Mixed Flock of Gentle Breeds.

[aalissa]

Both Mrs. K, and Ridgerunner (as usual) hit the nail right on the head.  Have fun picking out your flock.  Have you looked at Henderson's chicken breeds chart?

Yes I have looked at the chart...and it only seems to make me change my mind, repeatedly. I want almost all of them. At least a pair of them anyhow.lol!!!
I think what I will do is when the time to get my birds get closer I will try to find people near me that raise birds and pick from the ones available to me. Besides I am only thinking 8-12 birds to start.
I also think that building a relationship with another is important when I will have questions & I would like to have repeat business with that person/persons.

 

[lazy gardener]

Local is good. Best to buy all from the same source though, so you don't have quarantine issues to worry about. And, if you plan on replacing your birds as they age out of production, your flock will be constantly evolving in it's membership.

 

[aalissa]

Local is good.  Best to buy all from the same source though, so you don't have quarantine issues to worry about.  And, if you plan on replacing your birds as they age out of production, your flock will be constantly evolving in it's membership.

Yes I did know that about buying from a single source and quarantine... I do have a couple of questions.
#1- how long do you quarantined?
#2- is vaccinating for Marek common practice, even on small farms?
#3- would you buy a chick that hadn't been vaccinated?
Yes I do plan on replacing the chickens as they age out and as they become dinner.
Thank you for helping me along the way.
Alissa

 

[lazy gardener]

Yes I did know that about buying from a single source and quarantine... I do have a couple of questions.
#1- how long do you quarantined?
#2- is vaccinating for Marek common practice, even on small farms?
#3- would you buy a chick that hadn't been vaccinated?
Yes I do plan on replacing the chickens as they age out and as they become dinner.
Thank you for helping me along the way.
Alissa

1: The recommendation is to quarantine for a month. I've never done that, b/c I keep a closed flock. It's my intention to never bring anything other than hatching eggs, or day old chicks into my flock. Right now, I'm working on developing my own flock with traits specific to my needs.

2: I can't answer that question. Your best bet would be to contact your local county Agricultural Poultry Extension agent, and ask how common Mareks dz. is in your area. They should be able to tell you if the vaccine is recommended. I've never vaccinated a chick. If my flock were to become infected, I'd have some decisions to make. I'm relying on fostering a healthy immune system in my flock, and thankful that there's a strong population of wild turkeys that travel my land.

3: Prefer not.

You're very welcome. I wish you the best as you continue along your poultry path. There's a wealth of information out there, and the knowledge quest is half of the fun.
LG

 

[Mrs. K]

Quarantine is recommended, but most backyard set ups are not set up for quarantine, and if you don't do it right, you may as well not do it. The chance is real of brining in a disease. However, you can greatly reduce those odds. If you would severely mourn a flock loss, then you really should not risk adding birds.

If you want to add birds, and understand the possible risk, then I have often added birds with no quarantine. However, I do not add birds from auctions or swaps. I do not add birds that do not appear healthy. If you are buying birds from an established flock, and those birds appear healthy in similar location to your own, they probably are healthy and will not be a problem.

There are many people on here that are constantly doctoring their birds. I do not, if something is sick, I cull it and get it out of my flock, but to be honest, I have the right size flock for my set up, and I have never had all those diseases and sicknesses in my birds. In 8 years of having birds, I have culled two due to disease.

Chicks I suppose could carry disease, but in my opinion it is mostly unlikely, as in chicks are fairly fragile, and a sick chick is quickly a dead chick.

I have often thought of having a closed flock, but really life happens, and I have often needed to add birds to get through the winter, or found some birds that made a nice addition to the flock. I love having a flock, however, through the years, birds come and go. Other people like individual birds as pets, just two different schools of thought. However, one can worry the enjoyment right out of having chickens.

Mrs K