Hatching vs. buying chicks - Some Questions

[chickmanna]

Thanks to you all for the great information. We got our first hens as day-old chicks last spring. Just for eggs and entertainment.

I did have a bad experience with bringing in a chicken. My granddaughter had a very special pet Polish that was getting picked on by the rest of the mixed flock. We decided to separate her, so bought a 4-month old pullet to keep her company. We did not do our homework, actually visit the farm, etc., and the new chicken apparently introduced Coryza. We ended up losing not only the Polish but several other hens got sick as well. We seem to have gotten the problem under control using an Oxine mist regimen, but from what I understand the one we brought in will always be a carrier, and others who've been sick but recovered will be carriers also. I don't think I'll ever be able to bring in another chicken without thinking of that experience.

 

[foxypoproxy]

Quote:
I very much understand your situation.
We also had a very beloved polish but he was all alone.
So, we ended up buying some chickens and long story short they had Chronic Respiratory Disease and they all got very sick, so i had to put our whole flock down last week... it was heartbreaking...
We have been trying to work on dis-infecting everything and we are waiting til spring to hatch some chicks out.
Its because of that, that i am paranoid and am taking per-cautions like the egg dipping method.

Sorry for your losses!
Wish you luck on your future flock!

 

[Sphinx]

Quote:
Do you find that a "NO BIRDS ALLOWED" sign on your property keeps the wild birds out?

I'm just teasing you, I know what you really meant.

I like the idea of that rule, but at any given time, I probably have at least 200 different birds on my property, all of them wild. Who knows what they're carrying.

I have introduced two adults birds to my flock, and was incredibly lucky that nothing happened. Everyone stayed healthy. I did take tours of the coops where both birds came from, and everything was spotlessly clean and everyone was healthy, but I've also seen seemingly "clean" flocks introduce disease.

Reading up as I have here, I probably wouldn't do that again.

 

[speedy2020]

Quote:
If you don't add live bird, I guess block isn't hardy. I brought in live birds all the time to increase my block disease resistance.

 

[HHandbasket]

I think you can ask the same question of 20 different chickeneers and get 25 different answers!

We had cocci in our flock last spring after a prolonged, wet, nasty winter. Two birds died. Everybody else was treated and is still here. Lola, Olga, Bertha, and Brenda all had it. Brenda has since gone back to live with Linda but is still alive and kicking, and Lola, Olga, and Bertha are all still here and still laying! (Well, Olga sometimes lays, but she goes broody when the wind blows so she really only lays between clutches of hatchlings.) I still buy and sell birds, but I tell people I had cocci in the flock last spring. Incidentally, we have moved and no longer live on the same property where we were when we had the cocci outbreak, and it has been 9+ months since we had to treat for cocci.

We went a little nutzoid last spring with hatching in the incubator at home and under our broody, but we discovered we much prefer the "instant gratification" of acquiring chicks from mail order hatcheries, local feed stores, and local breeders. We decided not to do any more home hatches, but we didn't stick to it. For the first time in 6+ months, we have eggs in the bator.

You will find people who will say NEVER bring an outside bird to your yard, and you'll find others who will say they've never had an issue with it and bring in birds all the time without a quarantine period. You really need to evaluate your own situation to decide because our chicken yards are as different and as varied as we are as individuals!