AccidentalChickenLady
In the Brooder
- Sep 19, 2017
- 37
- 19
- 49
Hey BYCers!
It's been a rough first year of chicken-raising for us... We started out with five chicks 10 months ago, and are now down to one. One chick died a few days in (OK, that happens); one EE died at about 5 months old (she was cross-beaked and never recovered from a beak trim); our RIR died at 7 months old after being treated for gapeworm — a necropsy showed that her reproductive organs never developed, so there was something else going on — but we changed our coop flooring and ramped up biosecurity just to be safe. And then earlier this week, we found our second EE dead inside the coop when we went to scoop poop boards in the morning. No visible signs of injury, and she was behaving normally up until her death, though she was on the tail end of a molt.
That means we have just one bird left, our alpha Barred Rock, Raven. (That's her standing on my head in my profile picture.) She is also mid-molt, but is eating, drinking, pooping, and clucking normally. She stopped laying a couple weeks ago when she started molting, which I understand is reasonably common.
We live just outside Denver, CO, and have been having cold weather snaps with nighttime temperatures in the teens. I'm worried about Raven being able to keep warm enough in the night, especially given the fact that she's molting. I also suspect that chickens aren't really made to be solitary creatures?
I've found a trio of chickens that have been raised by a neighbor that I am considering buying. Two are adults currently laying (another BR and EE, both 1-2 years old), and a 4-month-old orange Buff Orpington. Under normal circumstances, I would quarantine those new birds — and we do have a shed and spare dog crate in which we could keep them through quarantine. Then we'd do the see-but-not-touch method of introduction before putting them all in the permanent coop.
But my question is this: Given that I just have one bird left in my original flock, and that she would be alone in the main coop for the duration of quarantine, including during cold nights, is a quarantine still the best course of action? I'm nervous about Raven staying warm enough alone in the coop for the next three-four weeks, but also don't want to add additional stress while she's molting and dealing with changing flock dynamics.
As always, I'm grateful for any and all advice!
It's been a rough first year of chicken-raising for us... We started out with five chicks 10 months ago, and are now down to one. One chick died a few days in (OK, that happens); one EE died at about 5 months old (she was cross-beaked and never recovered from a beak trim); our RIR died at 7 months old after being treated for gapeworm — a necropsy showed that her reproductive organs never developed, so there was something else going on — but we changed our coop flooring and ramped up biosecurity just to be safe. And then earlier this week, we found our second EE dead inside the coop when we went to scoop poop boards in the morning. No visible signs of injury, and she was behaving normally up until her death, though she was on the tail end of a molt.
That means we have just one bird left, our alpha Barred Rock, Raven. (That's her standing on my head in my profile picture.) She is also mid-molt, but is eating, drinking, pooping, and clucking normally. She stopped laying a couple weeks ago when she started molting, which I understand is reasonably common.
We live just outside Denver, CO, and have been having cold weather snaps with nighttime temperatures in the teens. I'm worried about Raven being able to keep warm enough in the night, especially given the fact that she's molting. I also suspect that chickens aren't really made to be solitary creatures?
I've found a trio of chickens that have been raised by a neighbor that I am considering buying. Two are adults currently laying (another BR and EE, both 1-2 years old), and a 4-month-old orange Buff Orpington. Under normal circumstances, I would quarantine those new birds — and we do have a shed and spare dog crate in which we could keep them through quarantine. Then we'd do the see-but-not-touch method of introduction before putting them all in the permanent coop.
But my question is this: Given that I just have one bird left in my original flock, and that she would be alone in the main coop for the duration of quarantine, including during cold nights, is a quarantine still the best course of action? I'm nervous about Raven staying warm enough alone in the coop for the next three-four weeks, but also don't want to add additional stress while she's molting and dealing with changing flock dynamics.
As always, I'm grateful for any and all advice!
Glad to learn it's all working out 
