Help! I got 2 new chicks, how do I integrate them?

[ViolentInsides]

I got two new six week old chicks from a friend. I currently have 13, 6 week old chicks. How do I go about incorporating them together? How long do I keep them apart for quarantine? They're are all about coop ready, should I quarantine them in separate rooms in the coop?

 

[Debbie292d]

I got two new six week old chicks from a friend. I currently have 13, 6 week old chicks. How do I go about incorporating them together? How long do I keep them apart for quarantine? They're are all about coop ready, should I quarantine them in separate rooms in the coop?

How well do you know the friend?

Normally, some folks would say two months is the best for quarantine. Realistically, I think most do two weeks. That at least lets you determine if there are any URI (upper respiratory infections), mites, suspicious poop, etc.

If it were a close friend of mine who I've been around their chicks a lot and they've been around mine, I wouldn't even do a quarantine.

After that, I'd just put them together. They are so young yet they don't really have pecking order, they just want to eat, poop, play, and bump chests.

 

[ViolentInsides]

How well do you know the friend?

Normally, some folks would say two months is the best for quarantine. Realistically, I think most do two weeks. That at least lets you determine if there are any URI (upper respiratory infections), mites, suspicious poop, etc.

If it were a close friend of mine who I've been around their chicks a lot and they've been around mine, I wouldn't even do a quarantine.

After that, I'd just put them together. They are so young yet they don't really have pecking order, they just want to eat, poop, play, and bump chests.

The friend is not close and I haven't seen their chickens or their set up. I know that she doesn't feed the chicks medicated feed (she didn't even know it was a thing) so when I brought them home I separated them into a small brooder and gave them medicated feed. She had them mixed in with rabbits so I'm worried if there is anything transferable there.

They are active, eating drinking and have solid normal poops so I am hopeful they are okay. I think I might wait 3-4 weeks to be sure.

Another question, how would you know if a chick is a bantam? One of the chicks is much smaller and I'm hoping it's just younger. The breeds are backyard mix so we don't know what they are.

 

[Debbie292d]

The friend is not close and I haven't seen their chickens or their set up. I know that she doesn't feed the chicks medicated feed (she didn't even know it was a thing) so when I brought them home I separated them into a small brooder and gave them medicated feed. She had them mixed in with rabbits so I'm worried if there is anything transferable there.

They are active, eating drinking and have solid normal poops so I am hopeful they are okay. I think I might wait 3-4 weeks to be sure.

Another question, how would you know if a chick is a bantam? One of the chicks is much smaller and I'm hoping it's just younger. The breeds are backyard mix so we don't know what they are.

That sounds like a great idea.

The smaller chick is either a bantam or a runt. If you want to take a picture of it, post it in the What Breed or Gender is This forum and folks will help you with what it is. I'd wait until it has some wing feathers as some young chicks all look the same.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/what-breed-or-gender-is-this.15/

 

[rosemarythyme]

If you're doing quarantine (which isn't a bad idea in this case) do make sure you're doing everything you can to prevent transfer of contaminants from one group to another: https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...nderestimated-part-of-raising-chickens.67097/

If this was someone you were closer to like a next door neighbor I'd personally not bother with quarantine in favor of putting the birds together while they're still young enough to accept newcomers with little or no fuss, but since you aren't certain it doesn't hurt to be more cautious. It does mean you will need a slower integration period and approach once that time comes.