Oh NO! I think I screwed up (new rooster)

[Bobby Ray]

Well I went to the spring poultry swap in canby OR today and met some folks in person from here (byc) that was nice!
BUT while I was there we picked up a year old bantam roo to be introduced to our flock of 11 week old pullets (18 of them) Im got him for protection , this roo is full grown and he's about half the size of the girls

Now in the excitment of everything I completely spaced off the whole quarantine rule.
I got home and let him loose he was dancing for my girls and he held a couple down by their neck for few seconds them let them go, I assume this is a dominance thing, everything looked good.

OK so after realizing I should have quarantined, I took the rooster and placed him in his own area now Im very scared, I would just hate it if the girls got sick!

Did I screw up badly and has the damage been done already, if the rooster has any type of disease would the 1 hour exposure to the pullets be enough time for them to catch anything?or is there a chance everything will be fine and should I leave the rooster in his own area for a few weeks, the rooster was with the girls for about an hour. THANKS FOR CARING

 

[texas75563]

Live and learn. I say leave him in his own area a week or 2. Let them get used to each other try it again.

My chicks are 9 weeks old and I was given 2 grown roosters Friday. I knew it was bad idea and trouble in the making. Soon as I turned the 2 roosters out they went to fighting. The old EE kept chasing the other rooster down. The other rooster was smaller but held his own. I caught the EE and put him back in the dog kennel. Within an hour of arriving the EE departed. He was a beautiful bird.

My 9 week old barred rock roos started the fight, 1 at a time with the new grown roo. Couldn't the little dummies see he was 7 or 8 times their size? They took fight to him, until he pecked them about once. I stayed outside until roosting time to make sure everything went ok. Things went a lot better than what I was expecting. He pecked them all once or twice, nothing bad. Now he pretty well follows them around all day long.

 

[speckledhen]

Exposure doesn't necessarily mean infection anyway, so keep him quarantined and observe him for 4 weeks. Also, the pullets are really a bit young to be given a full grown rooster. Many roosters are gentle with young pullets, but some are just big old pervs and will try to mate them, no matter how young they are. You'd have to really watch them when he's out of quarantine, providing he doesn't show any symptoms of respiratory illness while in there.

While in quarantine, do worm him and dust for lice/mites, but do not give any antibiotics, period. You want symptoms to show themselves if he is a carrier of something so you can avoid putting him with your girls.

 

[Ridgerunner]

There is a big difference in something CAN happen and something WILL happen. You CAN introduce disease to your flock by bringing in a new bird, but many people do that without quarantining and don't have big problems. Of course, some people lose their flocks due to diseases they bring in. This is fairly rare but if it happens to you, it is serious.

Sometimes you introduce what I consider nuisances, like mites or lice. You can treat them and elimate them, they are a nuisance, but as long as you treat them before they become too bad, they are not much of a threat to the health of your flock.

You can introduce certain diseases that are more than just nuisances but don't really threaten to wipe out you flock, or at least you can manage them. Some forms of Coccidiosis fall into this category. They can be serious, but a lot of the time the birds are affected a while, develop immunity, and life goes on. Some forms of Coccidiosis are more serious than I made this sound, but it is not always a death sentence.

Then there are some that are death sentences. They may not be real common, but they can and do happen.

Different diseases spread different ways. With some, the pullets may already be infected if he has something. But with some diseases, there is a chance they were not infected by that exposure. I think quarantine is still a good idea, partly to give your pullets timeto grow up as Speckledhen mentioned, but also to see what develops. With yours coming from a swap where he was exposed to other birds, quarantine is a real good idea. It is also possible that he was exposed to something but it has not developed to a point where he is contageous. You just don't know.

There is another possibility. Your flock may have a disease but they may have developed an immunity to it. Again, Coccidiosis is a good example. With mild exposure chicks can develop an immunity to many forms of Cocci without ever showing any symptoms, but a new chicken that does not have immunity can get a pretty bad case. Older chickens have more trouble getting that immunity. Your pullets may actually infect him!

In your situation, I would not over worry about it but I would watch the pullets really closely for a couple of weeks or so. I'd leave the rooster isolated for maybe 5 to 6 weeks, as much to allow the pullets to grow up as to watch for disease.

Good luck!!!

 

[speckledhen]

Quote: +1