Urgent Reminder-PLEASE Quarantine Newly Acquired Birds!

[BooBear]

This is a very good thread. Thankyou for this very important information.

 

[ranchhand]

Quote:
VERY good thread, I am shamelessly bumping it today!

 

[zekii]

This is information that I've been searching for ... a very appropriate thread for a soon to be BYC owner

 

[ranchhand]

Another aspect to be dealt with is quarantining your chickens after a show- there is no telling what the chicken was exposed to. And you, your clothing, all the other people milling around? Recipe for disaster!

 

[Bryceeast]

Thanks for this information

 

[bburn]

I believe in the quarantine period. I have not had issues as of yet and consider myself lucky. I only got away with quarantine because my husband was out of town. I had to get pretty loud with him when he came back because I was just over the time period and was starting the introductions. He is of the mind that you 'just throw them in there....they are just chickens'.

Mine are an extremely healthy flock and I intend that they stay that way if I can help it. I think my DH thinks I am 'scared' to put them together because they will fight. I am not scared of that because I give them time to see each other at the end with a little bit of fencing between them. It has worked out well for me but I will not have a reason from this point to add new birds to my flock. Any new ones we add to the flock will be added from within.

 

[MikasGirl]

This should DEFINITELY be a sticky!!

 

[speckledhen]

Actually, it is a sticky. It's one of the links here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=112920

 

[Ema]

in september I had a friend of Dh ask me if I wanted to take her 17 laying hens, for free, she said they were laying real well and that they didn't have winter housing for them and needed to get rid of them. I asked Dh about this and he said yeah we could take them. I did some research on here and all of the topics that I looked at said they needed to be quarantined before integrating, I told Dh about this and he was more than willing to build a new holding pen inside the barn just for them. So I told Dh's friend that I needed some time to build a new pen and explained why. I didn't hear anything back from her for about 10 days, she then emailed me back and said if I still wanted them she would drive them here in boxes. I said I would much rather pick them up and see how they were being kept prior to coming here so I could minimize the stress by adding what ever familiar things they already had there. again didn't hear nothing for 2 weeks, and I began to get this funny feeling. So I emailed her back and asked her if her chickens were sick, or were molting, did they have any drainage or weird noises that sounded like coughing.

3 days later she emailed me and said well to be honest we think they have lice, they are missing a lot of feathers and are no longer laying very well and they have all these bugs on them and a few have died already. If I had not read the threads on BYC I would have gotten those chickens and mine would be sick or dead by now. I told her I couldn't risk the health of my flock and told her to treat her chickens and then if she still didn't want them I would take them. A few days later she emailed me back and said they sent their whole flock to freezer camp. I didn't say anything to her but I told Dh there is no way I would have culled those birds to eat them seeing that on top of mites they obviously had something else wrong with them and they had no clue what it was.

BYC experienced members post these topics because they know what they are talking about and I am here to learn and take the advice seriously. thank you for posting this reminder!!!

 

[liliesprom]

A friend brought me a leghorn hen found on the highway in shock...believe she was on her way to slaughter (seems young: has beginnings of a comb, but cheeps more like a chick than clucks like a hen). She was very short on feathers, not sure because of molt or because of trauma. After two days of quiet and a warm bath (she really smelled bad and enjoyed the bath), she looks and feels much better. Still working on her diarrhea. I'm trying buttermilk. The area below her vent seems to be sticking out more than it should, but I've not seen a naked chicken bottom, so not sure. I have her in the bathroom in a plastic tote to keep her quiet and safe until I can get her well and outside with the flock. The flock of 8 healthy girls grew up from chicks together and don't seem to have any disagreements. I'm afraid because she is new, even if she is well, they will pick on her due to missing her tail feathers and feathers under her wings. Advise on how to deal with the diarrhea and introducing her to the flock or setting up better temporary quarters for her until she can move outside? I'd love to hold her and spoil her...she is so sweet, but can't really take the diarrhea possibilities.