Auction birds with my flock

[BadFitUp]

Had 9 birds from hatch. 7 Roo. Sold 6. Have 2 hens 5 months and a roo 5 months. Just went to auction and picked up 3 hens. Put them in the run with the 3. Should I discard the first eggs I get. It was a local farm auction. What should I watch for?

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[bobbi-j]

It probably wouldn't hurt to discard them for a couple of weeks (if the hens even start laying again by then) since you don't know if they have been given any medications.

 

[sumi]

Deworm them (as precaution) and treat them for external parasites as well. Then discard the eggs for 2 weeks (standard withdrawal period for most drugs). You should keep the new birds quarantined away from your other birds for awhile to make sure they are healthy. Sometimes chickens are carriers of disease that will not be obvious, until they are put in a stressful situation, like moving to a new home.

 

[BadFitUp]

I have no extra coup to keep them in. So quarantining is hard to do. What do I treat them with. And should in is the deworm on on all my birds? I had though you only did it when the eggs got a lot of pooh on them. "Sorry still learning"

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[BadFitUp]

Also went back this morning found an egg. Extremely brittle. Lack of vitamin d? More sun? My birds weren't laying yet. So I know it's one of the knew

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[sumi]

If you can put them in your garage, house (in a cage), laundry room or somewhere safe for a few days it would be good too...

Deworming, there are a few dewormers on the market that can be used safely, off-label for chickens. According the experts here Valbazen liquid cattle/sheep wormer is the best wormer on the market for chickens. Administer it using a syringe without a needle. Dosage is 1/2cc orally undiluted for standard size birds, 1/4cc for smaller birds. Repeat dosing 10 days later to ensure you kill any worms hatched from eggs since the first treatment (if present).

I've learned the hard way to do this after introducing a seemingly healthy group of youngsters to my existing flock, skipping quarantine and without treating then for worms/other parasites. Well, they had worms AND fleas. Instead of treating 9 youngsters, I had to treat over 100 birds and ended up losing one hen and a few chicks. That got expensive, as you can imagine!

If you treat the birds, you may as well treat the others as well, as a preventative.

The brittle egg shell can be due to a number of causes, from incorrect feeding, to a parasite infestation to something as simple as stress. See here for more:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/common-egg-quality-problems

 

[bobbi-j]

I would say since the new birds are already in with your other one, leave them where they are rather than cause more stress with yet another move. Treat all the birds for possible parasites. Your situation is different than Sumi's. You are adding to a flock of one bird - I would not have quarantined in that case, either - Sumi has a lot more at risk. With a flock of 100 birds I would definitely quarantine any new ones I brought in. As far as the brittle-shelled egg, make sure you feed a good layer feed and that may help.

 

[Mrs. K]

^^^ Bobbi-jo is right on. The quarantine is broken, you are risking only 1 bird. You might get by without doing anything but supplying good feed and water. Personally, I would not treat for parasites unless I see evidence of such things. The move to your place is a stressor, if something is wrong, it will show up. I would wait a bit and see, but have a plan.

I am not a big believer of hands on inspections, but in this case, a good look under the wings, vent and feet would be warranted.

Mrs K