Biosecurity vs. chicken addiction

[jobeibi]

So I have these six little RIRs who are about 2 weeks old. There's also an ad on Craigslist for some Easter eggers that are 3 weeks old, and only $3 each. Want!

Is it a really bad idea to introduce two EE babes to my little flock? If I do get them, what's the procedure for quarantine and when do you know it's safe to put them together?

 

[carrlr]

IMO...I'd do the standard separation for 30 days, watch for problems, then I'd put them together.

 

[jobeibi]

Thanks, carrlr.

 

[gryeyes]

Yah, what carrlr said.

By all means, get the EEs!

Once they are done with quarantine, set up an integration/separation coop & run area. I use garden stakes and chicken wire inside the regular run with a small grow-out coop. Put the newbies in there with their own food and water for about two weeks. Everybody will get to see each other, smell each other, hear each other and even do chest bumps through the temporary fence. Then simply remove the temp fence and let them mingle. By then, nobody will be a Stranger Chicken and integration will go without much more than the occasional peck or fluff up.

 

[HaikuHeritageFarm]

This may sound harsh, but two week olds? Unless your RIRs are somehow extra special, I don't think I would worry about separating the two groups. Quarantine them all together from any other birds you have. If you lose them, you're not out that much to start over. Running and setting up a separate brooder just for two chicks sounds like a hassle to me, but then again, indoor space is tight here and I hate having chicks in my house!

 

[dawg53]

I agree with carrir and gryeyes. What if the EE chicks brought in infectious coryza? What a mess that would be, not to mention the heartbreak. Thirty days quarantine is a must.

 

[Ohhhdear]

Quote:
x2

 

[jobeibi]

Quote:
Oh, but I love them!

Really, these are my first set of birds. If I can't keep a batch of seed store chickens alive for a few months, this may not be the hobby for me. Maybe after I've run through a few cases of birds, it won't matter so much, but at this stage, a dead bird would seem like a major failure.

 

[speckledhen]

30 days quarantine is minimum, but even if you do six or eight weeks, it isn't perfect. Even a tiny chick can carry a disease; just ask gumpsgirl, whose flock was almost decimated a couple years ago by a week old chick with Coryza she added without quarantine.

 

[HaikuHeritageFarm]

Quote:
Oh, but I love them!

Really, these are my first set of birds. If I can't keep a batch of seed store chickens alive for a few months, this may not be the hobby for me. Maybe after I've run through a few cases of birds, it won't matter so much, but at this stage, a dead bird would seem like a major failure.

Ok, I'm sorry! That changes everything. If the chicks are very important to you, you should definitely quarantine as long as possible! Sorry for my callous response.