Introducing Rescued Chickens

[jeska180]

This is my first summer as a chicken lover, and I'm hooked! Started out with 10 meaties now I have taken 2 laying hens. Their previous home was a 1 foot by 1 foot cage with no hand on attention at all and they were there for a whole year. My chickens have an outdoor pen and spend most of the day running loose. I got the new hens yesterday, and I have them in an outdoor rabit cage beside the others but they are not loose yet.
Just wondering how long I should keep them seperated?
when you think I can let them free?
how l would catch them if they wont return to the pen!

I hope they like it here!

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

Congrats on the rescue!

It is generally recommended that birds be separated for three weeks to thirty days to rule out any illnesses. However, I am often guilty of putting birds in coops a little earlier if they seem healthy (Reasoning for 30 day quarantine is because some illnesses don't show any symptoms for a much longer time). If you did get them from the conditions you describe, you may want to keep them separated a little longer just in case. Sometimes close quarters is a breeding ground for bad things.

When you put them in your actual coop, I would try and keep the pen closed up for at least a couple of weeks. After that, chickens are pretty good about knowing where their home is. Also, I use treats like little pieces of bread or veggie/fruit scraps to get them to go inside. Handling the new birds a lot will also help them to stay calm if you do need to catch them in the yard. While many of my guys run, a few of the others just stand still when I walk over to them.