3 New Hens

[Madie'sOddFlock]

Today I just got a new Buff Orpington(or Buff something), and 2 White Leghorns(we think, waiting to hear back from the lady... didn't think to ask while we were at her house). She said they were 8 weeks when she got them 3 weeks ago, but I have a feeling that the smallest one(who we've already named chicken little) is probably at most 8 weeks old now. The other two are quite likely to be about 11 weeks. Mostly I'm wondering how long, if at all, I should worry about quarantine?

 

[ChickNanny13]

Are you adding to your flock?
Were they purchased together from the same place or are they separate purchases?
You could post pics, the experienced will be able to help you ID age & breed.
I've never had to quarantine cause I only keep 4 at a time & switch out every 2yrs ... Yes having to period of no fresh eggs but I prefer doing it that way than having to deal with intergrating. Have read quarantine about a month away from your flock.

 

[Mrs. K]

30 days and 33 feet apart, change shoes and clothing between each set of birds. Most backyards are not set up to do that. If the birds have been near each other, then the quarantine is broken so you don't have to do it, it is too late.

If you are adding these birds to your own flock, you are risking the health of all the birds. But generally speaking healthy looks healthy. If you were at her place, you saw how she ran things, if you were happy with that, you might risk it.

If your flock is valuable, or if you would go in a state of decline if you lost a bird, do not add new birds, or follow quarantine very seriously.

Mrs K

 

[aart]

30 days and 33 feet apart,

I believe it's more than 33 feet.

BYC Medical Quarantine Article
BYC 'quarantine' search

 

[Mrs. K]

@aart - in the first article I can only find "a good distance apart" . I have read it several times looking for the distance. I finally went else where to look for the distance, which to me is a crucial part. I found these two articles. I, too thought it was considerably farther, but had a devil of a time finding anything else.

http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/quarantine-of-backyard-chickens-why-and/

• this article says 12 yard which = 36 feet

http://agriculture.vic.gov.au/agric...ry/quarantine-advice-for-small-poultry-flocks

• which states 10 meters which is close to 32.8 feet

This did surprise me, and I had it in my head that is was near 300 feet. However, I cannot find a source that recommends that.

Mrs K

 

[aart]

@aart - in the first article I can only find "a good distance apart" . I have read it several times looking for the distance. I finally went else where to look for the distance, which to me is a crucial part. I think it was ND extension? that said 10 meters, which converted 32.8 feet. I, too thought it was considerably farther, but had a devil of a time finding anything else.

"Where Should I Quarantine?
This is possibly the trickiest part of the quarantine. You want your quarantined birds to be safe from predators, but you also want them to be away from your flock to avoid contamination. What has been recommended in many cases is to quarantine birds at least 100 feet from where the current flock roams, and downwind if possible. However, since many flocks are kept on smaller plots of land, such as in the case of city backyard flocks, other means must be used to quarantine."

 

[Mrs. K]

haha - and I read that article a couple of times, hunting for that too. Well check out the other sites. I agree chick - chick site might be considered questionable resource, but I am more confident of the gov. article.