A lady down the street is giving away some extra 6 month old olive egger cockerels. I am going to go check them out tomorrow and possibly pick one out for my 5 hens that have been roosterless since last spring. I am definitely going to quarantine, but not sure how to go about it because it is still pretty chilly (Lowest low for next 7 days is 28). We do not have a garage and the basement is no go. We do have a shed, but would like to keep that chicken free. I have a medium dog crate I could use, and I can put it up on cinder blocks. But waterproofing/draft-proofing? The main thing is keeping it cheap (and safe). Main predators here are raccoons, hawks, and foxes. Any tried and true temporary solutions?
just putting him in the garage will be sufficient I've had it as low as -20 outside and they were fine in my garage but it is also insulated since a healthy chicken can easily handle 10 I would say you should be fine. ETA:I meant shed for you, sorry.
You couldn't slip the dog crate in the shed for a couple of weeks? You could always put him outside if its mild enough during the day. Maybe put some plastic sheeting over the crate and keep out of the worst of the weather (prevailing winds and rain). All the best CT
How far apart are you going to be able to keep him? The truth is, if you don't do quarantine exactly right, you may as well save yourself the work, and not do it at all. Now I am not advocating just putting any bird in with your flock. But a flock of birds, that are relatively close to you, that probably have not been exposed to strange birds (ask) say from an auction or a fair, probably have been raised in a very similar environment as your own birds. If those birds look healthy, they probably are. Diseases mostly come from exposure to sick birds, over crowding, and poor sanitation. Proper quarantine is generally impossible in a backyard set up, I think it is 300 feet separation, complete change of clothing and shoes between sets of birds, different watering and feeding bowls. Most people just cannot do that. If you don't do this, well you are just pretending to quarantine, and your flock is at risk. My point is while it is a risk, it is not a real big risk. If you have a valuable flock, if you would be devastated to lose this flock, then maybe not. But if this is a hobby, and you really want the roos, and you are not set up to quarantine well then...I would just put him in with your birds. Adding a rooster is one of the easiest integrations. Mrs K
Actually, he is/will be staying at my house which is about a mile from where the hen coop is currently (at my mom's house). We haven't relocated the hens at our new house. I am not too concerned about any communicable diseases with this guy. He was hatched from their own small flock and only kept with their other chickens. He looked good when I picked him up. The rest of the flock was already in the coop for the night, so I couldn't see them. I will at least give him a couple weeks with me though.
Here he is. I ended up putting him in the dog crates for now in the shed. We are getting heavy rain/thunderstorms. I will set him up with a temporary run outside when it stops raining. So far he is a big softy. Hopefully he stays like that.
