Do I need to isolate these hens?

[Dondo]

Greetings to you all from South Carolina. I have a question today about isolating birds. We have a friend that we gave a couple of our hens to last year and she has said she'd be willing to take another one or two out of our flock of 22. For the last couple of years our flock has been a closed one, any new chicks we've gotten have come from our own hens and rooster, and I haven't added any outside birds. The two we gave her are from this closed flock. Will she need to isolate the new birds when she gets them, or can she put them in with her current two, and does distance make any difference? She lives only a couple of miles away. Thanks for any help. Don

 

[Mrs. K]

No....... or yes, depending on how you look at it. If your flock is a closed flock, and you have not been anywhere where your birds were exposed to other chickens, and you see no sign of disease or parasites. Well then, I would not quarantine them. The chance that your flock is clean is high, and as they other person's chicks came from there, I am assuming that they were older than day old chicks, they have been exposed to your flock, ground, coop, and run, and should have some natural immunities. If they were day old chicks when they left your flock, they probably don't have the same flock immunities.

If the other person has not got to chicken shows or exposed her birds to other birds, then very probably this will be just fine, and one would only have integration issues.

Yes, if she is VERY attached to her current birds, and would suffer greatly if she lost them.

However, do not reverse it, it is one thing to risk 2 chickens, but I would not take hers back...... it is a whole other deal to risk 22.

Mrs K

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

It is generally good practice to quarantine for 30 days. Even closed flocks can carry diseases that do not show up until those birds are introduced to susceptible flocks. Unless birds are completely enclosed inside a building with strict biosecurity in place, there is always a chance for disease. The chance is certainly more slim and your birds are probably just fine, but I couldn't feel like a responsible vet student if I didn't recommend 30 days of quarantine.