Good morning!
All really great questions, and i'd wonder about someone rehoming that didn't ask
Our last three adoptees came from a great family in the bay area and the last one died in Dec of old age.
We have two coop set ups with separate runs and a sick pen on an acre of property in Redwood Valley. We have currently have 13 chickens, 14 if you count Cadbury Bunny who we adopted and lives in our banty pen (he is also our candy striper if anyone goes into the Intensive Critter Care Unit because the chicken isn't alone and the rabbit can't catch anything or carry chicken diseases, but he sometimes doesn't get it they may want their own space when under the weather). 3 are roosters, two really sweet frizzle cochin and a 4 year old jack wagon Buff Orpington who is gone the next time he attacks a person (he is a great watch dog for the girls though), and we have all ranges of sizes from Jersey Giants down to 1.5# banty. My favorites are my lil bantys, I am not a big egg eater but the family is so 3 banty eggs make 2 regular eggs, I can have more bantys in less space woo hoo, they are soo cute and cuddly and I am all about the personality for them all. One chicken person in this house likes standards and encourages them to sit on the swing or lap for treats, another loves them all but is much more pragmatic and the fourth thinks we are all nuts. Oh and the dog is mother to all things great and small. I want every one to get along and have a good life, period. Our resident lap chicken died unexpectedly a few months ago and we have silkie we will meet next week to see if she wans to be our new house chicken; homework is so much better with a chicken next to you haha.
Regarding introduction to the flock: Even the healthiest looking chickens can get cooties or have something show up after stress (like a big move) so the first thing is quarantine. I know my flock should be good and yours look beautiful but things can even be transmitted by wild birds so better safe than sorry. It is very rare I don't practice biosecurity (if other people have chickens and visit us we ask they bleach water their boots if with the birds and if just here to BBQ I keep my birds in the run) exceptions are like when I looked outside and saw SIlver Phoenix hen standing with the flock this week, too late and she's still here just like she was part of the crew all along, only minor squabbles and she sleeps on top of my banty coop lol. I try to quarantine for at least 3 weeks and give extra vitamins, probiotic and elecrtolyte in their water for a couple days to help destress and rebalance. After quarantine they will be housed near the flock in thier space and have the run during the day to themselves and sleep separately and just see how they do through the barrier and they get used to the resident smells and the current birds get used to them also. Sleeping near each other also gets them used to eachother's smell and sounds. Then they are let out with the calmest birds, we see how it goes and then the rest of the flock. Jersey's and cochins are so calm and accepting it is amazing, and the other birds seem to have the same personalities so there shouldn't be any problem. They should do just great and keeping them with their stuff/smells will make it even easier on them. If they aren't happy, we will just give them their own space, but no matter what the trio will stay together.
You are more than welcome to check on them (we have beautiful redwoods up here) and we are pretty good about sending pictures every few months if something fun, or letting you know if something disconcerting, happens.
We also have two rescued cats (the bottle fed one thinks she is a dog/human and even plays in the pond and herb garden sprinklers), my retired K9 SAR girl and we babysit my sons hound whenever he is at work or out of town.
This was probably TMI, but I would worry if I had to get rid of any birds and also I am really eggcited about our set up and how we do things. I'll send pics this afternoon.
All really great questions, and i'd wonder about someone rehoming that didn't ask
We have two coop set ups with separate runs and a sick pen on an acre of property in Redwood Valley. We have currently have 13 chickens, 14 if you count Cadbury Bunny who we adopted and lives in our banty pen (he is also our candy striper if anyone goes into the Intensive Critter Care Unit because the chicken isn't alone and the rabbit can't catch anything or carry chicken diseases, but he sometimes doesn't get it they may want their own space when under the weather). 3 are roosters, two really sweet frizzle cochin and a 4 year old jack wagon Buff Orpington who is gone the next time he attacks a person (he is a great watch dog for the girls though), and we have all ranges of sizes from Jersey Giants down to 1.5# banty. My favorites are my lil bantys, I am not a big egg eater but the family is so 3 banty eggs make 2 regular eggs, I can have more bantys in less space woo hoo, they are soo cute and cuddly and I am all about the personality for them all. One chicken person in this house likes standards and encourages them to sit on the swing or lap for treats, another loves them all but is much more pragmatic and the fourth thinks we are all nuts. Oh and the dog is mother to all things great and small. I want every one to get along and have a good life, period. Our resident lap chicken died unexpectedly a few months ago and we have silkie we will meet next week to see if she wans to be our new house chicken; homework is so much better with a chicken next to you haha.
Regarding introduction to the flock: Even the healthiest looking chickens can get cooties or have something show up after stress (like a big move) so the first thing is quarantine. I know my flock should be good and yours look beautiful but things can even be transmitted by wild birds so better safe than sorry. It is very rare I don't practice biosecurity (if other people have chickens and visit us we ask they bleach water their boots if with the birds and if just here to BBQ I keep my birds in the run) exceptions are like when I looked outside and saw SIlver Phoenix hen standing with the flock this week, too late and she's still here just like she was part of the crew all along, only minor squabbles and she sleeps on top of my banty coop lol. I try to quarantine for at least 3 weeks and give extra vitamins, probiotic and elecrtolyte in their water for a couple days to help destress and rebalance. After quarantine they will be housed near the flock in thier space and have the run during the day to themselves and sleep separately and just see how they do through the barrier and they get used to the resident smells and the current birds get used to them also. Sleeping near each other also gets them used to eachother's smell and sounds. Then they are let out with the calmest birds, we see how it goes and then the rest of the flock. Jersey's and cochins are so calm and accepting it is amazing, and the other birds seem to have the same personalities so there shouldn't be any problem. They should do just great and keeping them with their stuff/smells will make it even easier on them. If they aren't happy, we will just give them their own space, but no matter what the trio will stay together.
You are more than welcome to check on them (we have beautiful redwoods up here) and we are pretty good about sending pictures every few months if something fun, or letting you know if something disconcerting, happens.
We also have two rescued cats (the bottle fed one thinks she is a dog/human and even plays in the pond and herb garden sprinklers), my retired K9 SAR girl and we babysit my sons hound whenever he is at work or out of town.
This was probably TMI, but I would worry if I had to get rid of any birds and also I am really eggcited about our set up and how we do things. I'll send pics this afternoon.
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I know.. some say never name your hens.. well I did. I have no clue if they really know their names. I call them by name but also do the click click sound and they come running.
