Advice on Adding Chickens to Flock:

[aart]

4x4 coop should be OK for 5 bantams.....once they are getting along.

 

[meganjhett]

If you have a chicken tractor, I would use that, but place it as far away as possible from your existing flock. You would also want to keep your existing birds penned so they don't range over to the tractor.

Even if you have a small yard, it is best to keep them apart until you can monitor them for illness or parasites. Practice bio-security between the 2 areas - it's not always perfect, but can help reduce the spread of illness.

I keep my originals in the backyard and when they free range they stay in the backyard and never migrate to the front. My plan was to keep the newbies on the front porch until quarantine is over. Do you think I could still let the OG's free range or should I just wait it out?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Keeping them in the front is a good idea. You may want to let them have a little extra space if you can, they will be happier that way.

 

[aart]

Do you think I could still let the OG's free range or should I just wait it out?

Letting your other birds range,
if they can get to where the new birds are,
makes the quarantine null and void.

 

[sbhkma]

When I got my new birds (10 week old pullets) I put them in a separate chicken coop & run that was about 175 feet away from the existing birds. The existing birds weren't happy, as I did not let them out to free range for 3 weeks. I would tend the older birds first, then come in and change clothes, shoes and wash my hands. Then tend the new flock.

A couple days ago I started letting the older birds back out to free range and the first thing they did was go check out the newbies, as I expected they would. This weekend I'll be moving the coops and runs next to each other for a week or so while everyone gets to know each other. I let my older birds out and then about 2 hours before sundown, I call them back into their run and then let the new flock out to learn to forage and get their fuzzy butts back in the coop at night.

After a week or so, I'll be letting them all out together to forage for a few hours before sundown. Plenty of space to get away from each other as they sort out pecking order. The coop and run that the 6 of them will share is 100 square feet. Should be plenty of space, since they do spend part of each day foraging unless it's hawk migration season.

 

[meganjhett]

Letting your other birds range,
if they can get to where the new birds are,
makes the quarantine null and void.

Yeah I guess when you put it that way it sorta seems obvious Sorry about that

 

[meganjhett]

When I got my new birds (10 week old pullets) I put them in a separate chicken coop & run that was about 175 feet away from the existing birds. The existing birds weren't happy, as I did not let them out to free range for 3 weeks. I would tend the older birds first, then come in and change clothes, shoes and wash my hands. Then tend the new flock.

A couple days ago I started letting the older birds back out to free range and the first thing they did was go check out the newbies, as I expected they would. This weekend I'll be moving the coops and runs next to each other for a week or so while everyone gets to know each other. I let my older birds out and then about 2 hours before sundown, I call them back into their run and then let the new flock out to learn to forage and get their fuzzy butts back in the coop at night.

After a week or so, I'll be letting them all out together to forage for a few hours before sundown. Plenty of space to get away from each other as they sort out pecking order. The coop and run that the 6 of them will share is 100 square feet. Should be plenty of space, since they do spend part of each day foraging unless it's hawk migration season.

This is probably what I'll do too! Thanks!

 

[sbhkma]

Leave it to chickens to cluck up a good plan, huh?

 

[meganjhett]

Leave it to chickens to cluck up a good plan, huh?

Chicken are super curious creatures aren't they? I love it haha though it can be problematic at times.
Sorta off topic but today my fiancé drove my car to go out of town and when he came back home my little chickens came running up to the car thinking it was me! How adorable is that?

 

[sbhkma]

Yeah they can be interesting for sure. My Welsummers race me to the garden shed, but they CHEAT--they fly!! I keep the sunflower seeds in there and they know it.