Chick quarantine from mixed flocks

[Roadsidefarm]

My two kids want two different breeds to focus on for their 4H project this year. One wants Ameraucana and the other D'Anvers. We have to get our chicks from two different sources. I know that normally any chickens we acquire should be quarantined from the existing flock. Do I need to quarantine the two flocks of chicks from each other? I was hoping to brood them together.

 

[Ridgerunner]

If they are coming form an established commercial hatchery as day old chicks I would not worry about it at all. The main hatcheries would not stay in business long of they sell diseased chicks. If they are coming from a breeder or some private flock, quarantine for a month is probably called for.

 

[Roadsidefarm]

If they are coming form an established commercial hatchery as day old chicks I would not worry about it at all. The main hatcheries would not stay in business long of they sell diseased chicks. If they are coming from a breeder or some private flock, quarantine for a month is probably called for.

So, since they are coming from two private sources, you would separate them and not brood them together for a month?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Yeah, unfortunately. That’s the safer way. You can take a chance and brood them together, many people would. But there are some if’s involved.

If they come from flocks that are pretty isolated, they don’t take chickens to shows, don’t bring in other chickens, and don’t go to chicken swaps, but the flock essentially has been a closed flock for at least a couple of months they have not likely been exposed to anything new. If you trust the owner to recognize a disease if they saw it, the risk is a lot less. If they are kept isolated from the flock until you pick them up, the risk is a lot less.

There are a lot of things that influence how much risk there is. If you don’t have an established flock the only chickens at risk are the ones you are bringing in. If you have an established flock you probably want to keep those chicks isolated from your flock for a month anyway.

I can’t guarantee you that you will have problems and I can’t guarantee that you will not. There is risk involved any time you bring in new chicks or chickens from a private flock. How they are managed has a lot to do with how much risk there is.

Can you get hatching eggs from them and hatch them yourself? This eliminates a huge amount of the risk. It's how I handle it.

 

[sarandrew11]

Dumb question but how do I know if chickens I'm picking up from a local farm have any medical issues?

 

[azygous]

The National Poultry Improvement Plan (NPIP) established in 1930 in the US certifies hatcheries. Read about it here http://www.poultryimprovement.org/d...6214450ac-3FE4D795-9B29-2E06-4F8249B655153066

If you choose to buy from a hatchery or a private breeder, ask if they have NPIP certification. That will tell you they've passed muster for a number of communicable poultry diseases.

Without this certification, you don't know if they are passing viruses on to the baby chicks they are selling you. It can bring untold grief if the chicks are carriers of disease or have been vertically infected through their eggs from their egg donors. This has happened to some BYC members who bought chicks from private breeders who were uncertified.

For example, My Pet Chicken contracts with private breeders in Amish country for their fertilized eggs. These breeders are all NPIP certified, as is Meyer Hatchery where they lease incubation space to hatch these eggs.

See? Not a dumb question after all!

 

[SunHwaKwon]

Do be aware, however, that the only required testing for NPIP (at least in VA) is an annual Pullorum-Typhoid (Salmonella) test. Some test their flocks for more diseases (MS, MG, etc), some do not. And a lot can happen over the course of a year. I am not knocking NPIP; just don't think that it guarantees the chicks have not been exposed to anything. Along the same lines, a non-NPIP flock could be just as or healthier than a NPIP flock, especially if that NPIP flock consists of show birds.