Did I do the right thing?

[Mom2Daisy]

I'm a new chicken momma and have 5 banty type that came from my uncle. I say 'type' because I haven't a clue exactly what they are. I'll post pictures in the "what breed" section later. They are around 2 months old. Three turned out to be roos and two hens. Because I'm wanting eggs out of my flock I purchased a few more hens this past weekend at our local trade-day. Added two RIR pullets maybe six weeks old (in a separate cage at the moment for their safety and so we can get them used to us handling them). Also, for eye candy, I got a pair of Buff Opringtons (hen & roo). DD also begged for a pair of quail chicks!! Yes....I gave in. We now have a gerbil cage in our utility room for the little cheepers. Remind me not to go to trade day for a while!

Of course the existing roos fussed and fought with the new roo. The Buffs are probably the same age at the banties but of course bigger. I thought all week about possible chicks, fighting, feeding all four roos laying crumbles when the time comes (as I don't have a way of separating them). SO....to make a short question long......

Did I do the right thing by letting two of the boys go free ranging? I lured them out of the door this afternoon and now I'm feeling bad because they were eyeing their old home from the outside looking in. I will admit, they were feasting like they had never had food in their life on all the new grass and bugs. Am I just feeling bad for *human* reasons? Thanks in advance for your help.

Angela

 

[justusnak]

Angela.....did you do the wrong thing? Probably not. For the safety of the smaller roo, it was the best thing, however.....do the free range roos have a "safe place" to go in the evenings? Somewhere to roost? To get out of the wind, rain and snow? Will they have contact with "thier ladies"? Is it possible to seperate the pen, and coop to give them each thier own "area"? Winter will be here before we know it, and those little guys will need warmth. Something to think about. Oh, and congrats on the new babies....and NO MORE SWAPS for you! LOL

 

[Mom2Daisy]

Thanks for your reply. They do have an area to stay dry and warm. The "barn" we have is a 20'x15' mule shed in the back yard from previous owners. The structure had an existing partition separating the two sides. We built a wall of sorts and enclosed one half of the building with chicken wire. We also constructed a 6'X8' outdoor pen attached to their inside quarters. We leave the door to the second side open at all times for ventilation. This is where they roosted last night. Although we have mild winters (N. Ala.) DH is working out a plan to run electricity down to this building so we can have a heat lamp this winter. And he says he doesn't care

 

[Mom2Daisy]

Ok...I'm a big push over! LOL I was going to sit outside on the patio to watch the little buggers and when they saw me they came running. It was like a puppy begging. I had to let them back in. They slept as close as they could to their brethren last night. I found the 'evidence' two inches from the partition. We had a nice family reunion. One of my new babies even sat on my shoulder and head for a while too! I was wincing the whole time waiting for the bomb to drop. So far, so good! Not gonna separate again unless it's a life or death sitch.

 

[Southern28Chick]

Are you not going to quarantine the new birds???? Read this:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=12751

 

[Mom2Daisy]

Uh....I may have really messed up! I don't know that much about chickens as mentioned before. The smaller RIR are in a separate cage within the coop but not what I would call quarantined. The Buffs are just with the others. I really have no way to keep them apart.

I read the article - thanks BTW I've not seen any indications that they are sick (with the naked eye) as mentioned by speckledhen. I'll go to the disease and pest area of this board and read up more. Thanks again.

 

[Southern28Chick]

Quote:
Don't feel to bad. I'm on my first flock and when I got my new roo a little over 3 months ago I separated him with a fence dividing the chicken yard but he was still in contact with my girls when they went up to the fence. I had no other place to put him. I know better now. Luckily the only thing my roo had was lice and my girls didn't catch them. The lice are dead and the whole flock is together and happy now.

Check ALL your chickens for lice. If they have them they are a pain in the a$$ to kill. Go in at night when they're roosting and shine a flashlight on their vent areas. You'll see the lice or mites right away.

Here's a good link to read:
http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu/pdf/8162.pdf