Hatching with 2 broodies

[Sonya9]

Hi all,
Thanks for the responses on lice treatment. I put some neem oil on each of them to start and sprinkled some DE around the dirt floor of the coop. I realized I had stopped doing that regularly, so maybe that helped the outbreak come about. I can't actually see lice on Jan and Bettina, but there are a lot of nits. I If I still see the nits next week, I'll try the frontline. I agree with Sonya and don't like the idea of dusting everywhere with a chemical, and I may as well use what I have on hand.

Sounds like you have a couple of weeks before the chicks hatch which is good, I would just try make sure the lice are GONE before hatch so you don't have to mess around with chemicals or dusts once the chicks arrive.

My bantam chicks/hens spent the first solid week in the small coop scratching it up (they didn't want to go out) and I am glad I didn't have any chemicals/irritants in the coop during that time as they would have inhaled/ingested TONS of it!

 

[Teila]

Howdy Team!

We had a wonderful day in the garden ... just a couple of images to share:

We had a visitor:



Mother & Daughter:



Dusty dug a hole next to the compost bin:



and proceeded to have a bath:



This pile of feathers is a combined Silke / Frizzle bath:



and the end result, one dirty Silkie!:

 

[16 paws]

Howdy Team!

We had a wonderful day in the garden ... just a couple of images to share:

We had a visitor:



Mother & Daughter:



Dusty dug a hole next to the compost bin:



and proceeded to have a bath:



This pile of feathers is a combined Silke / Frizzle bath:



and the end result, one dirty Silkie!:

Too cute Teila,
Mother and daughter are adorable together. I love the way their chest looks so puffed out! They look like queen and princess....
Compost bin dusting is the best!
Marie

 

[ItalyChickie]

Howdy Team!

We had a wonderful day in the garden ... just a couple of images to share:

Beautiful pictures and of course beautiful chickens, Teila! Love the pile of feathers shot!!!

We a weekend photo session as well, though I don't think I got everyone.... wonder if that means I have too many chickens?

Oh well, since I have no other news for the moment (day 11 for the eggs in the bator today, nothing new to report), here are some pics from Italy as well.

Pallina and family:









Chiocciola and family were not collaborating, but I did manage a couple of close-ups of the black Auracana chick who has this cutest little ear feather with an orange tip on one side only for now:









Cenere and Ombretta also say hello (note the space division in there... 9/10 Cenere, 1/10 Ombretta... lol!)




And a group shot of whoever would fit... this is what happens when I show up downstairs, though I should really film them running to get the full effect.

 

[Sonya9]

Oh well, since I have no other news for the moment (day 11 for the eggs in the bator today, nothing new to report), here are some pics from Italy as well.

And a group shot of whoever would fit... this is what happens when I show up downstairs, though I should really film them running to get the full effect.

So you haven't candled the twin egg again?

And yes you absolutely SHOULD take a video of them! Would love to see that gang of chickens running all over! I do think you maybe right, I think my bantam chicks are a bit bigger, or at least their feather development further along but maybe that is a breed specific thing.

Sadly I think I am losing one of the pullets though, I noticed yesterday she was quiet and her wings were down and honestly she looks suddenly "smaller" than the others which could have been going on for days but I didn't realize. Gave raw egg and sugar water and she is hanging in there but it isn't looking good. Everyone else seems active and healthy, I hate to start dosing them all with antibiotics or for coccidia if it is not needed. The others seem much further along when it comes to size and feather development than the little ill chick does.

If anyone else has experienced this please share advice on what you did, they are 3.5 weeks old.

 

[16 paws]

So you haven't candled the twin egg again?

And yes you absolutely SHOULD take a video of them! Would love to see that gang of chickens running all over! I do think you maybe right, I think my bantam chicks are a bit bigger, or at least their feather development further along but maybe that is a breed specific thing.

Sadly I think I am losing one of the pullets though, I noticed yesterday she was quiet and her wings were down and honestly she looks suddenly "smaller" than the others which could have been going on for days but I didn't realize. Gave raw egg and sugar water and she is hanging in there but it isn't looking good. Everyone else seems active and healthy, I hate to start dosing them all with antibiotics or for coccidia if it is not needed. The others seem much further along when it comes to size and feather development than the little ill chick does.

If anyone else has experienced this please share advice on what you did, they are 3.5 weeks old.

Have you tried polyvisol vitamins? I heard that is really good and it couldnt hurt. I havent had that so I really dont know what else to try. I would put it in emergency and illness thread and see what responses you get.
Good luck,
Marie

 

[ItalyChickie]

So you haven't candled the twin egg again?

And yes you absolutely SHOULD take a video of them! Would love to see that gang of chickens running all over! I do think you maybe right, I think my bantam chicks are a bit bigger, or at least their feather development further along but maybe that is a breed specific thing.

Sadly I think I am losing one of the pullets though, I noticed yesterday she was quiet and her wings were down and honestly she looks suddenly "smaller" than the others which could have been going on for days but I didn't realize. Gave raw egg and sugar water and she is hanging in there but it isn't looking good. Everyone else seems active and healthy, I hate to start dosing them all with antibiotics or for coccidia if it is not needed. The others seem much further along when it comes to size and feather development than the little ill chick does.

If anyone else has experienced this please share advice on what you did, they are 3.5 weeks old.

Yes, I've candled the twin egg, and at times I'm 100% certain I can see the two dots, other times I'm 100% certain I was hallucinating, so that's why I didn't comment, not sure what I think... it's definitely alive and kicking though.

I'll give video a try... I tend not to film often as it seems harder to catch the right moment for video without any empty time.

And yeah, Pallina's chicks have a very different feather development to what I usually see - very long wings and tails and already well developed foot feathers, but everything else is still baby fuzz... generally it's more even, but I guess it's the breed. Sizewise, they're closer to the standards now, so probably not that different from yours.


I'm really sorry to hear about your pullet!

Have you actually seen any weird poop, or just assuming it's cocci? I spoke to a farm vet once who said people tend to assume and medicate for cocci far more often than it actually occurs (or at least enough of it to become dangerous) - but I know there are differing opinions on that.

I had read about alternative cocci treatments with dried milk powder or raw milk on the forums, but haven't had a chance to test it (was too late to do anything by the time I managed to find it, and still not sure it was cocci to begin with...) I know that's what my grandmother used back when cocci medicines didn't exist, so there might be something to it, only I can't confirm or deny. Here's one of the threads that talks about it: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/186479/milk-flush-for-coccidiosis

 

[Sonya9]

Have you tried polyvisol vitamins? I heard that is really good and it couldnt hurt. I havent had that so I really dont know what else to try. I would put it in emergency and illness thread and see what responses you get.
Good luck,
Marie

Thanks. I lost the little pullet yesterday evening. I do give them vitamins, a poultry booster vitamin and mineral supplement in their regular feed and also vitamins/enzymes in their water.

 

[Sonya9]

I'll give video a try... I tend not to film often as it seems harder to catch the right moment for video without any empty time.

And yeah, Pallina's chicks have a very different feather development to what I usually see - very long wings and tails and already well developed foot feathers, but everything else is still baby fuzz... generally it's more even, but I guess it's the breed. Sizewise, they're closer to the standards now, so probably not that different from yours.

I'm really sorry to hear about your pullet!

Have you actually seen any weird poop, or just assuming it's cocci?

I don't have any decent video editing software (even Movie Maker that comes with windows isn't working) so I just take "short clips" of activity and choose the best for upload. It would be nice to see your chick/chickens moving and talking etc!

And yes Pallina's chicks do have a much different feather pattern. Mine have lost most all of their down and have that straggley teenager look to them while yours still look like fluffy sweet babies!

As I mentioned above, the pullet passed on. I did not treat for Coccidia, the fact the others seem FINE makes me think it may have been something going on with just that chick, though if anyone else gets sick I am definitely going to treat for something! She seemed so quiet and kept trying to hide under her mama, I eventually took her inside and hid her inside my t-shirt for body heat and a hiding place as I hated to think of her dying by herself in the yard crying for the others that kept leaving her. She quietly slept without chirping or seeming frightened. I thought if she makes it until sundown I would put her under her mama after they settle for the night but she passed on before.

 

[16 paws]

Oh Sonya9 I am so very sorry about your pullet. I wish I could of been some help to you. It sounds like you made her very comfortable.
Take good care....
Marie