Proterty came with 34 Chickens

[BastyPutt]

Thank you all. I just got off the phone with the neighbor who is caring for the chickens and she said the white one othat I thought was a columbian wyndotte died in the coop. There was no sign of predators and it had a dirty backside from diarrhea. The poop looked black and was dried on the feathers.

I am concerned for the flocks that are out there and for our 22 chickens that we are bringing to the land. All except 4 of our chickens are pullets and cockerels. The other 4 are laying hens.

The chickens on the property are in 2 differrnt coops and the previous owner only gave then corn and meat and they all free range. I want to go into this situation wisely so to support the existing flocks and our young ones.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you all so much.

This is certainly a tough situation. But because of the investment we have into our flock, there is no way in heck I would allow them anywhere near another flock, especially with all the communicable stuff that is going around.

I have no idea what I would do. That would be difficult culling and eating those existing chickens just because their owners displaced them. Perhaps you can rehome them to someone who doesnt have a flock?

 

[Mamalana]

Thanks for the advice. Luckily, the new flock that we have are still pretty new. I hatched some this spring (4) and bought 14 chicks shortly after, so they are all really young. The 4 that we brought with us across country on our move are pretty well adjusted, but one is pretty old and another has have stopped laying. I'm not sure why she stopped yet. I

think a full on reset for all the hens will be wonderful and the babies can come along on the adventure. I agree too that keeping them separate is a good move. I already have the new flock on a much more nutrition feed. I like the electrolite idea. I have to clean the new coops and will add diatematious earth now as a first step for potential mites (I have a 5 gallon bucket of it). I hope its as simple as boosting nutrition and deworming. But I'll keep an eye on the new hens to see if any other ones have diarrhea.

Do any of y'all have a affordable and effective remedy for coccysis? I am not sure if we are dealing with that, but I want to make sure to get rid of it on the group of the run just in case. Also, do y'all know if it is transferable to quail?

Thanks again. Much respect.

 

[Saveria]

Do you mean coccidiosis? Here is a thread about it if that is what you are talking about.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/updated-corid-and-amprol-amprolium-dosing.818879/

I don't know about quail, but I'm sure we can find out.

 

[Mamalana]

Lol, yes, that's what I meant. I am bad with spelling. Thanks for the link.

 

[Saveria]

I had to check it, too. I spell it wrong at least half the time.

 

[Mamalana]

Update:
So, all is going well here. I have cleaned the coops, dewormed, and been feeding the 33 chickens. They are producing alot of eggs. I also have been quarantining our young flock.

The 33 chickens are eating SO MUCH Fred and free ranging too. That have gone through 100 lbs of feed in about 2 weeks. Is this excessive?

 

[house1917]

Some of it is likely they're just not used to having a steady supply of feed- so it's novel/easy for them to chow down.

Too, they might be deficient in vitamins, minerals, electrolytes... so maybe get a tub of Poultry Booster to sprinkle on their food. It's like $15 at Wilco/TSC and could get them balanced again.

From the couple of times I free ranged hens on a few acres, it seemed like they preferred to get out and hustle for their meals, but would eat feed in the mornings and before roosting- so I'll bet this is just temporary as they get used to their new plush lives.

My city hens would rather poke around the backyard, but they're such destructo birds their out of coop field trips have to be short and mostly contained to the lawn. One of them developed a taste for climbing rose leaves to that's been a real joy.

So great you've got them now and are practicing some solid husbandry with them!!

 

[ShrekDawg]

You could possibly have rodents eating the food too. I would try taking it away at night or covering it somehow.

 

[Saveria]

We have 20 chickens, and we just bring out four yogurt containers a day, two in the AM and 2 in the afternoon. They were wasting the powder that sinks to the bottom, so we started soaking the feed for 10 minutes before we brought it out, and now they eat up everything.

If it is warm where you are you could look into propagating Black solider fly grubs.You have to build or buy a special bin/tub, but it pays for itself pretty quickly.

 

[FunClucks]

Update:
So, all is going well here. I have cleaned the coops, dewormed, and been feeding the 33 chickens. They are producing alot of eggs. I also have been quarantining our young flock.

The 33 chickens are eating SO MUCH Fred and free ranging too. That have gone through 100 lbs of feed in about 2 weeks. Is this excessive?

So, 50 lbs feed a week. For 33 chickens it sounds about right, though you may have some loss due to rodents and other animals trying to eat it, if you don't block access at night. Over time their appetites may calm down a bit, and you can refine the feeding routine to minimize waste and access by other animals.