To Quarantine or Not To?

[BidDaddy]

I have three 11 week old chicks - RIR, Ameracauna & Plymouth BR. I just purchased two 6 week old chicks, a Buff Orpington and Favorelle. These were bought from McMurray and shipped to me. Do I still have to quarantine them for 30 days or only until the other three start to accept them? The RIR isn’t too happy about their arrival but the other two don’t seem to care. Thanks.

 

[Latestarter]

Since you got them from a hatchery, IMHO quarantine isn't really necessary. From a private seller with who knows what on their property, yes, absolutely quarantine! I would suggest following the normal integration routine since there's such a large variation in their ages. Make sure you have multiple feeding and watering stations so they aren't blocked from eating and drinking. Also make sure there are places for the younger ones to be able to escape any persecution. Good luck!

 

[Mrs. K]

If your older birds have met them, even through a fence, quarantine has been broken and they are all exposed. Quarantine is very difficult to do correctly, and if you don’t do it correctly, you may as well not do it at all.

One needs to separate the birds by a great distance, different feed bowls, wear different clothes...ectra. A lot of people think they are quarantine but they are not.

MrsK