Quarantine Qs

[CityClucks]

I am getting a very small flock from a hatchery and am not planning to vaccinate (because the hatchery advises against it for some reason), but if I EVER want to add a new cluck or new chicks next year, I'm not sure how to go about it. Here are my basic questions about quarantining new birds before introducing them to the flock:

1. How far away should the quarantine area be from the existing flock?

2. If a seemingly healthy bird from a friend's flock is quarantined, will it display any disease it has been carrying within 30 days after it's removed from its old flock - even if it was never sick with the old flock?

I'm not sure what to look for - if the new bird doesn't get sick in 30 days - does that mean it's not carrying anything that will make the existing flock sick? With all the talk (over my head) about carrying a disease but not getting the symptoms, etc., I don't know how introducing a new bird could ever be safe...even after a 30-day quarantine.

 

[speckledhen]

I don't know how introducing a new bird could ever be safe...even after a 30-day quarantine.

You are correct, quarantine is not perfect and may not show carrier birds at all, even when it stretches to 6-7 weeks. It's just the least you can do to try to keep disease out of your flock, but it may not be enough. It's why I never buy started birds. I have never vaccinated, either.
Quarantine means they do not breathe the same airspace at all.​

 

[CityClucks]

Thanks speckledhen!

 

[speckledhen]

You're welcome! Good luck and enjoy your birds..

 

[CityClucks]

If I get hatchery chicks next year, should I get order them vaccinated?

 

[speckledhen]

Well, I never vaccinate mine at all. The only one that might be good to do is Mareks, though they must be kept away from the others for a time, I've heard.It sort of depends on what is happening in your area. You could vaccinate for cocci, but then you have wasted your $$ if you feed medicated feed, so you'd have to remember not to do that.

 

[CityClucks]

Thanks again.

(and by the way I really value all your posts...you truly are the Queen and I bow to you!)

 

[katrinag]

I choose to vac. for Mareks. I have other people around my area that raise chickens. For the $.15 each it helps bring me peace of mind.

 

[CityClucks]

I hadn't thought about nearby flocks - that is a really good point katrinag. So people with other flocks very near should think about vaccinating. I've heard the stories about clucks getting out and visiting other flocks.

I am actively trying to "infect" all my friends and neighbors with the same "cluck obsession" I have, so if my evil plan to make my neighborhood a city cluck enclave succeeds, we'll all have to vaccinate.

Seriously - if forced to choose, I'd rather lose a bird to a predator than to a disease.