Adding / splitting roos

[gunslinger33]

I'm on the fence on how I should add to my flock since I am splitting my boys. My Orp boy beats the stew out of my Biel. The girls scream bloody murder if the Biel tries to breed them. So due to attachment (excuse to get a few more girls) we will split the boys and give him 4-6 girls who will accept him.

I'm sure in the beginning he will be uber aggressive to mate and make up for lost time.

My concerns with adding POL girls , is introducing disease to my current flock. How long should they be quarantined? Is this a legitimate concern? Are there things I should look for outside of stool and mites? Stool is hard without getting fecals on each one. How well do POL hens adapt to new people and new environments? I am considering adding Orps , EE and Brahmas (large fowl and less flightily breeds). Mine are fairly sensitive to change , diet and condition changes throw them off.

I could add chicks but that would mean he will be isolated from them for about 6-8 months. If I add chicks I will probably add Welsummer , Austalorp , Cuckoo Marans and EE.

Any advice is greatly appreciated

 

[Ridgerunner]

I don't know how old they are, it sounds like you may have cockerels and pullets instead of hens and roosters, but maybe not. Maturity and dominance have a lot to do with behaviors.

I'm sure in the beginning he will be uber aggressive to mate and make up for lost time.

How he acts will depend a lot on maturity, his and the pullets, more than a desire to make up for lost time. I suggest keeping them separate until some of the pullets are actually laying. They will be mature enough to do their part and he will be a month or so more mature. The more mature they all are the more likely it will be pretty peaceful. If they are mature, he should immediately mate with one or two, which makes it his flock. If he or they are more immature it can get exciting. But it is not just him, the pullets need some maturity too.

My concerns with adding POL girls , is introducing disease to my current flock. How long should they be quarantined? Is this a legitimate concern?

Quarantine can be a pretty complicated subject. Diseases and parasites can spread by chickens chickens eating or drinking from the same bowl or source, by pecking dirt with poop in it, by vectors such as mosquitoes, grasshoppers, and grubs, by you tracking dirt from one place to another, or just by the wind. The better you can isolate them the better your quarantine. Sometimes flocks have a flock immunity to something that they don't show symptoms of no matter how long they are quarantined but they could infect other chickens. Coccidiosis is a good example but there are others. This could be your new chickens or your current flock. Quarantine doesn't usually identify these flock immunity issues. A typical quarantine recommendation is 30 days.

Are there things I should look for outside of stool and mites? Stool is hard without getting fecals on each one.

Nasal discharge or coughing. Acting sick such as fluffing up and being lethargic.

How well do POL hens adapt to new people and new environments?

A large part of adapting to new people has to do with how they have been raised and how much interaction they have had with people. In general they will be like your other chickens, they won't like change but quickly adapt.

 

[gunslinger33]

I do. All of mine will turn a year in May.

Is adding chicks a safer bet than adding say 6-8 month old pullets?

I am adding on to my current coop, so there only be wire separating the new flock from my current flock.

Thank you for your help

 

[aart]

Is adding chicks a safer bet than adding say 6-8 month old pullets?

More than likely, yes.
Depends where you get them...hatchery chicks are about the safest.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Is adding chicks a safer bet than adding say 6-8 month old pullets?

I assume you are talking about safe from a disease or parasite perspective. I can't remember what country you are in so not sure how your hatchery system works, but in the US if the chicks come from an established hatchery they are about as safe as possible. The hatching portion is very biosecure from the egg laying facility so the chicks are going to be very safe.

If you get your chicks from an individual the chicks are not as safe though how safe depends on their biosecurity measures. If they are hatched in an incubator separated from the flock they will be safer than if hatched by a broody since the broody will infect them with anything she has. But they could wear the same clothing when going from the outside flock to the chicks so they could transmit something.

Older pullets have had more time to catch something so they are your greatest risk. But you should know they are pullets.

 

[Mrs. K]

Quarantine is very important to people who have very expensive flocks, or very large flocks or who would go into a state of mental decline if they loose birds. Disease is a real risk. However, it is true for people too, and we go out in public, most of us.

To me, healthy looks healthy, I have added point of lay birds several times to my flock. A lot depends on where you get them. Some people go to swaps or auctions, which rather makes my blood run cold. No one knows who are what those birds have been exposed to.

However, if you find someone with a set up like your own, that you get to see, well I would take those birds in a heart beat. In away, they have been quarantined just in a different spot than your own place.

To truly quarantine, one must not cheat, and very few backyard situations are set up to quarantine. If you cheat at it, well, may as well not do it.

Truly do not worry so much about what your roosters think or feel. They have a very small brain. You need to separate the roosters with more than a fence. Give him a couple of the birds you have now, and don't fret it. In a few days they will all be fine if they cannot see the other flock, unless there is something wrong with his breeding, if so, new hens are not going to make a difference.

Mrs K

 

[gunslinger33]

Thank you all for your guidence and input.

Safest bet for me was ..... what is the least likely option of introducing desease to my current flock?

“Making up for lost time” was a little sarcasm and humor. My meaning was for Cockerel#2 to quickly establish his own flock with willing participants or at least ones he could make “his girls”

I live in Easten Middle Ga. my options were limited to availability of POL birds. I had been in discussion with a person about an hour and a half away that had POL birds in some of the breeds that I was interested in. When I received pictures I was not comfortable with the conditions they were being housed in. Which peaked my concern about desease.

I / we decided the safest bet was to go with chicks. We went with SLW , OE , Crele Orp , Partidge Rock.This is a much longer route to go but I felt the safest option for us. I felt we could bond better with the new group and this will allow us to make sure they are all healthy before we start to introduce them to “SParky”

Back in Feb we lost our run and coop to a tornado. We have been working on re-building the main coop and adding on a second to the original structure. This is where complete separation is a challenge. We have also make a safe place for “Sparky” eat and drink while we complete all of the rebuilding.

Thanks again.