Hens Bought From An Auction

[Jesus 1st]

Hello
Last night my husband and I bought 7 Buff Orphington hens from a livestock auction. I ignorantly initially thought I could just put them in with my other hens as soon as we got home. Before we left I talked to some people and they said to keep them away from the rest of the flock for at least 2 weeks but safer to do it for a month (which we opted or the month separation), to get them on a 10 day antibiotic and to spray them down everyday with a bleach water solution (1 gallon of water for 3/4 cup bleach....isn't that TON of bleach??). I admit that I am truly a newbie with chickens but I don't know about spraying them down (even their faces) with bleach water. Does the advice I got last night sound accurate to you guys? If not, what is your suggestion on what to do with the new hens. I haven't done anything with them yet (antibiotics or bleach water), but like I said, we are keeping them separate for the first month. Also, I read that someone treats their chickens with front line for lice. Is that a necessity as well? Oh, and one more thing, they told me to put a drop of bleach in their water each time I fill it. I thought adding apple cider vinegar was the way to go but I might be super wrong. So, I'm way open for suggestions

Thanks everyone!!

Romans 12:9-21
Amanda

 

[Mr MKK FARMS]

Welcome to BYC!!
Congrats on the new birds!!
Good Luck!

 

[cary 1973]

spraying them down with bleech water I have never heard of that you will want to keep them cornadteened for at leasgt 30 days to make sure they bring no disease to your exsisting flock you need to check for bugs on them watch poo for warms or soem even suggest deworming. there is more people on here that really can give you good answwears

 

[chickenzoo]

Id say no on antibiotics as that would mask anything you are trying to see if they have. No on the bleach also. I would dust them if you see any bugs in their feathers...and I would worm all of them to start them off on the right track.
For illness you are looking for any signs of water eyes...swollen eyes or sinus infront of the eyes....bubbles in eyes
...puss in nostrils or watery nostrils....any smell about the face....swollen wattles or combs.... Open mouth breathing...wheezing....gurrgles.....residue on back feathers....scaly legs scales..... Dirty vent area.....unusual droppings

 

[1muttsfan]

Hi and welcome to BYC from northern Michigan

Your instincts are correct - no to both the bleach and the antibiotics.

I would suggest, after a careful inspection, dusting them for external parasites, and deworming them for internal ones. And at least 3weeks of quarentine.

Good luck.

 

[Jesus 1st]

You guys are wonderful. Thank you!! I will joyfully take all the advice given.

 

[donrae]

Please do NOT spray them with bleach! How horrible! Your instincts are correct, that is not a good thing to do.

Quarantine, however, is a great idea. Especially for birds from unknown background. They need to be totally seperate from your birds. If they have any disease, you want to know. And if they don't, you don't want to needlessly give them antibiotics. So, no go on the antibiotics, either. You don't want to just mask something that will crop back up later.

You'll just need to observe them for signs of illness and overall health. Personally, I don't worm chickens, so that's just up to you. I'd check for mites and scaley mites also. I'm not really one for treating "just in case they might have something", I wait until they have something then treat. Course, I also try to prevent most things in the first place, but since you don't know where they came from you're kind of starting at ground zero!

 

[chickenzoo]

I think the bleach concept may have started from a misconception from the use of Oxine. ....which is bleach like....but is a safe disinfectant and can be put in water...can be sprayed on birds etc etc.....when not activated.with.a.certain compound......but it is not regular bleach.

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

Yikes! No, don't spray them with bleach! How horrible!

I'd also say don't give them antibiotics, either. Randomly giving antibiotics to any animal without a diagnosis of a disease that's cured by that antibiotic is probably useless anyway, and is definitely irresponsible.

Dusting them with some Sevin dust under their feathers and deworming them wouldn't be a bad idea, though. Some pour-on dewormers will take care of the external parasites, too. Don't eat the eggs for two weeks after deworming.

Quarantine is not the easiest thing in the world, and you have to keep it up for a full month. Here are some tips:

Your quarantine pen has to be far enough away from your existing chickens that wind won't blow dander or droplets to the existing birds.
ALWAYS feed/handle/visit your existing chickens first. After being near the new chickens, you'll need to shower, completely change your clothes, and disinfect your shoes before going back to your existing birds. I like Tek-Trol as a disinfectant--TSC carries it.
Have separate feed bags kept in separate locations for the two groups of chickens. Don't bring food or water dishes from the new hens anywhere near the dishes or feed for the older hens.
Be aware that your birds may be carriers for some diseases, and may actually give the new birds something, rather than the other way around.
One of the best ways to quarantine is to take a potentially sacrificial bird from your existing flock and put her in with the new birds. It's very possible that the new birds are carriers of some disease but won't show symptoms. This way, you'll see if one of your birds gets sick before introducing the new birds to the whole flock.

I'm sure I've forgotten something, but hopefully someone else will chime in. Good luck, and best wishes for an easy flock introduction.