Quarantining a new chicken

[bobsmith2002]

I’ll be acquiring a new chicken soon and I will keep it separate and away from my flock for now. I will dust its feathers with permethrin powder to remove any lice or mites. I will also add a few drops of ivermectin to the back of its neck and underneath its wing.

Is there anything else I need to do before I can introduce it to my flock?

 

[FunClucks]

Consider deworming it and treating it for coccidiosis. Ivermectin is not generally recommended, at least not topically (if I recall correctly) for worms. You should consider SafeGuard or Valbazen. CORID for coccidiosis. The most exact way is to get a fecal float test done for the new chicken to figure out what worms and other diseases it might have that show up on a fecal float test.

Nothing you've mentioned will address the possibility that it may have a transmittable disease. Respiratory infections specifically are highly contagious, or infections that spread through feather dander can be devastating, and once the chickens have these, they are often carriers for life, even without displaying symptoms. You might consider searching on this site on how to properly quarantine a chicken - there's a lot to it, and a lot of it is about how you choose to manage risk. Also look up Biosecurity on this site. Various folks are comfortable with various levels of risk.

Just because a bird looks healthy, doesn't mean it is.

 

[bobsmith2002]

Consider deworming it and treating it for coccidiosis. Ivermectin is not generally recommended, at least not topically (if I recall correctly) for worms. You should consider SafeGuard or Valbazen. CORID for coccidiosis. The most exact way is to get a fecal float test done for the new chicken to figure out what worms and other diseases it might have that show up on a fecal float test.

Nothing you've mentioned will address the possibility that it may have a transmittable disease. Respiratory infections specifically are highly contagious, or infections that spread through feather dander can be devastating, and once the chickens have these, they are often carriers for life, even without displaying symptoms. You might consider searching on this site on how to properly quarantine a chicken - there's a lot to it, and a lot of it is about how you choose to manage risk. Also look up Biosecurity on this site. Various folks are comfortable with various levels of risk.

Just because a bird looks healthy, doesn't mean it is.

Will this medication for pigeons work on chickens also?

https://jedds.com/products/tonys-treasure-tablets-vetafarm

It says:
“Tony's Treasure by VetaFarm is a 5 in 1 broad spectrum treatment for bacterial infections including Salmonella and E.coli, also Coccidiosis, Canker and other Protozoal diseases, and Ornithosis/ Psittacosis caused by Chlamydia. These tablets will treat most diseases in pigeons that are of non viral origin. Contains Antibiotics, Antiprotozoals and Anticoccidials.”

Do you think this will work on chickens too?

 

[StinkyAcres]

If you have a good quarantine setup it seems unnecessary to treat them for diseases they don't show any signs of.

When I introduced new birds to my flock I did a very strict, month-long quarantine (new birds were kept many yards away from my old birds, had someone else care for my old birds while only I cared for my new birds, I wore different clothes/shoes and kept them away from anything my old birds could come in contact with, feed and supplies for each flock was kept separate). I did not treat the new birds with anything as long as they didn't show symptoms.

Do be aware that the risk of a new, adult chicken bringing in a chronic respiratory disease is very high and no meds will prevent it from spreading to your new birds. So if you are worried about that you need to do a very strict quarantine and cull the new bird if they show any signs.

 

[FunClucks]

Will this medication for pigeons work on chickens also?

View attachment 4215081
https://jedds.com/products/tonys-treasure-tablets-vetafarm

It says:
“Tony's Treasure by VetaFarm is a 5 in 1 broad spectrum treatment for bacterial infections including Salmonella and E.coli, also Coccidiosis, Canker and other Protozoal diseases, and Ornithosis/ Psittacosis caused by Chlamydia. These tablets will treat most diseases in pigeons that are of non viral origin. Contains Antibiotics, Antiprotozoals and Anticoccidials.”

Do you think this will work on chickens too?

I'd make a new post, and ask in the title "Will Vetafarm Pigeon Medicine de-worm chickens and kill coccidiosis?" I'd post it in the Emergency Forum. You can link to this post, or make a new one. But I'm not sure you'll get the engagement on this post that you need. I don't know the answer, but the folks on that Forum will, if they don't see this post.

I think it's a matter of dosage. A certain amt of medicine per body weight is needed, and chickens are much heavier than pigeons. Also, I don't know the active ingredients and dosage per volume in the medication you've listed, so I can't give input on whether it's actually effective.

 

[Mrs. K]

Do not treat for something just in case. Do a thorough inspection, do a fecal float. Do look at where you are getting her from, and do not take anything you are sorry for.

Probably the best test for a long term disease is a bird from your flock, put her with the new bird, well away from your flock. (If this appalls you, don't take on a full grown bird. Instead, add day old chicks.) This will do a couple of things:

• If there is a hidden disease, your original bird should show signs, and if so, cull both birds.
• It is extremely difficult to introduce a single bird into an established flock. Very good advice is to add a single bird to her, and wait for that to settle, then add the pair back to the flock.

Mrs K

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Do not treat for something just in case. Do a thorough inspection, do a fecal float. Do look at where you are getting her from, and do not take anything you are sorry for.

Probably the best test for a long term disease is a bird from your flock, put her with the new bird, well away from your flock. (If this appalls you, don't take on a full grown bird. Instead, add day old chicks.) This will do a couple of things:

• If there is a hidden disease, your original bird should show signs, and if so, cull both birds.
• It is extremely difficult to introduce a single bird into an established flock. Very good advice is to add a single bird to her, and wait for that to settle, then add the pair back to the flock.

Mrs K

So ... possibly a sacrificial bird from one's own flock. Wow.

 

[FunClucks]

So ... possibly a sacrificial bird from one's own flock. Wow.

There are so many diseases that chickens can get that are devastating that can hide and the birds not show signs. And then it can destroy your entire flock and even contaminate your environment for years afterwards. Biosecurity is a big deal, and folks have different levels of comfort with taking risks. A sacrificial bird from one's own flock, while not ideal for that bird, could hopefully address some of this risk.

Do we (individually) see them as pets, as an investment, as a business, as a reservoir of rare genetic material and heritage that should be preserved and protected? How much money and years of our lives have we invested in our current flocks and breeding programs, or in helping our sick favorite hen heal?

Everyone has different answers to these questions, which drive our acceptance of risk and how we choose to integrate (or not integrate) adult birds. There is not one right answer that works for everyone because each of us will answer these questions a bit differently.

 

[Mrs. K]

Everyone has different answers to these questions, which drive our acceptance of risk and how we choose to integrate

possibly a sacrificial bird from one's own flock. Wow.

A lot depends on how old the 'new' bird is. Where are you getting her from? How do those people keep birds.

Truthfully, I have kept a flock for decades. I enjoy growing my own food, and have a pretty realistic viewpoint of life and death. I have butchered my own birds, and I have lost them to predators. I have added birds and hatched out birds.

But the reality for me, is I do not have a valuable flock of birds full of rare genetics. I know several people who like me keep an egg laying flock for eggs. They and I enjoy keeping chickens. They don't go to auctions, don't do chicken shows. And often times we have exchanged chickens without quarantine and done just fine. In a way, their birds are in quarantine from my birds in their original set up. I tend to think that healthy birds look healthy. Am I risking it? Yes, but it is a risk that I can live with.

So, if the person you are getting the bird from, just have a small healthy back yard flock. AND if those folks don't go to chicken auctions, and add those birds exposed to who knows what, or go to poultry shows - all where birds could pick up a possible disease. If they don't do those things - well their birds are probably as clean as your own.

If you have visited their flock, gone home and tended your own, well there is a good chance you have already shared germs.

So yes, I just added 3 pullets to my flock and nobody died. Had anyone got the sniffles, I would not have treated, I would have culled quickly. But no one did.

As Funclucks states, is it a real risk? Yes, but we all have different tolerances. If you would go into a state of decline over losing a bird, do not add birds, except as chicks - they are considered almost 100% disease free.

Another advantage of adding chicks, is then your birds are not all the same age. Always a good thing in a flock.

Mrs K