Building New Flock from Different Breeders

[Kaye Pek]

We're building a brand new backyard flock and have girls coming in from two different places, two from each. One pair is 4 mos and 6 mos, the other two are 8 weeks and 12 weeks. With neither pair having "ownership" of our coop and run, and with the variety of ages coming in, what's the best way to introduce the birds to each other and to the space?

 

[Chookchicken]

I’d personally quarantine them all, not together. The risk is some of the pullets from one place might be sick and than they’ll infect the others from the other place. After they’re done with quarantine I’d put them in the same run/yard area (making sure there is plenty of hiding spaces). I’d keep an eye on them making sure they aren’t getting to violent. They will peck and pull each other, but as long as they aren’t pulling out heaps of feathers leaving bald spots, or drawing blood, it should be fine. Make sure you have plenty of water and food sources, some need to be slightly hidden so if the other chickens aren’t letting them eat or drink they’ll be able to eat and drink safely there. I would just keep an eye on them and make sure every chicken is getting something to eat and drink. This is how I would do it.

 

[Kaye Pek]

I’d personally quarantine them all, not together. The risk is some of the pullets from one place might be sick and than they’ll infect the others from the other place. After they’re done with quarantine I’d put them in the same run/yard area (making sure there is plenty of hiding spaces). I’d keep an eye on them making sure they aren’t getting to violent. They will peck and pull each other, but as long as they aren’t pulling out heaps of feathers leaving bald spots, or drawing blood, it should be fine. Make sure you have plenty of water and food sources, some need to be slightly hidden so if the other chickens aren’t letting them eat or drink they’ll be able to eat and drink safely there. I would just keep an eye on them and make sure every chicken is getting something to eat and drink. This is how I would do it.

Thanks for the advice! I really appreciate it.

 

[ChickenWhisperer101]

YES!!! I can’t say this enough. Please, please, please quarantine your birds! I have definitely learned my lesson with this. I didn’t quarantine and I ended up having to cull my whole flock. I don’t want this to happen to anyone else just because of a simple mistake.

 

[Kaye Pek]

YES!!! I can’t say this enough. Please, please, please quarantine your birds! I have definitely learned my lesson with this. I didn’t quarantine and I ended up having to cull my whole flock. I don’t want this to happen to anyone else just because of a simple mistake.

That must have been awful! I’ll definitely be quarantining them.

 

[ChickenWhisperer101]

That must have been awful! I’ll definitely be quarantining them.

Yes!
One chick had MG so they all got it. It was AWFUL!

 

[NatJ]

Quarantine is generally a good idea, but with 2 chickens each from 2 sources, I might just put them all together and see how it goes.

Even if you manage to identify a disease or parasite when quarantining them separately, the best you could do is treat 2 birds instead of 4. The bother of trying to care for two pens without transferring anything that could cause disease might be worse than the bother & expense of treating all 4 birds if there is a problem.

(If you want to quarantine, I do not want to stop you. Just saying it might not be very helpful in this particular case. If you are adding a few birds to an existing large flock, then quarantining has more value.)

 

[aart]

We're building a brand new backyard flock

Is this your first flock?

Quarantine is generally a good idea, but with 2 chickens each from 2 sources, I might just put them all together and see how it goes.

Even if you manage to identify a disease or parasite when quarantining them separately, the best you could do is treat 2 birds instead of 4. The bother of trying to care for two pens without transferring anything that could cause disease might be worse than the bother & expense of treating all 4 birds if there is a problem.

(If you want to quarantine, I do not want to stop you. Just saying it might not be very helpful in this particular case. If you are adding a few birds to an existing large flock, then quarantining has more value.)

Yes, most back-yarders cannot really facilitate a true biological quarantine.
Consider biological/medical quarantine:
BYC Medical Quarantine Article

 

[Kaye Pek]

Is this your first flock?


Yes, most back-yarders cannot really facilitate a true biological quarantine.
Consider biological/medical quarantine:
BYC Medical Quarantine Article

Yes, it’s our first flock. I’m having a hard time prioritizing the information I’ve read and gathered from other people, and am feeling more than a little flooded! I’ll read that article—thanks for linking it.

 

[aart]

I’m having a hard time prioritizing the information I’ve read and gathered from other people, and am feeling more than a little flooded!

Yep, it's like getting a sip of water out of a fire hose!