How long to quarantine, and adding new chickens

[huntersmoon]

I wasn't sure if this belongs here or in the "everything chicken" subforum, so I apologize if I'm in the wrong place.

We have 8 barred rocks that are 15 weeks old today. We were thinking of adding a couple of other chickens that are about the same age. They are Gold Sex Links, for sale at our local feed store and are from a hatchery in Ontario Canada.

I'm not sure where to put them for quarantine; I assume caging them within the run isn't good enough as a disease could be airborne.

I do have a fenced in dog run that was here when we bought the place, but it is just a chain link fence with no top. There is a small peach tree in there that makes it challenging to "roof" it. I could have them out there during the day and put them in an x-pen in my garage at night.

Thanks for any advice,
Shannon

 

[LinckHillPoultry]

Look at this post by SpeckledHen

Click Here

 

[huntersmoon]

Thanks - I knew I definitely wanted to quarantine them for 30 days (I forgot to mention the 30 days) but have been trying to figure out the logistics of where and how.

However after reading that thread, I'm of the opinion that if my barred rocks are about to be laying (they are 15 weeks today but their combs and wattles are bright red), then I might as well not add any other adults to the mix.

Besides, I would rather have buffs and RIRs, so I will pass on these and get either eggs or day old chicks and introduce them properly at the right age.

Thanks
Shannon

 

[LinckHillPoultry]

I have introduced adult chickens to my flock without having them quarantined, but after having read the thread by speckledhen, I am going to start doing that.

Now you can introduce adult chickens in with your flock, but I would check them from head to toe first and leave them seperate for awhile.

Good luck.

 

[huntersmoon]

Okay I have one more question, sorry. I was browsing my local pet/farm section of Craigslist and saw this post offering 3 mth old barred rock and RIR roosters:

my step son had to raise chickens for his high school ag-science class. We purchased 5 chickens in april thinking they were laying hens (but got rooster chicks) <snip description of them living in suburbs not able to have roosters> they have been our pets and we want to see them adopted into good homes. we raised them as babies and they still follow me around clucking and wanting
attention from me. they are friendly and very well cared for and beautiful Roos.

If these were raised from babies in a backyard with no other chickens, I'm tempted to get one and quarantine it, of course. (I first want to post a pic of one of my "hens" who I'm not sure might be a young rooster.)

With 8 hens, I assume I only need one rooster and that getting another rooster would cause problems?

Thanks
Shannon​

 

[LinckHillPoultry]

You should be good there

 

[huntersmoon]

Here is her reply to my question as to whether they'd been with other chickens:

we bought them at only a week or two old from a feed store. they were all raised together in the same coop and have had some limited experience being around our dog, who sat and watched them through the chicken wire from time to time. So they are not very nervous roos. other than that, they have not been around any other animals but are sociable to people.

So if she bought them in April at 2 wks of age, they are about 12 weeks old. If they have only been among themselves (5 roosters) for 3 months, would you still quarantine the rooster for 30 days?

And I assume only one rooster for the 8 hens, right?

Thanks
Shannon​

 

[PineyRidge]

I got 6 sex-link and 6 leghorns from the local supply store 2 weeks ago. They are all about 20 weeks old. The supply store called me and said they had some rocks left over would I like some, so I got 2. At the supply store all of the birds were penned together. So I figuared that if they were all together 2weeks ago that it shouldn't matter. I put them in together yesterday. Do you all think that I would have a problem. The main group had been quiet for 2 weeks but now a couple of the birds are making a real racket. Thanks for any advice.

 

[s6bee]

You may still want to quarantine. Even though they have not been exposed to other flocks, it's still a seperate flock from yours, even if for a short time.
I think the rule of thumb for Roos is 1 Rooster per 5 hens?

 

[patandchickens]

an awful lot of chicken diseases and parasites are passed through wildlife (including 'vermin', insects, worms, etc), as much or more than being passed by chicken-to-chicken contact. So personally I do not think having never been with other chickens is in ANY way a reason not to quarantine.

Pat