Quarantine question

[tigercreek]

I just brought home 3 pullets and a cockerel from a trusted breeder. I have them in a quarantine pen with good seperation from the other birds. I would like to intergrate them as soon as possible and was thinking that I could put one of the cull pullets from my flock in with them to be sure they are not carring anything that would affect my birds. 3 weeks seem enough quarartine time if I do that?? thanks. ....stan

 

[ChicKat]

Interesting approach.

I had some new chickens and kept them seperate for 4 weeks. In the fifth week, I was going to integrate them and one turned out to have Mareks. So now I am keeping the two remaining new ones apart for the total of 12-weeks (on top of the 5-weeks) Mareks has an incubation period of 4-12 weeks.

Each time I think how it would be easier to keep them all together, I think I could risk Mareks (more then they are already exposed since it is airborne) to my existing chickens.

If you have a trusted breeder, and everyone is vaccinated for Mareks, then you could probably safe to combine before the magic 4-weeks. Had I combined at 4-weeks, all my chickens would have been eating and drinking and sleeping with the one that had Mareks. If you put your cull pullet in with them, How long would you wait for signs of illness?

Good luck with the process.

 

[tigercreek]

Quote:
Thanks for the reply, I was thinking the end of the month - 3 weeks - but you have made me have second thoughts now. I didn't realize that it took that long for any disease to show up. I was thinking that it would be much sooner, especially with the stress involved. ..stan

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

A lot of people on BYC say four weeks for quarantine. Even then they can be asymptomatic carriers of something so it is still a risk.

 

[dawg53]

Here's a link to diseases incubation times and course times:
http://www.amerpoultryassn.com/respiratory_disease.htm

 

[tigercreek]

Quote:
3-4 weeks was my thinking orginally too. The reason I put the cull pullet in with the new birds is in case they were carriers. I figure the stress would increase the chance that anything they were carring would show up. .thanks....stan

 

[tigercreek]

Quote:
Good link!! thanks. ..........stan