Nevadans?

[gaited horse]

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Controversial answer is I don't. I got this one from Julie and I totally trust her. Either way I know there are risks but I don't have pens in my yard (besides the one the goats go in at night.) The way I see it is if a new bird is a carrier of something putting it in quarantine isn't going to make it any more or less obvious. If it's a carrier it won't show and you're going to end up integrating it anyway. I just throw em to the wolves.
Now if I had gotten the bird from someone I Didnt know then maybe I would crate her for two or three days to ensure she wasn't already sick with something but I feel that's just about all you can do to prevent the spread of disease

Btw, she fit RIGHT in here. I seriously love my flock dynamic.It's almost like they make eachother mellow, calm, and friendly because they don't see other birds being panicky or mean. This is why I am glad I do not keep the flighty and timid birds. I think they feed off eachothers vibes.


Good morning!

I don't either. I've only gotten birds from people I know and that have closed flocks. I've only gotten birds from Kathy Lewis and someone from my rabbit club that needed to get rid of roo's tha came from a hatchery.

 

[sherylreno]

It's very sad when we find out an animal was actually suffering a bit but then when we nurse them back to health they end up jumping in your lap everyday and want their ear rubs. LOL

No one should feel guilty though when something happens. We can't be every where to watch over them all of the time.

I only have done it once when I got the 3 from Sunny and I didn't isolate them. If I do not know them, like getting them from a swap and I can't see what their living conditions are then I will isolate them. It did worry me a bit when I didn't isolate them but it all worked out very nicely.

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

I quarantine….EVERYTHING, even birds I get from people I know well. Is it a PITA? – you betcha, but it helps me be certain that the new bird is one I do want to add to the flock.

Quarantine does two things for me.

1 – makes sure that the bird IS healthy. Birds are built in such a way that by the time you SEE a sick bird – that bird has been sick for a week or longer. Birds hide their illness so they do not get shunned from the flock or picked on, or targeted by a predator. Moving and relocating will bring most any illness to the surface as the stress is incredible, a bird mixed into a flock from the get go – is going to try to hide the illness desperately while trying to adjust into the flock.


2 – gives me and the bird time to get to know each other. I want them to understand that I am the food bringer, I am the flock leader, I am the flock comforter – all this, for me, is best done one on one with the bird/birds in quarantine. Also give the bird time to adjust to MY feeding schedule and MY feed plus all the noises around my place – birds, dogs, horses and me.





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I may.........I am not planning at this time to hatch any, but plans aways change.

 

[SunnyDawn]

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These are great prices and the people there are very helpful. I know I'll be there!

Awesome!!!

I'll be there! Oh and to answer your question Ron, no I can't make the swap on Saturday.

We went to visit the kids and our 2nd oldest Granddaughter in Fort Bragg this weekend. We had a great time but are very pooped. Whoa, my kids are growing up!!! They wouldn't let us pay for hardly anything this trip!!! DD payed for the motel and a very nice meal at a seafood restaurant, with a gorgeous ocean view and DS payed for a big breakfast for us all. This has never happened before! I'm likin it!

Elizabeth looks like your coop is almost done!!! Well the outside anyway. You are making great progress! It looks wonderful, your babies are going to be very happy!

Sheryl I will check out that new FB page as soon as I get a chance! Got too much work to do right now though!

Hope you did well on your GED test Tyler!

Aubrey your new little Turkin girl is, um, cute! My neck is starting to look just like that!

Yes Humbrd I do plan on going to the show on the 19th. I have some eggs being delivered to me there from a fellow that will be showing marans there. He runs a lot of the egg shows and is very involved in the Marans' club and shows all over the country.

Also to answer the quarantine question, I have, I admit made an exception to this rule. When I got birds from Genny I did not quarantine because I know her flock well and she takes very good care of them. I rarely get grown birds myself (and the little ones are automatically quarantined since they aren't old enough to join the flock for quite some time) but the 2 times I did get older birds from someone besides Genny I did quarantine for 3 & 1/2 weeks the first time and 4 weeks the second time. Because of the time in quarantine I do not get single birds. It is sooo stressful on them to be alone so I avoid this by getting at least 2 at a time. I do think the risk of getting an infected bird, especially if you know the flock that you are getting them from, is low but you just have to ask yourself if it is worth the risk if it does happen. It's really up to you. If you have the room for a separate quarantine area (can't be close to your existing flock) and you are also good about cleaning off your shoes as you travel from one area to the other then I think it's a precaution worth taking.
Most folks simply don't have the room for this. Of course I still find it easier to buy chicks and keep them in a brooder for several weeks. Even then they are in the "grow out" brooder, separated by chicken wire, for a few more weeks before joining the regular flock. Plus I just love the babies!!!

Speaking of baby chicks...

I'm bettin' that this little guy, who jumped right up on the edge of the chair the second I put them down, is a roo.

These are the in-betweeners

These are the youngest of the staggered hatches. Couldn't get picks of the oldest ones there are more freaked out by the change than the little ones.

Time to put them back. They are getting cold.

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

Too freakin' cute Sunny! Just adorable.

 

[chicharomirinda]

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They are adorable!

You get a special prize for posting those photos so fast!

Thanks, everyone, for sharing what you do about introducing new birds/quarantine etc. Food for thought as I venture into chicken raising.

We got the roofing felt up this morning. I am relieved to have that done before the rain comes this week. I'm going to pick up drip edges and shingles today so we can start on that. Jose has been great doing the main work on the roof construction. He hoisted the full sheets of plywood up there by himself. what a stud

(I don't say that to him or his head would get too big to fit through the door.) He'll be doing the shingling and then the remainder of the coop stuff will be mainly me. Glad I have him to do the stuff up high on the ladder. Our roof will not win any awards on appearance but should do the job of keeping the coop dry.

So I noticed last night that the smallest australorp chick is having trouble with her right leg. She gets knocked over and then really struggles to get up. Her right leg curls up under her. she is able to get up eventually but it happens alot. She is 2 1/2 weeks old. Wonder if anyone has ideas on what might be going on. She is not lethargic and moves around as often as the other chicks. I have done some searching on BYC and google and none of the diseases seem to fit. I only noticed it last night but it may have been going on longer and I just didn't notice with 24 other chicks to look at. I'm worried about her and don't know what to do.

 

[SunnyDawn]

You might try putting her in another box for awhile with 1 or 2 other mellow chicks and see if it heals better. If she just strained it the other chicks running to and fro might be making it hard for her to heal. Maybe try wrapping it? IDK I never dealt with this either so I'm just guessing.

Thanks Genny and Elizabeth! I just love them at this stage! With the older ones it's already pretty obvious which ones are roos and which are pullets!

There are 6 that are a week and a half old and it looks like I have 3 roos and 3 pullets. I think I liked it better before when I couldn't tell one from the other til they were 3 months old, then I only saw pullets. Darn you Genny!!!

 

[chicharomirinda]

That's good if you have about half roos and half pullets from the older group, Sunny. Better than all roos! I am starting to get suspicious of a few of my chicks. there's a rather large comb on one of the barred rocks. a wyandotte's comb is getting reddish. But I have zero experience in spotting roos so it could all be in my imagination. I do not see 3 rows on any of the EE's though.

Now it seems like a problem with both her legs. I posted a topic in the raising chicks section. I maybe will put her and my other 2 small ones in a separate brooder. I just don't have one ready yet though. Here's what she looks like when she falls over.

here's her standing. Poor thing. I feel bad for her.

 

[SunnyDawn]

Poor little thing! I wish I were more help!

Post pics of the chicks you have doubts of on the forum. You will get mixed answers but the majority will be from folks who are good at telling what gender a baby is. Take pics of the combs, wattles, feet, hackle feathers and tail feathers.

 

[gaited horse]

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I'm not an expert but to me it sounds like it could be a case of splay leg.