Introducing new chicks to current chicks

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Chiggums

In the Brooder
Apr 19, 2022
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Hi! First time chicken owner here. I have 5 chicks ranging from 5-8 weeks in age and I want to add 2 more around the same age to complete my flock. I've had the current chicks since the youngest was a few days old, they have all received the Marek's vaccine, and they've been kept in an indoor brooder without exposure to any other chicks or the outside world.

1. The farm I'm looking to get the new chicks from is a different farm than the one my current chicks came from, and they do not vaccinate their chicks. The new chicks would be around 5 weeks old now. Is it ok to bring the new seemingly healthy, unvaccinated chicks in with my current chicks? (I think I know the answer but want to confirm)

2. Assuming it's safe to bring in the new ones, I assume there should still be a period of quarantine. How long do chicks at this age need to be quarantined for?

Thanks in advance!
 
Welcome - pleased to meet you. I am not experienced, but I thought this question must be asked fairly often, and found several discussions recently. One experienced member said:

30 days of complete separation (different air space, different outfits when caring for them than when you're caring for your current one)

Anything else still allows for cross contamination, in which case they're basically not quarantined

******

BUT another experienced member said:

I would just put the new chicks in with the current chick.

Yes, he could get a disease from the new chicks if they have any diseases.

For behavior reasons, it would be much easier to introduce new chicks now instead of letting them get older. The younger they are, the more easily they accept new flock members.

If you decide to quarantine new chicks, that means your current chick must live separately for another month. During that time, the new chicks might still get sick, which would mean you either treat them or cull them.

If you do not quarantine new chicks, the worst possibility is that the new ones AND the current chick could get sick with something (and depending on what it is, it might not be treatable.)

Quarantine is a great precaution if you have a large flock, or a flock that is very valuable to you, and you need to introduce new chickens. But it is a lot of bother, and difficult to keep them separate enough to make much difference. (Diseases can spread through the air, or on chicken dander that blows in the wind, or carried on your clothing.)

When you only have a single chick like this, I would skip quarantine and just put the new chicks in with him. If they have a treatable disease, you will have to treat just one more bird (current chick.) If they have an untreatable disease, you will feel awful either way, because you will become attached to the new chicks before you learn whether they actually have such a disease.

Any chicks might have diseases, but ones that have spent their time in a store are probably safer than ones that run around outdoors with adult chickens. The ones in the store have been exposed to fewer things.

****
So, you may have to decide for yourself if you want to play it safe with your current little chicks and quarantine the new guys, or if you want to put them together right away so they all get to know each other right away.

Best wishes with your plans and your chicks!
 
Boppo said:
Welcome - pleased to meet you. I am not experienced, but I thought this question must be asked fairly often, and found several discussions recently. One experienced member said:

30 days of complete separation (different air space, different outfits when caring for them than when you're caring for your current one)

Anything else still allows for cross contamination, in which case they're basically not quarantined

******

BUT another experienced member said:

I would just put the new chicks in with the current chick.

Yes, he could get a disease from the new chicks if they have any diseases.

For behavior reasons, it would be much easier to introduce new chicks now instead of letting them get older. The younger they are, the more easily they accept new flock members.

If you decide to quarantine new chicks, that means your current chick must live separately for another month. During that time, the new chicks might still get sick, which would mean you either treat them or cull them.

If you do not quarantine new chicks, the worst possibility is that the new ones AND the current chick could get sick with something (and depending on what it is, it might not be treatable.)

Quarantine is a great precaution if you have a large flock, or a flock that is very valuable to you, and you need to introduce new chickens. But it is a lot of bother, and difficult to keep them separate enough to make much difference. (Diseases can spread through the air, or on chicken dander that blows in the wind, or carried on your clothing.)

When you only have a single chick like this, I would skip quarantine and just put the new chicks in with him. If they have a treatable disease, you will have to treat just one more bird (current chick.) If they have an untreatable disease, you will feel awful either way, because you will become attached to the new chicks before you learn whether they actually have such a disease.

Any chicks might have diseases, but ones that have spent their time in a store are probably safer than ones that run around outdoors with adult chickens. The ones in the store have been exposed to fewer things.

****
So, you may have to decide for yourself if you want to play it safe with your current little chicks and quarantine the new guys, or if you want to put them together right away so they all get to know each other right away.

Best wishes with your plans and your chicks!
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Thanks so much! This is great information.
 

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