local thread: https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/26/where-am-i-where-are-you ‘Find your State’s thread.

If you would like to share pictures and stories of your flock, you have come to the right place. BYC’ers never tire of these and do not back away slowly or commence eye rolling when the photo album or home videos come out
wink.png
 
ex battery hens may be carrying parasites inside & out, also may have beaks mostly clipped off etc. They usually need a lot of attention till they start looking and acting like real chickens. So it is wise to keep them away from your baby chicks. Also they may have never been kept with chicks & may attack them.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom