Another question on older chicks

[cjpines]

I'm still thinking of buying chickens ages 8-12 weeks. These birds from the poultry farm have been vac for Marek's and started on medicated feed layer feed.

I have five 4 month old hens now. If these other birds have been on medicated feed would they be safe to incorporate with my flock? Or would they bring in disease from the yard they have been in for 8 weeks?

 

[Mrs. K]

If they are diseased or come from a diseased flock I would not get them. Medicated feed is suppose to help. If they are healthy looking, the flock they are coming from looks healthy, and the set up looks taken care of, then your odds are better.

If I liked the looks of things, and liked the breeds I would take these on. They are only a month of so behind your current flock, so should be similar in size..... probably an easy integration if you get several.

I think you are asking if you can get by without a quarantine...... I am going to say probably, BUT when you integrate new birds there is a real risk.

Mrs K

 

[cjpines]

If they are diseased or come from a diseased flock I would not get them. Medicated feed is suppose to help. If they are healthy looking, the flock they are coming from looks healthy, and the set up looks taken care of, then your odds are better.

If I liked the looks of things, and liked the breeds I would take these on. They are only a month of so behind your current flock, so should be similar in size..... probably an easy integration if you get several.

I think you are asking if you can get by without a quarantine...... I am going to say probably, BUT when you integrate new birds there is a real risk.

Mrs K

Thank you. I've heard mix comments about getting older birds as opposed to day olds. I've been confused. These older chickens look healthy, but I'm still in limbo. Again, thank you for your positive comment.

 

[Mrs. K]

ten to one, they would be just fine, the question you have to answer honestly is would you be devastated if you lost the original flock, or part of them. If so, then don't risk it. If you can say "#@$^%^" and move on, then risk it.

I have done lots of integrations, and had good luck all but once, lost three! Swear! but I love the hobby, and went on.

Mrs K

 

[cjpines]

ten to one, they would be just fine, the question you have to answer honestly is would you be devastated if you lost the original flock, or part of them. If so, then don't risk it. If you can say "#@$^%^" and move on, then risk it.

I have done lots of integrations, and had good luck all but once, lost three! Swear! but I love the hobby, and went on.

Mrs K

You know Mrs K, two people have told me the same thing about losing my original flock. Would I be devastated, YES. Even part of them or even one. I would not be able to forgive myself. These 5 hens are very close buddies. Would you then, recommend day old chicks?

 

[Mrs. K]

Would you then, recommend day old chicks?
Yes, then I would recommend day old chicks.

Now day old chicks have their own problems. You must raise them separate from the flock, and you will need to keep them separate for about 4 months. At that time they will catch up to the older hens in size. Integration can be tricky, and there can be lots of fighting and pecking on each other. The close they are in size, the less there will be. One should get at least the same number of new as the old flock, or even slightly more, that will help with the integration.

It looks to me (I might be wrong) but are you a first time chicken lady? If so, you probably don't have any of these birds laying yet. Please don't think I am presumptuous and am telling you what to do, however, you might consider waiting a year to add to this flock. There is a learning curve to this hobby and it is best not to rush it all at once.

Time allows you to test your set up, find weakness in your run/coop, deal with predators and figure out how many eggs you really do go through, how much the feed bill will be. Figure out what you really like, and what you don't.

You did not state your breeds, but some breeds tend to go broody. If you do have a breed that goes broody, she won't probably do it till next spring. At that time you can order fertilized eggs to put under her, or buy day old chicks to put under her...... she can raise the chicks right in the flock, and there will be no integration problem. You do not keep them separate. That is how I love to do it best. It is fun to get new kinds of chickens. I love my flock, but the birds in my flock change fairly regularly, most flocks do.

Now, one must seriously consider a doable plan if you get roosters. If you get hatching eggs, slightly more that 50% will be male probably. If you order or get chicks from a farm store, 10-50% of the chicks can be male, sexing chicks is not perfect. One should not have a lot of roosters unless one has a huge space and lots and lots of birds. So you need to have a plan on how you will cull those birds.

Chickens, even nice chickens are not always nice. They are chickens and act that way. Even chickens that are well cared for, handled often and spoiled sometimes turn very mean to other chickens or to people. This a fact of chicken raising. It is very helpful to have a plan in place.

Mrs K

 

[cjpines]

Would you then, recommend day old chicks?
Yes, then I would recommend day old chicks.

Now day old chicks have their own problems. You must raise them separate from the flock, and you will need to keep them separate for about 4 months. At that time they will catch up to the older hens in size. Integration can be tricky, and there can be lots of fighting and pecking on each other. The close they are in size, the less there will be. One should get at least the same number of new as the old flock, or even slightly more, that will help with the integration.

It looks to me (I might be wrong) but are you a first time chicken lady? If so, you probably don't have any of these birds laying yet. Please don't think I am presumptuous and am telling you what to do, however, you might consider waiting a year to add to this flock. There is a learning curve to this hobby and it is best not to rush it all at once.

Time allows you to test your set up, find weakness in your run/coop, deal with predators and figure out how many eggs you really do go through, how much the feed bill will be. Figure out what you really like, and what you don't.

You did not state your breeds, but some breeds tend to go broody. If you do have a breed that goes broody, she won't probably do it till next spring. At that time you can order fertilized eggs to put under her, or buy day old chicks to put under her...... she can raise the chicks right in the flock, and there will be no integration problem. You do not keep them separate. That is how I love to do it best. It is fun to get new kinds of chickens. I love my flock, but the birds in my flock change fairly regularly, most flocks do.

Now, one must seriously consider a doable plan if you get roosters. If you get hatching eggs, slightly more that 50% will be male probably. If you order or get chicks from a farm store, 10-50% of the chicks can be male, sexing chicks is not perfect. One should not have a lot of roosters unless one has a huge space and lots and lots of birds. So you need to have a plan on how you will cull those birds.

Chickens, even nice chickens are not always nice. They are chickens and act that way. Even chickens that are well cared for, handled often and spoiled sometimes turn very mean to other chickens or to people. This a fact of chicken raising. It is very helpful to have a plan in place.

Mrs K

Yes, first time newbie with chickens. I would like Golden lace W, Speckled Susex and a Ameraucana, which I lost, I have to have the Easter Egg layer. I have the standard ones already. Can't have roosters in our neighborhood and besides that, my husband doesn't want their waking up call. Interesting about buying fertilized eggs to put under the hen, where would one get them?

Our group of hens are 4 months old and not laying. Standard,1 Australoup, 2 Rocks, 1 Buff Orph 1 Welsummer.

Yap, how many eggs good question. You have brought out so many questions I have to ask myself. If I can be patience I will wait until next year, but I so miss my Araucana who died. Emotions. You've been such a great help, Tks.

 

[Mrs. K]

I have never done it, but other have with great success (and some failures) ordered eggs from cross country. Check the buy-sell-trade page on this forum. I have always gotten chicks at the farm store, or eggs from other local chicken people. Mrs k

 

[cjpines]

I have never done it, but other have with great success (and some failures) ordered eggs from cross country. Check the buy-sell-trade page on this forum. I have always gotten chicks at the farm store, or eggs from other local chicken people. Mrs k

What a wonderful idea you have of fertilized eggs or new chicks and let our chickens take care of them. I think we will do that, then we don't have to have another coop, I think, or maybe we should have one. Do you think the baby chicks, as they grow, will get trampled on with the older ones in the coop?

 

[lazy gardener]

It depends on how big your coop is, the temperament of your chickens, the placement in the pecking order of your broody, and how fragile or robust the chicks are. Most people keep the broody or mama separate, (at least for a little while, then provide a place where the chicks can still get away from the bigger birds if they get picked on.) but still in the coop, where the rest of the flock can see her and the babies but can't molest them. Also, if she's sitting on eggs, the other hens should not have access to her nest box. They'll add new eggs, her eggs may be trampled, and she may get confused and return to the wrong nest when she goes out for her morning constitutional.