Introducing new chooks

Discussion in 'Planting, growing, nurturing Plants' started by Ryan, Nov 4, 2006.

  1. Ryan

    Ryan Junior Member

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    Hello y'all, its been a while, I do come here often to read, but haven't posted in a while. I did do the first 10 days of the PDC since I last posted. A very enriching experience. I can't wait to the do the practicum next summer.

    I have a question about chooks again.

    We have 10 right now, all doing well. A women has offered me two more same breed and age as ours. She says one is aggressive to people sometimes, which may get designated in the chicken tractor if it keeps that up. But I was wondering if there was a protocol for bringing in birds and introducing them to our flock. She says they are healthy, I just wonder about introducing illness or unhealthy competiton. Any feed back will be great.

    Well I made it through a horribly hot summer with long periods of drought. I was able to persevere and now the weather here is awesome. I just havent got used to the shorter day lenghts yet. We are working today to get our greenhouse covered before the first frost. I will be glad when we get it finished. I wish you all well in your works of greatness.

    Thanks, Ryan
     
  2. SueinWA

    SueinWA Junior Member

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    I'm not an expert, but here are my suggestions, gleaned from others:

    1. Inspect the chickens carefully before you take them. Ask how old they are. Ask if they've been vaccinated against Marek's Disease. Look at their legs, under their wings and around their vents for parasites. Look for lumps, bald areas, inflammed areas. Look for clear eyes and noses, with no discharge. They should be active and alert. Watch them in their original surroundings, and notice if they pick or scratch at themselves much. Look at their droppings, which should be fairly firm, not bloody or runny.

    2. When you get them home, isolate them completely from your other chickens for 2-4 weeks. Just in case of disease, DO NOT put them where your existing flock is ever likely to be. Collect a few fresh droppings (esp questionable looking ones) and mix them together, and take it in to your vet for a fecal exam. Be sure to tell them it is from chickens. If it shows any parasites, get the proper medication from the vet and dose ALL the new birds as directed. Be sure you understand how much and how often. If your vet doesn't have the right meds, write down EXACTLY what you should get, and how to use it. There is no one med that I know of that will get rid of all parasites. If the birds are producing eggs, ask the vet for how long you will have to discard the eggs after medicating. Ask if you should vaccinate them against anything common in your area.

    3. When your new birds come out of isolation, try to arrange putting them with your existing flock, but with chicken wire between them, so they can get used to each other for a bit. When you decide it's time to put them together, add the new birds all at once to the existing flock, and be sure to put all of them in at once, AT NIGHT, like just after dark. If you try to add one or two birds at a time, the other birds will probably attack them. Adding them all at once at least will spread out the aggression. Watch to see how they are getting along the next day, in case you have to intervene with a broom or something.

    4. Chickens have tiny brains and aren't all that smart. Allow for that.

    Sue
     
  3. Ryan

    Ryan Junior Member

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    Introducing new chooks

    Thanks for all the helpful tips Sue,

    The women dropped the two New Hampshire Reds off last night. I looked at them pretty good. They look really healthy and have firm breast tissue and their vents look OK. Nothing about them seemed to indicate they were sick, so I accepted them. I will keep them seperated on the other side of the land for 10 days or so to let them adjust, then I'll gradually move them closer to the flock. Our birds are all molting now, they look so funny. I was wondering if you thought that egg production will drastically decrease after they finish this 2nd molt? Anyway, thanks again.
     
  4. Plane Jane

    Plane Jane Junior Member

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    Good luck with your new chooks.

    I must confess, we never fussed too much about quarantine, perhaps we should have. We've never had problems, though.

    In terms of behaviour - we often were given one bird at a time, we had to watch closely to make sure they weren't getting beraten up too badly. We did have one young bantam rooster we gave to a neighbour to put in with HIS flock - our older rooster was beating the stuffing out of our younger one. Then the neighbour's hens literally scalped the new young male, they really didn't take to him at all. He flew over the neighbour's fence and we had to go and rescue him. We took him home, kept him isolated while his scalp wound healed (he never did grow back any feathers on the back of his head) and, in the meantime, our old rooster just dropped dead (old age, we worked out - he was about ten years old). So our young rooster now had our hens to himself. He proved to be a most capable father.

    I agree about putting them in at night, but you do need to be ready with a broom or hose next morning. I found that iin the coop it could be nasty; when the birds were free-ranging, the rooster was better able to get away from bullying boss hens. Generally, thought, once the hens feel the pecking order is established it settles down.

    But if it's just not working out (like it didn't for our neighbours) - be prepared to keep the birds permanently separated, or find other homes.
     

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