Question re: introducing new hens

[mistermorel]

Hi all!

I am going to introduce 4 hens to an empty coop later this month. 2 hens were brooded at a friend's, and the other two I am planning to buy off of Facebook around the same time I introduce the first two. I'm curious as to what the proper protocol is for forming a new flock from two halves? I've had chickens before but never done this sort of mixed intro between hens of different origins.

Would love if anyone could point me in the direction of proper quarantine procedures, intro procedures, etc etc.

Thanks so much

 

[rosemarythyme]

Are they all going to be similar ages?

Since you're adding them to a completely new environment you could possibly get away with simply tossing them together and letting them work things out, because neither group controls the territory.

If you were planning on doing a full biological quarantine: https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...nderestimated-part-of-raising-chickens.67097/ then you'd need to have 2 completely separate set ups and then deal with integrating one group into the other once integration period was over.

 

[mistermorel]

Yup, they are all similar ages! Would folks usually do a quarantine when merging two pairs together into a flock for the first time, or is that more of a standard for introducing birds to an established flock?

 

[rosemarythyme]

Yup, they are all similar ages! Would folks usually do a quarantine when merging two pairs together into a flock for the first time, or is that more of a standard for introducing birds to an established flock?

Probably more in an established flock, as the fear of losing existing birds that may be your family pets is greater. Or in a situation where you have might have more valuable birds (show birds, rare breeds, etc).

Realistically it's hard to do a true biological quarantine in many backyard set ups due to space constraints.

 

[aart]

Would folks usually do a quarantine when merging two pairs together into a flock for the first time, or is that more of a standard for introducing birds to an established flock?

It's for when you are merging birds from different locations.

 

[Mrs. K]

You cannot cheat at quarantine. If you can't do it perfectly, then you are just pretending. If you have a valuable flock, I would not add birds to it. If you have pets that you would go into a state of decline if some died, I would not add birds.

Without a doubt, doing a proper quarantine is a good idea, but it is quite intense.

Do not take any bird you feel sorry for, that is asking for a wreck. I would not take birds from people that attend shows, auctions or swaps. Those birds are exposed to a lot of things, and who knows what.

However, in your situation, I would put all 4 birds together into the coop at the same time if they have clear eyes, no coughing or sneezing, and no parasites.

Do make sure you have multiple feed bowls, add a bit of clutter to the run, roosts, pallets, places where birds can get under, or on top, behind or above the other birds. Put all of them in the coop at night. This is one of the few times that idea should work. Do check on them early in the morning.

Mrs K

 

[mistermorel]

Thanks so much for all the info, everyone! Looks like I will skip the quarantine this time around and just make sure to do a good check of each hen for general health & presence of parasites before I put them all together. Appreciate the idea of adding clutter to the run when I intro -- I hadn't thought of that but I can totally see how that'll be helpful.