Pets & Animals | 18 October 2016Adding a New Chicken to Your Flock Share article facebook twitter google pinterest Growing your flock of chicken can be difficult. Adding a new chicken to the mix has potential for causing harm. The new chicken could get the rest sick, or the old ones could pass something to the new chicken. Finding the right way to integrate new chicken can be challenging. Here are some tips from The Chicken Keeper’s Problem Solver. Case When you add new stock to your flock, there is the risk that the new birds will transmit disease or parasites to the existing birds, or vice versa. Solution Given that there is no pedigree system involved in the breeding of chickens, as there is with most other types of rare breed livestock, it can be all but impossible to find out exactly what you are buying and its state of health. Buyers—especially those with limited experience—are very much in the hands of the seller. What the seller decides to reveal about their stock’s parentage and health status may be accurate, or it may not. The golden rule is never to take chances. Every new chicken you buy should be placed in an isolation run for two or three weeks so that it (and its droppings) can be closely observed for its general condition and signs of illness and parasites. You also need to be sure about the new arrival’s stage of vaccination. Mixing already vaccinated birds with your flock can result in any unvaccinated pure-breed birds becoming infected and deteriorating rapidly. Likewise, if your own birds have been vaccinated but the two or three birds that you decide to bring in haven’t, the chances are that the new ones will start suffering soon after their arrival. If you are re-homing ex-commercial laying hens, remember that these birds, having spent their lives in cages and not been in direct contact with droppings, will not have developed any immunity to coccidiosis, so they should not be mixed with other cocci-resistant birds. Buy from an Online Retailer US: While keeping chickens certainly isn’t rocket science, doing it properly does involve decent levels of understanding, commitment, and attention to detail. Getting the basics right is essential, and this demands a solid appreciation of important areas such as housing, feeding, breed choice, and health Whether you’re a newcomer or an old hand, The Chicken Keeper’s Problem Solver provides the information you need to nip probelms in the bud – and, better still, avoid them in the first place. Let longime chicken keeper and poultry expert Chris Graham guide you thorugh 100 common problems faced by chicken keepers. You’ll discover in clear and simple terms what the underlying cause is and how to solve it. Each issue is tackled in depth, with photographs and diagrams, as well as a wide range of practical tips and useful insights. The problems are divided into ten chapters covering the main areas of chicken keeping, from health to housing and parasites to predators. Don’t let a simple problem ruin your love for chicken keeping;The Chicken Keeper’s Problem Solver has the answers you need! Share article facebook twitter google pinterest If you have any comments on this article please contact us or get in touch via social media.
