Baby Chickens for Sale in Lamesa, Texas
Baby Chickens for Sale in Lamesa, Texas
How to Introduce New Chickens into your Flock, part 2
Disease and Parasites
When you introduce new chickens to your flock, you run the risk of also introducing new diseases or parasites to your flock. If you take your chickens to poultry shows, then you run that same risk when you reintroduce chickens that were taken to the show back into your main flock.
Quarantine
The best and most effective way to protect your flock from diseases introduced by new chickens is to quarantine them. When you quarantine a chicken or several chickens, you keep them separate from the rest of the flock for an extended time period. We recommend a quarantine of at least 30 days.
During the quarantine, care for the quarantined chickens normally, giving them food and water, but do not allow any contact with the existing flock. Thoroughly wash your hands and disinfect your feet and anything else that comes in contact with these chickens or their environment or manure. We carry several that work well.
While the chickens are in quarantine, watch them closely for any signs of parasites, such as mites, and for any signs of disease, such as respiratory problems, or mucus discharges from the chickens’ eyes or nostrils.
Another Precaution
Chickens in a flock can build up an immunity to a disease yet still be carriers of that disease. If your new chickens have such an immunity and are disease carriers, the quarantine described above won’t be enough, and the new chickens could still introduce disease into your flock undetected.
There is a way to guard against this. It involves a little risk, but it minimizes the risk of infecting the main flock. Take one chicken from your main flock and move it into the quarantine with the new birds. Keep that chicken with your other quarantined birds for the entire quarantine period. Watch her closely. If she begins to develop any signs of disease, it is likely that she was infected by the new birds, so in that case, do not introduce the new birds into the flock. On the other hand, if she makes it through the quarantine period without any signs of disease, then you can be reasonably sure that it is safe to introduce her and the new birds into your flock.
With this approach, you run the risk of losing one chicken from your main flock to disease, but you greatly reduce the risk of losing your entire flock.
Baby Chicks from Murray McMurray Hatchery
Murray McMurray Hatchery takes a to make sure that any baby chicks you receive from us are healthy and free of disease. This eliminates any concern you may have about the baby chicks introducing disease to your existing flock, but there are still some things to consider.
Baby chicks are not able to defend themselves against larger, more mature chickens, so they should be raised separately until they reach maturity. Second, if you have any concerns about disease or parasites in your existing flock, take proper precautions to make sure that you don’t risk introducing it to your new chickens.
In next week’s article, I will discuss how to integrate the new chickens into your existing flock.
Baby Chicks Needs in Lamesa, Texas
We have many Rare Chicken Breeds for sale in Lamesa Texas, including Sussex Chickens, Welsummer Chickens, Turken Chickens and more. Be sure to check out the Bargain Specials, as you can combine different egg layers in smaller amounts and buy as an assortment. Lamesa Texas also has poultry equipment for sale, game chickens for sale in Lamesa Texas, bantams for sale, ducks for sale, geese for sale, turkeys for sale, guinea for sale, peafowl for sale, pheasant for sale, chukar partridge for sale, bobwhite for sale, many different breeds of baby chicks for sale in Lamesa TX.Baby Chickens 101 in Lamesa, Texas
Thumbing through a baby chickens for sale in Lamesa Texas catalog is a yearly traditions in many houses. My kids and I eagerly await the Murray McMurray Hatchery catalog. We love looking at all the cool and different chicken breeds available. Catalogs are free so head on over to their site and request one if you are interested.Typically hatcheries online offer both standard breeds
and bantams. Bantams are fun hardy little chickens, they lay tiny eggs
that kids especially love collecting. Bantams typically weigh less than 2
pounds when full grown. Just like ordering anything online there are pros
and cons to ordering baby chicks online. Pros of buying baby chicks in
Lamesa Texas * Big Selection - If you are wanting a large
variety of different chicken breeds and egg colors, you will find the best
selection at an online hatchery. * Both Bantams and full sized chickens
available * You get to choose what sex you want. If you want a mixture of
both male and female then choosing a "straight run" will save you money
and you will get a mixture of male and female chicks. You can also choose
all males or all females too. * Weekly specials. Hatcheries have sales on
chicks, you are likely to get a good deal if you are flexible with the
breeds you are wanting. Cons of buying baby chicks in Lamesa
Texas * Order early to get the best selection. Certain breeds sell
out fast, sometimes as early as 6 months in advance of shipping! If you
are wanting a certain breed it's best to order your chicks in the fall
before their orders sell out.
Baby Chicks Not Eating in Lamesa, Texas
Quantity - you must order a certain number of chicks. Typically hatcheries will require you buy a minimum of 25 chicks at a time. The number is necessary for the chicks survival during shipping. All 25 chicks are put in one small box without heat. They are crowded in the box and produce enough body heat to arrive in good shape. * The wait - If you choose to buy chicks from a feed store you will have them the same day but if you choose to go with a hatchery you have to wait until they are ready to ship and then wait for the chicks to arrive. Ordering baby chicks online in Lamesa Texas is easy and has always been a very pleasant experience of me. It can be a little frustrating waiting for the chicks but it's so worth the wait. When the post office calls and you hear all those little "cheeps" or "chirps" in the background you'll know the wait was worth it! How to Care for your new baby chickens in Lamesa, Texas Baby chicks are quite adorable and also hard to withstand, yet it's finest to plan for their arrival prior to you obtain them. Prepare first by collecting not only the correct materials, yet additionally the appropriate expertise to take care of them. Raising baby chicks is fairly basic, you just have to provide them with the following: A clean and also cozy habitat Lots of food and also water Attention and also love Environment Your environment could be an easy box, aquarium, pet cat service provider, or guinea pig cage. Line it with old towels as well as blankets (with no loosened strings!) to begin, and after a couple of weeks use straw over newspaper. Keep in mind: Avoid making use of only paper or various other slipper surface areas-- or your chicks legs could grow misshapen. You additionally need something to serve up food and water in, such as a chicken feeder and also water dish from the feed shop, or a pickle container cover for food as well as an animal bird water dispenser from a pet dog shop. Likewise, as the chicks age you could introduce a perch right into the environment to get them educated on setting down. Heat To maintain your chicks warm you have to provide them with a heat source. This could be as basic as a 100 watt light bulb in a reflective clamp design light from a hardware store, or an infrared reptile warmth light bulb additionally work very well (my suggestion). Chicks require this warmth 24/7 up until their downy fluff is replaced with plumes (which could occupy to two months). The recently hatched out need a temperature in between 90 and 100 degrees, and weekly this could be lowered by approximately 5 levels or so. The warmth source need to be on simply one side of the cage to enable chicks an array of temperature levels. The chicks are your ideal thermometer- if they are hiding in the other edge of your warmth lamp, you have to minimize the temperature level. If they are smothering each other under the heat (not just curling up), you need to put some warmth. Home cleaning Cleanliness is essential and it keeps your chicks healthy. Be sure to transform the bed linens usually as well as constantly offer tidy food and also water Food and also water. Chicks expand quite quick which needs a lot of tidy food and also water. Supply enough at all times as well as check often to avoid thirsty and also starving chicks. Chick food is different compared to grown-up chicken food, and also it comes in both medicated as well as non-medicated ranges. Feed chick food for the very first 2 months, after that change to a raiser food (~ 17 % protein) for another 2 months, and after that to a slightly lower healthy protein feed or a level feed (if you have levels). Dirt Some chicks prefer to obtain a running start on taking dust bathrooms, while others won't take up that task up until they are older. If you have the space in your chick unit, present a tray of sand or dust for them to wash in. Attention and love There are a few benefits to hanging out with your chicks. First of all, they will certainly more than likely bond with you as well as not escape as grownups. Second, if you examine your chicks daily and view their behavior, you can catch ailment or other issues earlier. Keep an eye out for hissing, limping, or other undesirable indicators. Be sure to likewise look at their poop, as diarrhea can cause matted feathers and also clogged up cloaca. Finally, it is necessary to keep an eye out for social problems, such as the tiniest chick getting picked on. Empty nest syndrome So your chicks are currently completely feathery and also its time for them to leave the security of your residence and also relocate outside right into a cage. Have a look at our section on chicken coops to read more regarding cages and appropriate coop habitats.Baby Chicks For Sale Baby Chickens As Pets
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