Quarrentine Question

[Megs72]

Hi ~

How long is it typical to keep new chickens separate from current ones?

I have four 8 week old chicks (from a hatchery)

I got sucked in and bought two additional chicks.

Its been 2 weeks and I still have them separate due to size - the older ones are outside, then little ones are in a brooder. I take the brooder and sometime leave it near the coop so they can see each other.

I have seen no signs of any illness in 2 weeks, do you think that's ample time to ID if one might be ill?

I have not shared waterers, food dishes, and I wash my hands between handling the different chicken groups.

What the standard time to see illness surface?

Thanks!

 

[dawg53]

Normally it's recommended to quarantine new birds for at least 4-6 weeks due to incubation times of various diseases. It's normally in this time frame most diseases show themselves, not a guarantee though. It also gives you time to visually/physically inspect them for abnormalties, external parasites etc...