Adding chicks or ducklings to existing older flock.

[Frizzlett]

Me and my brother are going to be going to an animal swap this Saturday and a TSC store. Last month when we went some people had baby ducks and I fell in love. Now I didn't get any but we discussed it today, and came to a conclusion we want at least 2 ducklings. We're going to keep them inside for a few weeks due to it getting so cold at night but when we introduce them, since they're babies, will the be much of a risk for passing diseases to my existing flock? All of mine are between 5-7 months old. I know about keeping them safe and whatnot because I've added plenty of new additions to my flock.

 

[Eggcessive]

Animal swap meets are very tempting, but I would never buy chickens or other poultry there because of the risk of bringing home a respiratory disease such as MG/CRD or coryza. These birds can look perfectly healthy, but may be carriers if those diseases have been at home in their flocks. If people buy new birds they should be quarantined for at least a month, wormed, and looked over for lice and mites. There still can be diseases after that (Mareks carrier for example) and many people will take a sacrificial bird from their own flock to put in with the new bird for another month to see if it gets sick. After reading thread after thread of people getting sick birds who infected their whole flock, I'm never going to buy birds from people I don't know.

 

[Frizzlett]

Last time I went I came home with 2 Cochin "hens" and 1 Cochin rooster. Found out they were all 3 roosters and 1 had a bad respiratory infection. My brother has bought some from a guy and we had them for 2-3 months and they were perfectly healthy. He sold them because he was leaving for a while but we had no problems from those. Just the ones I bought lol. I don't know anyone personally that has chickens so this is our only option. I take all the necessary steps to avoid diseases carried to my flock. I've been through that enough. They will be quarantined for a month maybe over. That's why we wanted at least 2 so they don't get lonely in that time. I've never had ducks so I'd love to see how they grow and change like I watched my chickens do. Enjoyed it so much.