Adding to the flock

[Coop Tender]

I have a flock of 11 pulleys, different breeds and one rooster. All approximately 5 months old just beginning to lay. I have a friend who wants to give me 4, 3 year old layers. Would it be safe to add these hens to my flock?
Thank you in advance for any input.

 

[WhiteWyan]

If I were you, I would decline. Just because of this:
1. They are older and won't be laying very much, I assume.
2. The effort to quarantine them for a month wouldn't be worth it.

Just keep your current flock (that is young and productive) safe. The risk of exposing your chickens to some illness doesn't seem worth it to me. Just for some old spent hens?

Why is your friend seeking a new home for them?

 

[Coop Tender]

He lost 4 others to predictors. Doesn't want to deal with them through our lovely Michigan winters.

 

[sannabelle]

Hello!

Firstly you will want to keep the new birds separate from your existing flock and keep an eye out for any strange behavior that could indicate disease. Check them for mites, etc. 2-4 weeks should be adequate.

When you're ready to integrate, put your new birds in a run or crate where the other birds can see and hear them through the wire, but not have full physical contact with each other.

After a few days of that I would place the new birds into the coop at night time once you're existing birds have gone to roost. Let them all out together in the morning and watch for any issues.

You have a pretty ideal ratio of new to existing birds. When I've done intros with similar numbers I have had no issues!

Good luck!!

 

[lazy gardener]

No way would I touch these "gift" birds. They are spent. Most likely will be laying very few eggs if any at all. They may come with added gifts: lice, mites, or disease (even if they appear to be healthy) that you won't know about until your birds get sick and start dying. They are much older than your birds, and will dominate them. If you were to add to your flock, you would need to be sure that you had a minimum of 4 s.f. in coop and 10 s.f. in run per bird. Integration can sometimes be brutal. Never take an animal b/c you feel sorry for it or b/c you are trying to do some one a favor.

 

[Birdsong 82]

I will have to agree with that age they will not be laying much longer. If you're OK with that I would suggest keeping them quarantined at first for a week or two and what I did when I introduced new hens to the flock is Split the run in half with chicken netting to let them get used to each other for a few weeks. It's seem to work well for me

 

[Coop Tender]

Thank you all for the advice. Looks like my flock will stay as is. Until next spring anyway.

 

[aart]

Welcome to BYC...good decision.
3yo hens go in the stew pot here.