Quarantining queries

[pawsplus]

I have more than a month to get ready, as I won't get another chicken until after my vacation, but I want to be ready. Due to my Olivia's death

I will be adopting another so I will have 3 again. When I got Svetlana I took a risk and didn't q-tine--I knew the former owner, her chickens had been on her farm for years, no new ones had come in for at least a year, etc. But I probably won't take the risk again even though the new chicken will be coming from a similar environment.

A few questions:

(1) I will have no appropriate outdoor location in which I can safely q-tine a chicken. So it will have to be done in my house. I can use a 4x4 dog ex pen, covered, with paper on the floor. Will that be OK?

(2) How long must I q-tine for? I know 30 days is usually recommended, but is 2 weeks enough? It seems cruel to keep a chicken completely alone for much longer than that. Again, she'll be coming from someone I know who breeds her own chickens so she hasn't gotten any in from outside in a long time.

(3) The person from whom I will get the chicken also has ducks, turkeys, and guinea hens. Does this represent any additional risk? Are there diseases those other species can transmit to chickens?

Thanks!

 

[pawsplus]

No one?? I did find the long q-tining thread and it looks like 30 days is necessary, right? <sigh> I hate to do that to the poor girl.

I would really appreciate some housing suggestions! Is my plan OK? I can't go out and make yet another predator-proof outdoor enclosure for 1 hen for 1 month, so she'll have to be in the house. On nice days when I'm home I could take the X-pen outside, stake it down, cover it, and let her be on the grass for a while (far away from the other girls).

Wish the barn would work, but the stalls are nowhere near 'coon proof and can't easily be made so.

 

[calicokat]

Yep, 30 days is the standard I've heard and used too.

When we use a dog crate, we used pine shavings and the birds tend to kick and scratch them all out. To prevent that, we tuck a strip of cardboard on the inside, all around the bottom (about 6 inches tall) and it keeps most of it in there. If you could adopt 2, and keep them in there, it might help the new one not be so lonely.

We don't really have a good setup for this and usually end up caving in and mingling the newbies with the flock sooner

. DD & I scheduled a sit-down out at the coop this evening to talk and walk and mark up the area for some expansion/renovation though, so hopefully soon

When space is at a premium, it's so hard to dedicate some to a once in awhile need, ya know?

 

[Ridgerunner]

To be honest, I don't think quaratine will do you much good with things as you describe them. It is a great opportunity to worm and treat for mies and lice, but honestly, what do you expect to see? It is possible the new hen will have some diseaes, but if she has been in a closed flock for a while, what is she going to come down with in the next month that she has not already shown? Chickens can develop immunities and still be carriers of the disease, but if they have the immunity, you can quarantine them forever and never see any symptoms.

If the chicken is coming from a flock that has been exposed to other chickens recently, quarantine is a great idea. If the previous owner would not recognize a disease, then maybe quarantine would be good. But if she has been in a closed flock for a few months, hasn't she already been through a quarantine?

For larger flocks, I'd suggest selecting one of your present chickens and put it in with the newcomers during the quarantine period. That way, you would learn if they are really carrying anything that threatens your entire flock. In your case, with only two current chickens, I would not suggest you do that.

Quarantine is a powerful tool, but like any tool, it needs to be used appropriatedly. I'm not sure it is appropriate in your circumstances.

Good luck!

 

[pawsplus]

Thanks for the responses. I'm curious about Ridgerunner's suggestion that I not bother to quarantine. ??? Does anyone else agree with that? I've read through this thread and it sure seems like most people feel it's absolutely essential.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=12751

 

[7L Farm]

Well , first off there your chickens so its really your call. As RR said quarantine is a powerful tool. In your scenario saying the breeder hasn't brought in any new chickens in a long time your probably safe. I'd ask her how long? Plus, quarantine is definitely necessary with big flocks so you don't loose your whole flock. Its always safer to quarantine no matter what.

 

[pawsplus]

Quote:
That's why I want to do it. My girls are pets, not livestock, so it's even more important IMO!

 

[ReikiStar]

From all the posts on here where people lose all or nearly all of their birds...it's almost been 100% because they brought a new bird or birds into their flock.

I know it's hard to keep a chicken by itself but it also gives it a chance to get to know you and any family pets.

Here is the other side: Could you imagine how it would feel it you didn't quarantine and something happened? I personally would at least want to be able to say I did my best, I didn't half-a$$ my chickens' health for my convenience.

I'm sure your friend's farm is well managed but the new chicken will be stressed going to a new farm and then integrating into a new flock, when chickens get stressed is when disease comes to the surface.

Voting for 30 day quarantine.

 

[pawsplus]

Yes, that's my feeling. I'll do it.

You're right, too, about bonding w/ the new hen. None of my chickens have ever been exactly into me, LOL. Started out w/ Clarice, who not only was a stray, living the wild life after being abandoned by neighbors who moved, but she's also a VERY butch hen, with the personality of a really angry mother grizzly bear, LOL. I've never once touched her in our 6 years together (other than the time she attacked me b/c I was catching Olivia) and honestly, wouldn't dare. I'd probably lose an arm. I sure hope she never gets sick b/c it's gonna be hard on us both.

I got both Olivia and Svetlana as adults as well and didn't q-tine them, so once they went in w/ Clarice they did things her way.

Olivia had a naturally sweet personality and was easiest to catch if necessary; Svetty I can get my hands on if I need to. But none of them LOVE me.

So it might be a really good opportunity to get to know the new hen and, in the absence of anyone better (ie, anyone w/ feathers!), maybe she'll decide I'm not so bad.

 

[chickyboomboom]

Can you get 2 chickens instead of just the one? Chicken math at work here, but I would feel bad for the lone chicken too. Then at least she'll have a buddy for the month long quarantine...