Adding quarentined birds to an existin flock

[speckledhen]

I am only going to integrate one hen of my existing flock to this new flock of four birds because she is the only want I want to add to this breeding group. Should I take one of the new hens and her and put them together first and let them be together for a few weeks to see if anything happens? Also should I go ahead and bathe, worm and dust for mites to where the mites and worms have a week or two to get out of their systems?

You could do that, sure, if you have a way to do so. Many folks use a "sacrifice bird" to check new ones for disease.

I would definitely worm and dust for lice/mites on all the new birds. Worming usually requires doing it, then re-worming two weeks later to get any that hatch from worm eggs in their systems, so it would be a two week proposition, at least.

 

[Chikenbutwut]

So glad you asked this question. Going to be doing this soon myself.

Hubby is almost done with building a much larger coop. We're going to put the old coop at the other end, but first are going to clean it out well. Hubby did not waterproof the nest box on the old coop and used that type of wood that absorbs water easy (why I have no clue), so it started rotting and is falling apart. It's not a very big coop, so just gonna take the nest box off and close that area up - with water proofed wood this time. In it's place I'm gonna have him build something I can put a few milk crates in (used milk crates in it before and they prefer the crates to the little kitty litter boxes, which had plenty of room for them)...since the coop isn't that wide, should be able to reach eggs easy. Gonna have him drill more holes for ventilation and build shutters for the windows (tried wrapping in plastic last yr. and it didn't do a great job...so want shutters this year to keep the cold out. The old coop is getting a new bottom put on it as well.

Gonna get some dirt from my parent's house (they have some left over from having a pool put it) and level out any sunken spots in the run. Then gonna put construction sand over that.

Dividing the run with chicken wire and a huge dog exercise pen I have so I'll have a door to get from one side, as I only have one coop door. I have bantams, so I have to make sure the run is divided well, as they can fly.

Have had the new birds in quarantine for months. Reason being is that my birds got Coccidiosis from the place I got them from. That's the only thing I can figure, as they're in different crates and bins that I'm using as brooders in a spare room no one is using at the time. Thankfully only lost one very young chick. Treated everyone and used probiotics to get their health up. It's been months since that incident and everyone is doing fine now. Gonna worm, bathe (the new flock, as they need it) everyone and dust them all down for parasites (they don't have any that I can tell, but just to be on the safe side).

Have to start integrating birds that were quarantined in the house, which I plan on doing a little bit at a time, like in the bathroom with me in there to watch for any squabbles. Gonna do the more laid back birds first, then the others, until everyone is integrated.

By that time hubby should be done with the coop, the run should be all set with sunken areas filled and sand put down, old coop should be ready to go and run should be divided.

Then put new birds outside on their side and slowly introduce them to the existing flock.

Hope all goes well for both you and I Hunterhart.

 

[hunterhart1113]

The way that I would do the sacrifice is split the current pen the existing hen is in and put her and the new hen together on one side. Then let the be for a few weeks. If no signs of sickness then I will add the other three birds in a few weeks. How long do I need to have the new and old hen together to check for disease/illness before I add the other three new birds?

 

[speckledhen]

The way that I would do the sacrifice is split the current pen the existing hen is in and put her and the new hen together on one side. Then let the be for a few weeks. If no signs of sickness then I will add the other three birds in a few weeks. How long do I need to have the new and old hen together to check for disease/illness before I add the other three new birds?

I'd say probably 3-4 weeks to be reasonably safe if you are exposing a sacrifice bird to the new ones. Now, this thing can work both ways-sometimes, if your own birds are carriers of something, the new bird could get sick from your bird you put in there with her. But, hopefully, you already know if yours have ever shown any signs of illness in the past. It's inconvenient, yes, and not perfect, certainly, but I would never personally skip the quarantine period if I was adding a bird to my flock. At least, it gives you time to worm and dust the new ones and get to know them a bit before they are stressed by the new pecking order they are thrown into.

 

[hunterhart1113]

Okay. Well I will split run this weekend, lime, and till and water the like. Let it sit for a week. During this time I will do a first worming and dust bathe the new birds. Then in 10 days I will re deworm and let it work for one more week. Then bathe the sacrifice bird and existing bird and put them together and monitor for re weeks. If nothin shows I will bathe the other new birds and add them. How does this sound? Also if I need to modify anything please tell me. Thanks again for all the help.

 

[speckledhen]

Okay. Well I will split run this weekend, lime, and till and water the like. Let it sit for a week. During this time I will do a first worming and dust bathe the new birds. Then in 10 days I will re deworm and let it work for one more week. Then bathe the sacrifice bird and existing bird and put them together and monitor for re weeks. If nothin shows I will bathe the other new birds and add them. How does this sound? Also if I need to modify anything please tell me. Thanks again for all the help.

That sounds very thorough. I'm not sure you need to bathe the birds, especially if the weather is cold, probably just dusting them is enough. Not sure how cold it is where you are, but here, it would be very cold to bathe a chicken unless completely necessary. Trust me, I've blow dried quite a few and it takes forever to get them even halfway dry.

 

[hunterhart1113]

I am in south alabama so it is not real cold just cool in the morning and the warms up to mid 70s in the afternoon. But I will just dust bathe them. Will you please recommend a wormer and a dust bathe powder? Thank you again

 

[speckledhen]

I am in south alabama so it is not real cold just cool in the morning and the warms up to mid 70s in the afternoon. But I will just dust bathe them. Will you please recommend a wormer and a dust bathe powder? Thank you again

I'd say the best wormer overall is Valbazen liquid, though that is a bit pricier than others like Safeguard. Safeguard is also called Panacur or Fenbendazole. Valbazen is probably the safest since it starves out worms over a two or three day period so dead worms cannot clog their intestines, in case they have a big load. There is a poultry dust/livestock dust that even Ace Hardware around here sells. I have not used it, personally, but if I thought I had an infestation, I would. Some pour on wormers like Eprinex Pour On that goes on the skin of the neck will kill lice and mites on the bird as well as many worms, so you could start with something along those lines as well. All wormers, except Wazine, are off -label for goats or cattle. The problem with Wazine/piperazine is it will only kill roundworms, not any others, and there are many other serious worms a chicken can suffer with.

 

[hunterhart1113]

So I will get some Valbazen but I am still a little confused on what to dust them with? If you could clarify it would be great. Thank you again

 

[speckledhen]

You can use this, the main ingredient being permethrin. Permethrin is an insecticide in the pyrethroid family. Pyrethroids are synthetic chemicals that act like natural extracts from the chrysanthemum flower.