So now what do I do?

[rancher hicks]

I just read the "Ten Commandments" and printed them out.
BUT, I just purchased 5 Delaware chickens 1yr. olds so I was told. One I'm pretty sure is a roo though she said it was a hen. I've had them for a week yesterday and only gotten 2 eggs in a day. I realize I should never have gotten them and being a newbie and them being Delawares and that no one seems to have them or "experts" willing to reply, I bought them. I have them quarantined but don't know that I can keep them that way for months. What do I do with them? There is an auction this week and one of them is definitely going, somewhere. The hus put them in my cages and I didn't get a good look at them till I got them home. The backs of 3 are roughed up pretty good and the roo is big. One of them has no feathers on the belly. Would she do that if she was a broody? The women's 3 hours away but I have no problem going back and kicking her @#$$%%.
So should I kill them all? Hang on to them and watch? I don't like the rooster though he is big. He was the original purchase. I have 3 hatchery Del hens.

I also purchase 4 CM chicks, 1 roo and 3 hens, from a different breeder. They were free range and of course I have them quarantined. His birds seem cleaner and fine. I intend to put them in a side by side coop with my Feb. Ideal birds. I've had them for a week. They are noisey and I have no where else to put them.
I definitely am not putting the Dels near my other birds. Any advice on what to do with the CM's?

I regret having gotten chickens, but am in to deep now, I've spent so much money, my wife would kill me or I may kill myself.
I wanted Delawares but I hate this roo and since I got no response from expert Del keepers thought I had no choice. My thought was that when I get some hatchable eggs he could go, then what?

I have a red friz bantam roo from the orig. Ideal purchase and my dw likes him and he can't go.
Since it's not safe to replenish Del hens from an outside source what am I to do?
I am going to have a closed "leave me alone" flock. Or should I get rid of all the roos and replace my stock with hatchery chicks each time? I wanted to help save heritage breeds but this site has scared the chicken lovin out of me. They're going to get diseases, they're going to get attacked, good garden of peas!
Man I wish I hadn't gotten chickens.
So lets have it, all you expert moderators.

 

[shawnm2639]

can't wait till you get a reply...i am so new I didn't even understand most of your shorthand. but I feel you pain...does that count?

 

[shawnm2639]

Oh by the way..I have 3 10 wk Delware Hens. I thought they were rare. but they had them at my feed store so I bought them...now I am trying to mix them with my BR 20 week olds

 

[rancher hicks]

Could someone please answer my questions?

 

[speckledhen]

Delawares whose genetics have not been badly diluted with other blood from outcrossing to breeds like Columbian Rocks are rare. Hatchery versions are not.

I dont quite understand what you're asking, though. If you post a pic of this rooster, I can tell you in a heartbeat if it is a Del rooster-they are patterned differently than the girls. You sort of sounded unsure about that. A bare stomach could mean molting or that the hen has been recently broody-they do pluck themselves there so their skin has contact with the eggs.

I can't answer if you should have bought any birds other than your originals. Certainly, the safest way to add to your flock is to hatch from eggs from a very reputable breeder with a healthy flock rather than buy started birds. Many folks do and they take the gamble. Is that what you are asking? Even hatchery stock can have disease, though it's more rare...and there have been instances lately, but you have to add stock somehow. Just be cautious when you do it, I guess.

I wrote the Ten Commandments to summarize my philosophy and how I do things, the way I believe is best, but you dont have to do everything exactly like I do it. I get so many PMs and that was a way to answer most of them in one fell swoop.

(would have answered last night, but I was already on my way to bed and didn't see it)

 

[Judy]

No expert here, just been doing a lot of reading, and have had chickens over a year, this round.

My first thought was, there are over 36,000 members on this site. You are reading the horror stories. Surely there are plenty of people who keep chickens for years with minimal problems. I've had them off and on all my life and never experienced most of the awful stuff I read here.

Yeah, they might get a disease; you might not even know it. So might any other type of livestock, and my experience with veggies has been much worse than with chickens. (I seem to have a black thumb.) I have a few roos with dry fowl pox; won't hurt anything, it will go away on its own. If I hadn't read about it on here I would not have known, or paid a couple of black scabs any attention.

No sense wringing your hands over what has not happened. I lost several free range birds last year to predators but have had no losses for about 8 or 9 months now, and the rest of that flock still free range (really free, they can leave the county if they wish.) And we see a fox around her now and then. Maybe what I have left are the smart ones. The new birds are fenced with good wire and electric, no losses in 20 weeks, but it will probably happen sooner or later, it is a large yard and a top is not feasible. I'm not losing sleep over it. They are happy and look healthy, and the yard is big enough they do not turn it into a desert. The older free rangers are staying free range, so obviously I could lose them, but again, they are happy and healthy.

I'd be very tempted to keep the Del roo long enough to get some babies then sell or cook him. I'd work towards a closed flock; that's what I'm doing -- but you have to start somewhere so there will always be some risk. The usual rec is quarantine for 3-4 weeks then choose a "sacrificial" bird and put it with the new ones and watch for disease. This is what I'd do with the Dels. Yes, the missing belly feathers could well indicate she recently set some eggs; they will pull their own and line the nest with them. If you're sure you never want them near your others, then don't do this, just get rid of them, one way or another.

It's really about one's attitude, isn't it?

 

[verlaj]

I am no expert by far, but since no one else is chiming in, maybe I can help a little.

First - the 5 Delawares:

The backs roughed up- probably from incessant breeding by the rooster. I have heard that some roosters don't do this kind of damage and I have seen hens housed with roosters that had feathers on their backs, even when there were only 3 hens/roo. However, when I had roosters with my flock (2 roos/about 20 hens), my hens were always looking like wrecks. I got rid of the roosters. Other people put "saddles" on the hens backs to protect them. Other people house the roosters separately and only let them with the hens periodically if they want fertile eggs. More hens with the roo might help the problem, but that was not my experience.

Second - not many eggs so far. You say you only have had these Delawares a week. In my experience, any disturbance of the environment - like rearranging roosts, adding new birds, etc., will make the egg production fall off. Your birds have recently been moved to a new home and it sounds like they did not live in a peaceful, spacious, healthy, harmonious environment anyway. I suspect if you provide them with a good environment with fresh water and healthful food, once they settle in, they will lay more.

Third - you don't mention that there are any signs of disease. No respiratory signs, no abnormal feces? Are they eating well? Are they alert and active? Are they in good weight? If not I wouldn't worry too much, but give them time.

Fourth - feather loss. Yes, birds can go bald in places when they are broody. Some develop a "broody patch" where there normally is a big, fluffy butt! I actually embarrassed myself by calling a poulty vet about this when I first saw it on my barred rock hens! I recently had my first broody hatch - she went nearly bald under her wings/on her chest right where she would contact the eggs. That being said, I would investigate other causes of feather loss - such as look for mites. I have no experience with mites, but there are many posts here and other sources online and in books that will tell you what to look for. Also, could the birds be molting? If so, they can look like wrecks from that alone AND they wouldn't lay much until they get through the molt.

If I had these birds AND they did not have signs that they were actually sick, I would do as you are - keep them separated from the others for a while. I would check them for mites, and if there are no signs of mites or any other medical issues, I would worm them (I would use ivermectin myself), feed and house them well, separate the roo from the hens, and give them a little time.

As far as the others, I don't know what to say. I'm not sure what the problem is with those, except for integrating them with the flock. I think the main problem would be the roosters and if you want to breed the CMs and the Delawares, you need to keep them separated so you know what will hatch out from the eggs. I suppose the little roo will have to be kept apart from the big roos anyway, but I don't know much about keeping roos together.

Yes, reading this website makes you worry about a lot of things that can go wrong. My experience if for the most part - at least with no roosters around to stir things up - my chickens are trouble free. I have learned quite a bit over seven years of keeping them, but I think mostly if they have enough space, a relatively clean environment, and good water/food, there aren't many illnesses. I keep mine in a secure place at night, but they are out and about during the day. Yes, occasionally I lose some to predators or various (usually undiagnosed) ailments, but that's about it. Some people get more attached to their birds than I do, of course. I don't name my birds for the most part. I protect them from predators as best as I can, treat them well and enjoy them.

I don't think I would add adults to my flock - only hatchery chicks or hatch my own from a reliable source of eggs, but there are many that have a lot more experience than me that buy and trade older chickens without apparent concern. In our area, there is a regular chicken swap - chickens seem to change hands all the time in this group, and no one seems to be particularly concerned. I suppose they quarantine them initially, then add them to the flock. However, since I let mine free range they are exposed to wild birds every day, but mostly the hens are well anyway.

Good luck! I will be interested to see what others think when they are their 2 cents.

 

[speckledhen]

Well, you know that bad press gets the most attention. Heck, if you had read The Chicken Health Handbook all the way through, you'd have NEVER gotten chickens, LOL. Just do the best you can with biosecurity, buy only from folks who are reputable or have good references from folks who know something (not just anyone), and try not to borrow trouble.

 

[AmyRey]

Quote:
You have no idea how comforting to me your post is!

 

[GrannySue]

Quote:
That is so true! Early in my chicken keeping days I reached for my "Raising Chickens" and got the Handbook instead. Started reading it and it terrified me! This was during the Avian flu crisis when millions of chickens were destroyed just a few miles across the strait from me.