[kegs]

Another pic.

[kegs]

Last one. 

[Pony Girl]

Thanks, everyone. I never quarantined the others before so I guess I've been extremely lucky but I do want to do the best by my birds.

I use a large dog carrier for a hen hospital / broody coop.

It's dimensions are: 68 x 49 x 45.5cm (the Atlas 40 one);

See link for picture: http://www.petsathome.com/shop/atlas-wire-door-dog-carrier-by-ferplast-13643

Do you think this might be okay for my new girls temporarily? Not ideal but I'm running out of options aswe simply don't have much room in our set up unfortunately... It's bigger than the coop in your pic, Kegs, and they will be able to move round comfortably.

[kegs]

It's dimensions are: 68 x 49 x 45.5cm (the Atlas 40 one);

It's bigger than the coop in your pic, Kegs, and they will be able to move round comfortably.

The hutch is 100 x 51 x 41cm so there's not that much difference between the two.  I still think it would be a bit of a squeeze.  Maybe someone can come up with another solution for you.  Do you know of anyone who could lend you a coop, especially as it's just for 2-3 weeks?  Or someone with an old wendy house they no longer need that you could convert (there may even be one on *bay or *reecycle).

[joyfull]

wish you was closer to me - I have an old plastic dog kennel you could have had 

[ANHBUC]

I personally wouldn't risk my hens health by putting new stock in without 3 weeks of quarantine.  Would be best if you could borrow a coop or even invest in another as it is best to have alternative accommodation ready incase of having an ill chook.

Home Bargains do an ark for £22.99 which should do the job for young birds.

www.homebargains.co.uk/products/50-tri-shape-pet-hutch-wooden.aspx

I bought this ark and it's ideal for a couple of chicks up to age 7/8 weeks or for putting them out in the sun for a while but it's too small as a permanent coop for 3 weeks.

Thanks kegs, it must be smaller than it looks.  Would it be ok for a hospital coop or even a broody coop?

I've just tested it out and used Smartie to model it for you.  Our model today is a 5 month old LF Faverolle and although she managed to get through the inner hole she couldn't comfortably raise her head and was quite pleased to be let out after just a couple of minutes.

I've been using it for chicks and it might be okay for bantams for a short period but I'd say it's much too small for LF birds.

Thanks for that kegs it did look loads bigger on their website.

[Pony Girl]

wish you was closer to me - I have an old plastic dog kennel you could have had 

Thanks for thinking of me but alas you are rather far away!

Been thinking about it over the weekend and I think the best solution will be to restrict my existing flock to their house and run for a couple of weeks and use my dog crate for the new girls in the adjoining garden. That way they'll be able to see each other but not have any direct contact. I'll have to bring in the dogcrate at night but at least it's only temporary.

[Pony Girl]

Hi pony girl

I will be in a similar situation soon when I hope to add 1 or 2 new birds which will be a first for me. I have a very small set up (currently 2 hens) so quarantining is a bit tricky. I am thinking of dividing the built in run of the house into 2 and then finding something small (maybe eglu size) and putting that in that section of the run to use as a temporary house for them to roost/nest in and then keeping them separate that way for a couple of weeks.

It may be a good idea if you can sort out a separate area for them to live in temporarily as you'll then have something you can put in place in the future should you need to separate birds e.g. for bullying or injury. I am still working on ideas of what to use for the house bit - will see what comes along.

Out of interest you say you have successfully managed to introduce just 1 bird, this is what I would prefer to do but generally the advise is to get at least 2 to help avoid bullying. Did you have any problems?

Hi Helens hens,
We were really lucky and had no problems introducing one bird at a time. The first time we introduced a favorelle in with two bantams, and the second time was introducing a bantam. On both occasions we put the new bird in at night and let the others discover her when they went up to roost. When we peeked in they were all snuggled up together in the nest box (have never been able to get them to sleep on the perch).

In the morning we took out the old ones and put them in the adjoining garden, shut the run and opened the pop hole to let the new bird come out in her on time. In the daylight there was a bit of squabbling as the old ones went up to the fence to investigate the new one but nothing major. The second night we put the old ones up manually and let the new one work out the ladder up to bed herself. After a couple of days of this we opened up the run to let the new one freerange and meet the others properly.

When we introduced the favorelle she quickly asserted herself as the top bird whilst when we introduced the little bantam, she knew that she was the bottom bird but we never had any problems introducing either of them. It was rather like introducing a new horse, after one nip the rest of the herd soon know who the dominant horse in the herd is and make way for him - he just has to put his ears back and give them that 'look'. It was the same with the birds really, the odd squawk but that was all. The three of them all get on beautifully now and still cuddle up together but they know who to respect.

[helens-hens]

Hi Pony Girl. Thanks for the info. Still not quite sure what I am going to do. At the moment I have 2 Rhode Rock type hybrids which are quite small compared to pure breed hens.

I am thinking of getting a pure breed next time, possibly a Sussex, which will larger than these 2 but possibly quieter in nature. The current coop matriarch, the smallest of my 2, is a feisty little character. She had a big problem with soft shelled eggs last year but seems to have fully recovered for the time being and I do worry that if she is challenged for her position then it may have an effect on her egg laying.

Hope you manage OK with yours - keep us posted!

[Lloyd]

Helen, have you had  Light Sussex before?.....we are on our second, and "Quiet of nature" they certainly are not. They are a pistols - at-dawn type bird, feisty as anything!!

Buff lavenders or Rhode Island Cross I have found quite a bit less aggressive during integration.

Did you see a few months back in the news about the fox that was killed by a flock of Light Sussex?   

[helens-hens]

Hi Lloyd. No I haven't had a Light Sussex before though I do remember the article about the fox!

If I go for a Sussex, if I could get one, I would love a buff or speckled but it does depend on what is available within a reasonable distance.

There was an article in Practical Poultry last year about Sussex hens and from what I remember they said they were fairly docile, perhaps that can vary with different strains?

[joyfull]

speckled sussex are lovely and friendly

[henamoured]

Pony G - have you thought about knocking up a temporary coop from pallet wood?

As long as you don't mind its 'aesthetically challenged' look (bit like me) I think they do for a few weeks. The main thing is to ensure it as waterproof and not too drafty.

I also bought a 10m length  of plastic coated wire from the garden centre to make a temporary run which has proved really useful to section off bits of the garden to allow the ground to rest and alternate the run the hens are on.

[Lloyd]

Another tip is to integrate after dark into the coop, and then spray heavily all birds both new and old with a vinegar solution and a hand held squirty bottle type sprayer. The thinking is meant to be that they then all smell the same, and newcomers are less obvious. Not sure whether this works or not.

We have a big aviary type affair, so ran a fence down the middle, so each day they could see each other without the bloodthirsty attacks and bullying. did this for two or three weeks, before putting them all together and it saved a lot of worrying and a lot of bullying.

[Touché Turtle]

Just a quick query about quarantining some new hens. (I'm planning ahead! )
 
I completely understand that the existing hens and new girls would need to be kept physically apart, but can they share the same bit of garden if they take it in turns?