Welcome to Club Yoke! (new pics page 7)

Bright and early this morning on a very very stressful day for my house we got the phone call they had arrived. It was a really really bad day for my hubby and I (will get to that later). I ordered 33 chicks from MMH and they arrived this morning. MMH said on the package that they sent 35... but really they sent 44. Unfortunately the extras were all bantams.... and 4 were dead in the box on arrival. They had been smashed into the corners. Looks like they were really stepped on bad as I've now lost 8 bantams, leaving 4.The two look like they will likely be checked out by tomorrow morning. I really am not very hopefully for them even with my full day effort to save them. Also one of the other remaining bantam is really iffy so I would give it like a 50:50 chance. That leaves only ONE bantam thats healthy... and s/he is a true spitfire. When that one gets to cold... it stands on the backs of the bigger chicks to get closer to the light and pecks at them when they move out of the light. I ALSO lost 1 black polish, 1 crevecoeurs, 1 lakenvelders, and the golden camppines. AND they didn't ship me my silver laced wynadotte OR my sumatras. They did write that they included an extra phoenix free... male of course... just what I need... another male to sell.

Anyone want a some Phoenix?? I will be selling them!

I think the 'free extra chick' was actually bascily doubling my bantam order. That would have been *FANTASTIC* if they had separated them but nope. They put them ALL in a tiny box mixed together, the result being that the bantams were basically suffocated by the bigger chicks. I had been told on the phone when I called before shipping that they would be separated by size so that wouldn't happen. I called today and the woman on the phone was VERY nice. She was apologetic and told me to use the website to try to identify all the chicks that didn't make it and keep track til wed and call them back. She said if I loose more they may end up re-shipping because my losses are above what they expect. SO basically it looks like this:

Ordered 33
Received 44
Dead..... so far: 12 <---- likely to hit 16 by morning.

I have also had my hands full with 2 that have constant pasty butt... the white crested black polish is now sporting a lovely bald backside because he was so badly pasted up when he arrived it was the only option.... yes its probably a she but for some reason I look at that one and say HE. The other pasty butt chick.. is ALSO a polish... this time a golden. Is pasty butt worse with polish chicks ??

My hubby is pretty upset over the losses. He is worried if we reship when its too cold the same thing will happen again but if we wait to long (this being Texas) we will have the opposite problem.

I will take pictures of them tomorrow. I took a few today but I used my phone and they came out looking like fluffy blurs.

all I can say is it will get better and im so sorry!

I'm sorry your going thru all that with the dogs and chickens. I wish you the best.

Thanks!

Last night my dog decided to introduce himself to my chicks. I was in the room feeding them and ran out to get more water and came back and he had pushed the door open and had gone in. I grabbed him and drug him out of the room in a panic... then calmed down and went... 'wait... there wasn't any blood!' so I brought him back in and told him to sit next to the brooder. Rather than the blood bath I had imagined he just sat there rolling his head back and forth like they were doggy TV. He laid down and put his head on his paws and just watched them. No growling, shaking, sneaking closer.. just fascination. This morning same thing but maybe a little less interested than last night. Well THAT was unexpected! good boy Rex!


On a sad note: lost a baby phoenix over night.... didn't expect that one. They all looked very healthy. Looks like one baby bantam is circling the drain though. The little black one woke up and ran over to me to be picked up. Hmmm, I hope that one doesn't follow the whole 'the friendly ones turn out to be boys' thing.



Edit: after double checking online because I had doubts about the chick being a phoenix I went to the site and looked through the bantam chicks. It was indeed a bantam. No wonder it was smaller than the others. It looks like it was 'B.B. Red Old English Game' and not something that I ordered. Hmmm. I'm wondering what all they sent me given that Ive now found 4 chicks that I didnt order and they doubled my bantam order. Im wondering if they just went through the bantams and grabbed one of each. lol

update and pics... Shock of all shocks... the really sickly looking tiny chick decided s/he didnt want to die after all and started eating and drinking on its own when I put it down from another fumbled attempt at feeding it by hand. And in the past few hours the tiny guy has really perked up. Lets hope it continues!!

Ok.. Ive named a few of them AND took pictures!



Any clue what this guy is? s/he is the one that decided to bounce back today.



The feeding plate... and the little tiny black Japanese bantam (??) whos a little Spitfire (hence her name!)



Why is the fave spot to sleep the middle of the food plate?! Chickzilla is off to the right side.. shes by far the biggest and very much the bossy girl!



White crested black polish... (?) who has had the worst pasty butt probs. Named her Spazzy because after I clean her butt she runs around the brooder like .. well.. a total spaz until taking a head first dive into the biggest pile of chicks she can find. Good thing she has a built in crash helmet!

Spazzy is sitting next to Chickzilla who is trying to sleep. A second after the picture was taken Spazzy pecked Chickzilla... and ended up being bowled over flat for it.



I THINK these are phoenix chicks... there are bunch of them and I cant tell them apart. Not sure what the pretty red capped brown one next to them is though but that brown one is VERY shy.



Such pretty patterns! Phoenix?



Spazzy runs to fellow polish Derpetto for consolation after yet ANOTHER butt cleaning. Derpetto is so named because of her tendency to get her self stuck in random places. She fell into the feeder, behind the thermomiter, under Chickzilla. And instead of getting herself out... she just sits there and chirps at the top of her lungs for help.



Chickzilla and Spitfire... talk about size diffrence. And Spitfire is one of the few chicks that wont back down to her either. When Chickzilla tries to muscle her around... she gets pecked in the eye for it. I gotta love this brave little black beauty!



Teeny little Spitfire. And off to the side is Beth. Beth is the RIR and is named after my best friend from college whos a firey take no nonsence red head. Similar personalities.



Spazzy about to endure another butt cleaning. I'm sorry but this chick just comes off as being a bit... umm... yeah... She is indeed facing forwards btw. I swear shes shaped backwards. Shes ALWAYS in the food.



Group shot: note the tiny little Bantam off to the right. That ones been on/off I don't know if it will make it. But Im not giving up!
Chickzilla is in the center sneaking up on Derpetto ready to peck her butt... shes sleeping sitting on the top of the feeder of course (because isnt that the normal place to sleep?). Nothing is better than a sneak attack in Chickzilla's book.


Finally managed to get a shot of Beth as she ran away. I'm always getting pictures of her tail as she scoots out of the shots.



Shy Guy (or Gal) I can never find this little one because it always hides under everyone else. Truthfully I thought this was one that had died then found her this morning hiding under a pile of big chicks. Doesnt like to be picked up and just goes totaly still like "Im part of the scenery, you dont see me"



This is what happens when you make the mistake of trying to take a nap too close to the plate when Chickzilla starts scratching... you end up wearing chick start.



The Golden Girls. I dont know what these two girls are but they are both bright yellow with a stripe of brown on the tops of thier heads and little dots next to their eyes. But the one behind has MUCH thicker leggs than the other one.. sooo.. ummm... roo?



Last group shot. Another surviving Bantam. Not sure what kind. Very tiny but seems to be perking up. This is the one that Ive said had me worried but seems to be ok. I have very few bantams left. They doubled my order of the little guys as peanuts.

wow! I can't help you with types, but they are all gorgeous chicks!!!!

It's a risk when you get chicks in the winter.. Better off waiting till mid march to april

beautiful bunch of chickies. you're going to be expanding your space soon aren't you. i just did. good luck.

My wife and I just bought some chicks last week, but we live in Florida so the weather is milder. so far we have only lost one but we got them from a feed store and they got them local so we didn't have to worry about the shipping. Good luck, maybe you can get your other ones replaced.

they're so adorable! I love the polish's little fros!

I'm sorry for your losses. that's the part I'm dreading the most.