Integrating single hen

[ChickenLittle66]

Hi! Our neighbors down the street have had a single hen roaming their yard. She doesn’t belong to anyone in the neighborhood and they’re actively trying to catch her.

We have an existing flock of 5 hens who are about 20 weeks.

If we were to take her, I do plan on quarantining her for at least two weeks, but realistically a month to be extra sure she doesn’t have any critters coming along with her.

What is an appropriate size quarantine pen for her? I have our old 50g sterlite tote brooder, but I’d feel awful keeping her in that for a while in the garage/basement(where she won’t be easy pickings to a predator) also not even sure if that’s big enough for her but we do have some scrap wood/chicken wire/potentially enough hardware cloth depending on an appropriate size.

I know it’s harder to integrate one vs multiple but town law limits us to 6 hens and I’m not trying to have more than that bc we already don’t have a permit for the five we do have.

 

[azygous]

We old timers recommend against importing adult chickens into a young flock. Internal and external parasites are the least of the concerns. Quarantine will not protect your flock from an asymptomatic chicken carrying a deadly virus such as lymphoid leucosis and Marek's. Then there are the chronic respiratory viruses that lie dormant in a chicken's cells and erupt when a chicken is under stress. Believe me, you don't want any of them in your flock, and all are extremely common, not rare at all.

If you catch the chicken, turn it over to the animal shelter. A vet can screen it and then they will place it up for adoption.

 

[ChickenLittle66]

We old timers recommend against importing adult chickens into a young flock. Internal and external parasites are the least of the concerns. Quarantine will not protect your flock from an asymptomatic chicken carrying a deadly virus such as lymphoid leucosis and Marek's. Then there are the chronic respiratory viruses that lie dormant in a chicken's cells and erupt when a chicken is under stress. Believe me, you don't want any of them in your flock, and all are extremely common, not rare at all.

If you catch the chicken, turn it over to the animal shelter. A vet can screen it and then they will place it up for adoption.

Noted. That’s as my other thought. But we unfortunately don’t have an ACO/shelter as of right now due to the last one leaving and the town having yet to fill the position. I’ll have to call around and see which ones will/can take her.

 

[rosemarythyme]

If you do decide to keep her, a plastic tote is not appropriate for an adult bird. This is where something like a prefab coop would be appropriate, or a very large dog crate or small exercise pen. She would need room to move around. The housing could later be used for the see but no touch period, next to your current flock.

 

[The Chickens' Maid]

House chicken . . . just a thought