At VJP Poutry we are never idle. We are always trying to improve how we do things for the good of our flock. Some of you have seen our Rooster Camp if you have ever returned a rooster. Now we have a second rooster containment area we call the Rooster Hilton.
It is important to have a separate quarantine area for new birds. Failure to quarantine new flock members can result in death to an entire flock.
To Quarantine means to completely isolate newly acquired birds from an existing flock for a significant period of time. During this time they are watched for signs of diseases and parasites.
A chicken may look healthy while hiding illness. Quarantine lets you watch without exposing the rest of the flock to health dangers. Moving chickens from one home to another is a major stressor , which can cause latent diseases to become active. This leads to a health threat for the rest of your flock. The bare minimum quarantine time is two weeks but 30 – 60 days is preferred by professionals
Once the quarantine period is over and they still appear healthy, they can be integrated gradually into an existing flock. Use Quarantine whenever you need to have a separate space for someone.
Our Rooster Camp almost looks like a campground for chickens. There is green grass to walk in and tarps to keep the rain off the birds. There is a large, homemade, wooden dog house into which the roosters go at night. The dog house is very secure and can keep predators at bay. Its a nice, clean place for roosters to stay and relax.
The new project is the Rooster Hilton. We needed a second place that was better at muffling the sounds of crowing. It is located back behind the rooster fence, next to the coops. The fencing was purchased from Amazon. We placed pea rock on the ground and built a wooden base on which to place the dog house. We had to create and install our own secure door as the dog house only came with plastic flaps.
Rooster Camp and Rooster Hilton will be used to house returned rooster and possibly an extra area if we need to separate chickens from the rest of the flock. I always feel like I never have enough room to do all the projects I’d like to do. This won’t be the last addition we make a VJP Poultry.
For tips and tricks for raising outstanding silkies check out our Chicken Learning Center at VJPPoultry.com . VJP Poultry is an NPIP and state inspected hatchery located 30 miles north of St. Paul. We hatch out silkies all year long so we always have stock available. Like us on Facebook to get weekly updates on what we currently have for sale.
Victoria J. Peterson
VJP Poultry 