What is your procedure with new birds?

Hi! I just got this gorgeous juvenille ameraucana cockerel. Looks really healthy; no signs of mites or lice or anything. I generally keep new birds quarentined for a while and keep and eye on them, plus intro them to the main flock veerrrryy slowly through a fence. I watered this guy with a little molasses (he had been travelling for a few hours), + my standard ACV and garlic. Plus I dusted him with DE. He's jumped the fence a few times already and is mixing (sort of) with my main flock and no-one seems to care (except me!). My slightly older boys are nice guys, for the most part, and they have a lot of room, so they are not picking on him. I'm putting him by himself at night though.

What do YOU do with new birds? How long to your quarentine them?

I do quarantine them. I have to say, sometimes the length depends on if I know the person I got them from or not. Usually 3 weeks is what I do and then if I can I introduce free range before closed quarters. Just what seems to work for me.

Three weeks to a month for me, depending on convenience.

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I dont have the space to quarantine, however for next year I plan on having a quarantine coop for birds I don't know or buy from strangers. I'll Ivomec them on arrival and once they get their second ivomec treatment, they'll be moved in with general pop and be organic from then on.

Really, though, the quarantine is simply to restrict my other birds from inorganic wormer, because I don't change shoes, boots and uniform to go from quarantined birds to general population, and they'll pick up whatever I have on my feet from whatever shows/auctions/farms I go to anyway.

I also do 3 weeks to a month
Sweetend Do like I do I have some small pens to keep them in for the month small chicken Tractors not fancy but they work and I do them last and I dont have to walk in the pen I just lift a lid or open a smaller door Beings they are done last I just go in and clean up then

I gave away some cockerels recently, and the lady mentioned she does a three month quarantine.

authenticfarm wrote:I gave away some cockerels recently, and the lady mentioned she does a three month quarantine.

  I am waaay to impatient for that!!!!

I think it is a good thing to remember sometimes we have 'things' on our own place that our home birds have adapted to that may impact the new birds. Having them separate allows them the space and time to deal with any 'things' we may have lurking at home without the stress for pecking order and other social complications of the fowl world.

Yeah, I thought three months was a little long - 6 to 8 weeks seems about right to me. Maybe next year I'll build a quarantine coop, for this year, it'll have to be chicken tractors!

Ok, here is a quick way to the correct answer here. Which chicken ailment has the longest incubation period? Add a week to the incubation period, and voila! Quarantine!

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Ha ha, Ratty, I knew you would look, you crazy researcher, you! Ok, if we knock Liver Disease, Cholera, Sudden Death and TB of the list, a month or so should be fairly reasonable. Certainly a little longer wouldn't hurt!

 A month sounds good to me, but I still put a little extra in their water and food, and a few DE dustings as well. So far so good with any new intro's this year; unless I have losses this winter, I do not anticipate bringing any new birds on my property other than the ones we hatch ourselves

I try for 3-4 weeks in an isolated building but sometimes have to compromise slightly depending on space available and time of year.

I agree, I think it is as much for resting and recovering and getting used to me and the various sights and sounds of my place as for health. IE they tend to panic and fly away less if they've had some time to adjust in a secure location.