Well, I've had a single chicken for a little over a month now. About a week and a half ago I picked up another 6 hens to keep her company. I quarantined the new flock about 200 feet from the main coop. Today, while free ranging, the original hen found the pen the new birds are in! She always stays up near the coop. Today is the first day she ventured away.
She got close to the pen and a few inches away from a few of the other birds, but were separated by the fencing. (The meeting was pretty uneventful--I figured one of them would fuss. They checked each other out, then went right back to scratching and eating).
So, is my quarantine effort blown? Should I go ahead and just combine them or keep the new flock quarantined? They shared the same air, though they didn't have contact with each other's poops, which I understand can pass on some things like worms.
All appear healthy to my newbie eye--I look at their eyes, nostrils, legs and feet daily when I feed and water, and look closely at their poops for normal colors and consistency, see if any visible worms, etc. Last sunday I grabbed a few of the new birds to look for lice and other parasites, and didn't notice anything. I was planning to worm both the flock and single bird next sunday, then combine them the following sunday, which would make 4 weeks.
The single hen came from a farm next door to me, after the farmer, my neighbor, died. I got the other six, all 10 months old, from a member on this site. They were her pets and well cared for, the coop was massive and clean. Thanks for any advice.
She got close to the pen and a few inches away from a few of the other birds, but were separated by the fencing. (The meeting was pretty uneventful--I figured one of them would fuss. They checked each other out, then went right back to scratching and eating).
So, is my quarantine effort blown? Should I go ahead and just combine them or keep the new flock quarantined? They shared the same air, though they didn't have contact with each other's poops, which I understand can pass on some things like worms.
All appear healthy to my newbie eye--I look at their eyes, nostrils, legs and feet daily when I feed and water, and look closely at their poops for normal colors and consistency, see if any visible worms, etc. Last sunday I grabbed a few of the new birds to look for lice and other parasites, and didn't notice anything. I was planning to worm both the flock and single bird next sunday, then combine them the following sunday, which would make 4 weeks.
The single hen came from a farm next door to me, after the farmer, my neighbor, died. I got the other six, all 10 months old, from a member on this site. They were her pets and well cared for, the coop was massive and clean. Thanks for any advice.
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