Questions about my new chickens

[ChickenTater]

Hi guys! I’m not sure if this is where i should be posting this, but better somewhere than nowhere lol.

Ok so let me set this up real quick before I get into the questions. So I recently was given ownership of 12 chickens, including one rooster. I already have 5 hens of my own. Right now, the flocks are separate because the new 12 are at my new house while my old 5 are at my current residence.

My 5 hens are about 2 years old, and the new 12 are around 4 years old (this is what the previous owners told me. They also told me there was only 8, but when I went to take care of them, I counted 12 LMAO)

Question time:

I’ve never brought new chickens into my flock before. Can someone link me to some good articles about the best methods on how to do that? I know I need to keep them quarantined first before introducing them, but I have a separate coop for my 5 and the new 12 have a much bigger coop, so I’d love to know how to transition my 5 to start using the new coop while also having them incorporated into the new flock.

As far as the new flock goes, there are also a few chickens I’m worried about health wise. The first is this hen:

She’s got some feathers missing on her butt, and the feathers on her back are also kind of sparse. I’m wondering if this is because of the rooster mating with her or if there’s a different reason, like mites? I’ve never owned a rooster before so this is very new to me!

The second hen is another Plymouth Rock, different hen though:

Her face looks kind of swollen around her eyes. But I’m not sure if this is just the kind of chicken she is or if there’s something else causing it? She’s the only one who looks like this, nothing else out of the ordinary about her. (Also the rooster in the background, he’s a silky bantam!)

And finally this white leghorn hen that I’m most worried about:

Her comb is is very droopy and much lighter colored than the others, more like a pink instead of a red. When I first started caring for them, she wouldn’t come off the nest (we call her Broody Beth lol), but over the past few days she’s been coming out to eat, drink, and dust bathe. I’m wondering if she’s dehydrated, or if there’s something more serious going on with her. :c

I’d love some feedback and help with my new chooks! I want to make sure they’re all healthy before I bring my current ones in with the rest. Any advice is much appreciated

 

[Roo5]

As for the droopy eyes, can’t help with that.However the pale faces could simply be because the birds are going out of lay.Escpecially the one who’s been sitting,the leghorn, most all my broodies turned pale during broody.Looks like the bare butt one is either been/being picked on, or it may have parasites, I’d check all the birds for parasites.I would t worry about quarantine as you probably have been around both flocks by now and been back to back to each flock,you’ve likely brought whatever they had to the birds already so I’d just drop that and make sure the birds are healthy before integration.

 

[ChickenTater]

As for the droopy eyes, can’t help with that.However the pale faces could simply be because the birds are going out of lay.Escpecially the one who’s been sitting,the leghorn, most all my broodies turned pale during broody.Looks like the bare butt one is either been/being picked on, or it may have parasites, I’d check all the birds for parasites.I would t worry about quarantine as you probably have been around both flocks by now and been back to back to each flock,you’ve likely brought whatever they had to the birds already so I’d just drop that and make sure the birds are healthy before integration.

Alright, makes sense! What kind of parasites do you think they could have, and how would I check for them?

 

[aart]

I would say, don't take them, but too late now.
But I never bring older birds into my flock.
They could have any number of issues not visible.
The bare butted bird also looks like she might have ascites(water belly),
which can indicate several serious internal issues.

Here's how to truly quarantine:
BYC Medical Quarantine Article

....and my 'bug blurb':
Check them over real well for mites and/or lice.

Google images of lice/mites and their eggs before the inspection so you'll know what you're looking for.

Part the feathers right down to the skin around vent, head/neck and under wings.

Best done well after dark with a strong flashlight/headlight, easier to 'catch' bird and also to check for the mites that live in structure and only come out at night to feed off roosting birds.

Wipe a white paper towel along the underside of roost to look for red smears(smashed well fed mites).

 

[ChickenTater]

I would say, don't take them, but too late now.
But I never bring older birds into my flock.
They could have any number of issues not visible.
The bare butted bird also looks like she might have ascites(water belly),
which can indicate several serious internal issues.

Here's how to truly quarantine:
BYC Medical Quarantine Article

....and my 'bug blurb':
Check them over real well for mites and/or lice.

Google images of lice/mites and their eggs before the inspection so you'll know what you're looking for.

Part the feathers right down to the skin around vent, head/neck and under wings.

Best done well after dark with a strong flashlight/headlight, easier to 'catch' bird and also to check for the mites that live in structure and only come out at night to feed off roosting birds.

Wipe a white paper towel along the underside of roost to look for red smears(smashed well fed mites).

Ok thank you for the article. But I’m moving to this house with my five hens, so how do I quarantine the 12 on the new lot from my hens? They’ve been all over the yard so I’m not sure that quarantine method will work, because I’m not bringing new chickens to me, I’m bringing my current flock to this flock at my new house.

I’m considering getting rid of the older flock at the new house and doing a thorough deep clean, but would I need to do that with the entire yard too? I’ve never done anything like this and to boot I’m kind of doing it backwards so I’m just very unsure as to how to go about this at all.