Am I putting my new flock in danger?

[Ridgerunner]

Depends on what you have in your flock. If your existing flock has cocci (which you would probably not notice unless you actually had an outbreak) then the new chicks develop an immunity much better at a very young age. That's why I get dirt from my run and feed it to my new chicks. They get grit and cocci early, if my older flock has cocci. But it may be as Pat said, the older flock may have a disease that the chicks could better handle if they were older. I don't know what diseases your current flock has.

As usual, you are probably over-reacting and stressing out more than you need to. I agree with Cynthia that the hatchery chicks are probably very safe. However, what you are doing actually makes sense to me. Either flock may have a disease that they do not show the symptoms but are carriers. You are risking all your new chicks, but they are going to be exposed anyway pretty soon. I just think you re risking them a few weeks earlier than you would anyway. But you are only risking one of your existing flock instead of the whole group.

I personally think quarantine has limited value in many cases, yet in some cases I think it is very important. Many flocks have some diseases that they are carriers but they have developed an immunity so they do not show the symptoms. You can quarantine these as long as yo want and they will die of old age before they show any symptoms. But when you put them with your flock, they will infect your flock. Or maybe your flock will infect them. Now if one of the flocks has been exposed to a new disease recently, then quarantine is important. That's why I think a chicken that has come from a chicken swap or maybe a chicken show should be quarantined. If it comes from where it has recently been exposed to a new chicken, then there is a definite risk. But if it is coming from a flock that has been isolated for a month or so, then quarantine is probably useless. The caveats to this are that maybe it is coming from a flock where the owner does not recognize a disease that you would recognize. Or maybe it was exposed during transport.

Since your chicks are coming straight from a hatchery and are highly unlikely to be exposed to anything during transport, I think you are over-stressing needlessly, but they are your babies and you can over-stress all you want. You are over 21 and after what you and hubby have been through lately, you have every right.

 

[moonlyghtegirl]

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What a great idea! I'll use it when the next flock arrives!

 

[gritsar]

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What a great idea! I'll use it when the next flock arrives!

I also like this idea. The thing is, the new chicks will be on the ground outside as soon as they've recovered from their shipping stress. No reason not to, when it's hitting upwards of 95 degrees each day. I have a pen for them and they'll be in the yard - yard, not the chicken yard, but still. My grown flock was in this grass/area as well, but it's been at least a year since we last gave them access to the fenced yard. We had to block them out since our older dog still doesn't like chickens.

 

[Buttercup Chillin]

Are you putting them in the wading pool set up on the ground outside. Or just for a short time outside on the ground?

I get new chicks straight from Ideal yearly. I tried getting Ideal chiks from a feed store, but I lost all but 2 from that batch. I'll just order straight from Ideal. I brood them in the house for 2 weeks, well maybe 10 days. Then they move into the Brooder house next to the hen house and grow out until they insist on being with those big girls. Each house has its own run, for the little chicks, I use a 4x8 tractor as a run until they are large enough not to escape their run. Someday I am going to combine the houses, actually add another section to the hen house, separate but connected so I can go from one through to the other, still with their own runs.

I wouldn't dream of putting chicks with the hens even at 6 weeks or even twelve. Food being one issue, I do not use Purina foods and I want them to grow out with grower. I just think they fill out better. But my nice settled calm hens have turned on chicks when they were all out roaming in the backyard at one time. Couldn't believe my eyes. When I put them in at 16 weeks, they know the juniors are staying and bullying is not tolerated or even an issue.

 

[seminolewind]

Gritsar, your draft guard makes me laugh-my last batch of chicks were put outside 3 days later, 90 during the day, a heat lamp at night, in the 70's, never huddled under the lamp, so after a few weeks I took it away.

I was amazed in February when mama silkie took the chicks out in 40 degree days and the amount of time those chicks spent not under mom.

I think that hatchery chicks were actually safer to get than backyard chicks, as far as illness goes. And I've learned that you can do a 30 day quarantine or longer, and still get diseases brought into your flock. There are alot of diseases a chicken can be a carrier of and not demonstrate any symptoms at all.

Like SpeckledHen said, you are most likely fine with those chicks.

 

[gritsar]

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The draft guard/wading pool set up will be on the screened porch for about three weeks. After that it's off to the coop, but in a seperate area from my big birds. After my big 'uns have gone out to free range for the day, I'll take the babies out to a pen in the yard. Caged on all sides so my big girls can't get to them. I have three hens that are sweethearts with me but can be female dogs

with other chickens. There's room in the coop for them to live until about September (I hope!) and I can move them to their own, seperate coop. As soon as they are big enough to stick up for themselves, I'm thinking 16 weeks or so, they'll be out to free range with the older birds.
Still haven't figured out what I'm going to do with the two silkies. I had a temporary lack of sanity and added them to my order. Guess they'll either get barrettes in their poofy hair and free range with the rest or they'll become porch chickens.

 

[gritsar]

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The draft guard makes me laugh for several reasons. First of all, the plastic we used to wrap it in came from a roll that I despised having in my kitchen forever. Couldn't get my pack rat DH to get rid of it for the longest time, then lo and behold we found a use for it! That pic is from the first time we set up a brooder, back in 2007. We thought about not even using the draft guard this time. It got up to 98 on the porch today, but last time we used this set up we found that the draft guard served a second purpose. It keeps jumping chicks confined, so they aren't loose on the porch.
The third reason I laugh about that plastic from the draft guard? It was acquired back in the 80s from where else but Tyson. It is the type used to wrap the large boxes of chicken for shipping. Kinda fitting that I use it for my free range chicks, I think.
Nothing ever gets thrown away or discarded on this farm; unless I can sneak it out when DH isn't around. The PVC pipe frame will probably eventually end up being part of our water system.