Quarntine how long should this go on.

[MamaRedd77]

I have 4 Novogen hens that I bought on Saturday. They all look and act healthy. Not one has stopped eating, drinking, or doing chicken things. They are very active. I have had them in a coop away from my others hens for 4 days now. When should I put them with my other hens? Also, I think they are A LOT younger than I was told. Their combs are there but small and their stocks and feet are SUPER YELLOW. How does anyone know how to age a chicken?

 

[HappyClucker7]

If you post a picture, I could give you an age estimate.

 

[MamaRedd77]

These are the quarentined ladies

 

[HappyClucker7]

They look like maybe 4 months old.

 

[MamaRedd77]

I was told they where 3 months so it's about accurate.

 

[black_cat]

Technically, it's recommended that you quarantine for a full month. If you do a full physical examination, however, and everything looks good, then if the behavior remains the same you can probably start integration.

 

[MamaRedd77]

They are 4 months old. Should i put them with my older birds? A MONTH, wow, they are in great health. Eating, drinking and doing chicken stuff. They are free ranging for the first time I think. My other hens are 6 months old. Will they teach these youngsters a thing or to?

 

[black_cat]

They are 4 months old. Should i put them with my older birds? A MONTH, wow, they are in great health. Eating, drinking and doing chicken stuff. They are free ranging for the first time I think. My other hens are 6 months old. Will they teach these youngsters a thing or to?

I'd do a full physical examination if you haven't already, just to be safe. Here's a good article on that: https://the-chicken-chick.com/chicken-checkup-diy-physical-exam/
If everything checks out, you can start integrating.
For integrating them into your flock, give them at least a week of see but don't touch time, and have them separated with chicken wire or hardware cloth. After a while, let them free range together, the one night, pop them on the lowest roost in the coop. If you don't have more than one roost, put them in on the floor. Add more food and water stations, and put the new ones behind things so that they're not in the sightline of the other resources. Rearrange your entire run, as that will help take the focus off the newcomers. Are they all the same size? If not, set something up so the new hens can get inside, but the older ones can't.

 

[MamaRedd77]

Thank you for all the info. No they are different in sizes. My older hens are BIGGER and these young birds are about half their sizes. The pictures are the young Novogen hens. Scroll to top.

 

[black_cat]

Thank you for all the info. No they are different in sizes. My older hens are BIGGER and these young birds are about half their sizes. The pictures are the young Novogen hens. Scroll to top.

If these hens are smaller that will work very well, as you will be able to create a space in the run (maybe just even a large cardboard box with a hole in it) that the new hens can fit into and the old ones can't. Good luck!