New Hen Procedures

[moosey]

Good morning everyone! I recently got 2 beautiful 6-mo lavender Wyandot hens that will be integrated into my current flock of 2 4-yo hens (crested cream leg bar and barred Plymouth Rock). The new ones come from a reputable person who has wormed and vaccinated them. Wondering what the standard procedure is with getting new hens: Should I give Corid to the whole flock because of the stress?

Integration question: When we integrated pullets a while back, I gave everyone Corid, quarantined for a month, and took a month to integrate them (3 pullets with 3 existing hens). It was a painful process as we only have 1 coop/run. This time, we have fewer total hens (only the 2 original hens and 2 new hens, who are now about the same size as the original hens). Our 1 hen who was the bully toward the pullets passed earlier this year, but our cream leg bar is the current top hen. The barred rock is very docile. I know there are different opinions about quarantine time and integration time, and I'd like to avoid all the pain and time it took with integrating the pullets before, so was hoping for more guidance. The person we got the new hens from feels the new hens are submissive, have been around older hens, and the integration will be painless, and to just put them together in a run and give them treats. This would be lovely if it was that easy. What has worked well with others? And is it necessary to quarantine 2 healthy 6-month old hens from a reputable place for a month? I'd like to get the new hens out in the grass, as they are used to being able to forage and not being stuck in a dog crate. I have an X-pen that I can set up in the existing run area to keep them separate. Thank you all in advance for any advice!!

 

[nuthatched]

Corid won't help and yes, a month is necessary.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Are your 6 month old pullets laying yet? If they are, they can be considered as hens as far as integration goes. If they are not laying, your hens will still see them as chicks. That affects how I'd try to integrate them.

How big, in feet, is your coop? How big, in feet, is your run? Can you post photos of your coop that shows the insides? I'm mostly interested in what your roosts and nests look like. Do you have a way to house those two pullets that is predator safe and where they can sleep separately from the adults if your coop is small.

I personally do not see a need to medicate myself, my kids, or my chickens unless I have a specific disease or parasite I'm battling. Over-medicating can contribute to the development of medication-resistant diseases or parasites. Corid is specifically to treat Coccidiosis. If your chickens are not exhibiting symptoms of Coccidiosis I fail to see any benefit to giving them Corid.

Diseases and parasites and spread among chickens from them sharing common ground; eating and drinking from the same bowls; by certain vectors like mosquitoes, grasshoppers, or grubs; or just blown on the wind. The more you can separate them the better protection you get from at least some things. How good of a quarantine you need depends on what you have to threaten them. Even a little protection is better than none.

If the pullets came from a flock that has had no outside exposure to chickens for over a month and you trust the person you got them from to tell you if there was a problem they have been in quarantine, just not on your property or under your control.

Then you have the issue of flock immunity. Some flocks develop an immunity to a certain disease or parasite. Although they can be carriers and give it to other chickens they will not come down with it themselves no matter how long you quarantine them. This could be the flock these pullets are coming from or it could be your flock.

Quarantine can be a pretty complex subject. How important it is to you depends a lot on how precious your chickens are to you. I never quarantine as I do not have the facilities to do it right. But I only bring in chicks from a reliable source, a major hatchery. No adults. Or I get hatching eggs which greatly reduces the risk of bringing in something.

People use different techniques to integrate. Dad would take them down to the henhouse and let them go. No introduction, no nothing. His chickens free ranged over a few acres so they had a lot of room. Most slept in the henhouse but a few slept in trees. Most of us do not have that kind of room and are more concerned with predators. One standard way to integrate is to house them across wire for a week or more so they can get used to each other before we let them get together. If the new ones are adults they tend to settle the pecking order and merge. That may involve fighting or intimidation. It may go so smoothly you don't even notice.

If they are chicks, they tend to stay away from the adults until they are mature enough to be accepted in the pecking order. This is usually when they start to lay. If they are still immature it generally takes more room to integrate.

One reason to house them in your crate for a few days is to show them where home is. If you just turn them loose o where they can free range they may just wander off.

 

[moosey]

Are your 6 month old pullets laying yet? If they are, they can be considered as hens as far as integration goes. If they are not laying, your hens will still see them as chicks. That affects how I'd try to integrate them.

How big, in feet, is your coop? How big, in feet, is your run? Can you post photos of your coop that shows the insides? I'm mostly interested in what your roosts and nests look like. Do you have a way to house those two pullets that is predator safe and where they can sleep separately from the adults if your coop is small.

I personally do not see a need to medicate myself, my kids, or my chickens unless I have a specific disease or parasite I'm battling. Over-medicating can contribute to the development of medication-resistant diseases or parasites. Corid is specifically to treat Coccidiosis. If your chickens are not exhibiting symptoms of Coccidiosis I fail to see any benefit to giving them Corid.

Diseases and parasites and spread among chickens from them sharing common ground; eating and drinking from the same bowls; by certain vectors like mosquitoes, grasshoppers, or grubs; or just blown on the wind. The more you can separate them the better protection you get from at least some things. How good of a quarantine you need depends on what you have to threaten them. Even a little protection is better than none.

If the pullets came from a flock that has had no outside exposure to chickens for over a month and you trust the person you got them from to tell you if there was a problem they have been in quarantine, just not on your property or under your control.

Then you have the issue of flock immunity. Some flocks develop an immunity to a certain disease or parasite. Although they can be carriers and give it to other chickens they will not come down with it themselves no matter how long you quarantine them. This could be the flock these pullets are coming from or it could be your flock.

Quarantine can be a pretty complex subject. How important it is to you depends a lot on how precious your chickens are to you. I never quarantine as I do not have the facilities to do it right. But I only bring in chicks from a reliable source, a major hatchery. No adults. Or I get hatching eggs which greatly reduces the risk of bringing in something.

People use different techniques to integrate. Dad would take them down to the henhouse and let them go. No introduction, no nothing. His chickens free ranged over a few acres so they had a lot of room. Most slept in the henhouse but a few slept in trees. Most of us do not have that kind of room and are more concerned with predators. One standard way to integrate is to house them across wire for a week or more so they can get used to each other before we let them get together. If the new ones are adults they tend to settle the pecking order and merge. That may involve fighting or intimidation. It may go so smoothly you don't even notice.

If they are chicks, they tend to stay away from the adults until they are mature enough to be accepted in the pecking order. This is usually when they start to lay. If they are still immature it generally takes more room to integrate.

One reason to house them in your crate for a few days is to show them where home is. If you just turn them loose o where they can free range they may just wander off.

Are your 6 month old pullets laying yet? If they are, they can be considered as hens as far as integration goes. If they are not laying, your hens will still see them as chicks. That affects how I'd try to integrate them.

How big, in feet, is your coop? How big, in feet, is your run? Can you post photos of your coop that shows the insides? I'm mostly interested in what your roosts and nests look like. Do you have a way to house those two pullets that is predator safe and where they can sleep separately from the adults if your coop is small.

I personally do not see a need to medicate myself, my kids, or my chickens unless I have a specific disease or parasite I'm battling. Over-medicating can contribute to the development of medication-resistant diseases or parasites. Corid is specifically to treat Coccidiosis. If your chickens are not exhibiting symptoms of Coccidiosis I fail to see any benefit to giving them Corid.

Diseases and parasites and spread among chickens from them sharing common ground; eating and drinking from the same bowls; by certain vectors like mosquitoes, grasshoppers, or grubs; or just blown on the wind. The more you can separate them the better protection you get from at least some things. How good of a quarantine you need depends on what you have to threaten them. Even a little protection is better than none.

If the pullets came from a flock that has had no outside exposure to chickens for over a month and you trust the person you got them from to tell you if there was a problem they have been in quarantine, just not on your property or under your control.

Then you have the issue of flock immunity. Some flocks develop an immunity to a certain disease or parasite. Although they can be carriers and give it to other chickens they will not come down with it themselves no matter how long you quarantine them. This could be the flock these pullets are coming from or it could be your flock.

Quarantine can be a pretty complex subject. How important it is to you depends a lot on how precious your chickens are to you. I never quarantine as I do not have the facilities to do it right. But I only bring in chicks from a reliable source, a major hatchery. No adults. Or I get hatching eggs which greatly reduces the risk of bringing in something.

People use different techniques to integrate. Dad would take them down to the henhouse and let them go. No introduction, no nothing. His chickens free ranged over a few acres so they had a lot of room. Most slept in the henhouse but a few slept in trees. Most of us do not have that kind of room and are more concerned with predators. One standard way to integrate is to house them across wire for a week or more so they can get used to each other before we let them get together. If the new ones are adults they tend to settle the pecking order and merge. That may involve fighting or intimidation. It may go so smoothly you don't even notice.

If they are chicks, they tend to stay away from the adults until they are mature enough to be accepted in the pecking order. This is usually when they start to lay. If they are still immature it generally takes more room to integrate.

One reason to house them in your crate for a few days is to show them where home is. If you just turn them loose o where they can free range they may just wander off.

Hi and thank you for replying,
One of the 2 new pullets is laying. I'm hopeful the other will start laying before the end of quarantine. The hen house is 5x4, attached run is 5x12, and they have a larger fenced area around the coop/run that is like 20'x50'. Hen house has 3 roosting bars, 3 nesting boxes. Hen house and attached run are predator proof. The larger run is not. I'll try to attach photos. Right now, the new hens are in the garage in a dog crate.

Thank you!