Washingtonians

[Cloverleaf Farm]

Quote: She really don't need the loud speaker! !!!

Nope, sure don't! But they gimme one anyway!

 

[JennS]

It sounds like you have already given up hope on the other chicks even though you saw movement and it's only day 21? I don't get that! Give them another day or two to hatch! The little guy will be fine by himself waiting for his hatch mates to arrive! And that chick is fine in the incubator by himself for 48 hours or so. They have digested the yolk right before hatching and that gives him all that he needs for the next 48 hours or so. So DO NOT OPEN IT!!!!!! Be patient, and step away from the incubator!!!! LOL!

Ah okay, I thought I was supposed to pull it out around 24 hours. It's looking good, and thankfully staying in the dish. I've been stressing bad ever since the last temp spike, worrying that I'd doomed them all.

Intellectually, I know that weak chicks should be allowed to die, but it's been a difficult pill to swallow when I feel like it would be because of my mistake. Ever since my son was born, I've had the spine of a marshmallow. I've got a cardboard box brooder set up for whenever it's time to take him out. I topped off the water in the saucer earlier (I think the chick flopped around on it and soaked up a bunch of the water, but that was good because it's stuck feathers are loose again), and when I checked again a few minutes ago I saw that the Orpington egg has pipped! I'll try to just stay away from the **** thing today. I can't believe I've become so emotionally invested in these eggs.

IMO unless it is drowning LEAVE IT BE. SET ON YOUR HANDS silly girly!!! You are just risking making things so much worse. The peeps from that one will also help to cheer the others on. OK lets review our lesson from a few days ago! A watched pot NEVER BOILS and WATCHED EGGS NEVER HATCH !!!! OK so set on yer handsies take a few deep breaths and remember this is nature. If they couldn't do it on their own guess what? Chickens would have been gone many many many years ago. Now

I hope the rest of this goes well and wishing you best of luck!

No don't even think about it I see ya wantin to open that bator. Back away and leeverB.

Yeah yeah, I'll try for the rest of the day. I've got a lovely puke-covered carseat to clean up anyway!

All this incubator talk is making me glad I'm going to be away the weekend mine are supposed to hatch. I know DH will have no problem ignoring the bator. I think waiting for chicks to hatch those last couple of days might be pretty stressful.

Jennifer.

Just a tad!!!

Yep. I usually plan my hatches around my work days, so I'm not home a lot, and when I am, I'm sleeping.

I'm a stay at home mom, so I'm home most of the day. And now I can't even go run errands. *sigh*

Jennifer

 

[Cloverleaf Farm]

Quote: Yeah, I know it's tough...I remember my first season of hatching...good grief, I thought I'd end up on 17 different kinds of pills for all the stress! It is hard, and it's a tough lesson to learn if you do end up losing some due to the incubator opening, but you know what...if you do end up losing some...it's a lesson you will never forget...and we've ALL been there!!

Keeping my

for them!!

 

[TheReidHomestead]

Quote: Yeah, I know it's tough...I remember my first season of hatching...good grief, I thought I'd end up on 17 different kinds of pills for all the stress! It is hard, and it's a tough lesson to learn if you do end up losing some due to the incubator opening, but you know what...if you do end up losing some...it's a lesson you will never forget...and we've ALL been there!!

Keeping my

for them!!

X2!!!! Hang in there!!!!

 

[FirewifeJess]

Quote:
How many medications do you think mine have had? They are anything BUT heavily medicated. I wormed them once due to actually seeing worms in their poop after a few other symptoms came up and I was looking for the cause. I actually watched Ricky poop out long stringy worms

So I wormed them. Eprinex Pour-on is just like Advantage or Frontline for cats and dogs and there's no egg or meat withdrawl period, so it can't be very bad for their health or mine. From about 8 weeks old until maybe 17 weeks they also had a continual runny nose and sneezing; I waited that out as long as possible to see if they'd get better on their own. I think it was some form of chicken CRD they must have contracted from wild bird poop in my yard maybe, and the Denagard wiped it out in 4 days. Denagard also has no withdrawl period for eggs or meat, so it's a very safe med to use, albeit expensive! I might talk a lot about what I should be doing with my flock or possible illnesses due to weirdo chicken stuff, but they're healthy birds who lay very well (and early too, considering I have so many different breeds and they all laid eggs between 19.5-23 weeks). I'm going to worm them again for Ethel's sake and to prepare them for a long winter. If they show no signs of worms in the spring, I'll probably only ever worm in the fall.

As for general care, they have healthy feed, always have fresh water with ACV or bleach (but I don't like the whole bleach concept so I only do this every once in a while to ensure the waterer stays very clean); they get fresh treats on clean ground, probiotics occasionally, and lots of sun and free-ranging. I don't know why you think my girls' immune systems are compromised, they're the same as your girls with shiny feathers, bright red combs, and happy personalities.

ETA: I guess I also thought they had cocci for a while too but after treating them for a single day with Corid and switching them back to medicated feed for a few more weeks until they started laying, we've never had a problem with that either. I read up on symptoms of cocci and mine didn't match up well which is why we stopped the Corid and my nervous Nellie self just went the medicated feed route instead, to be safe.

 

[Hinotori]

Quote:

I'm sorry for you're loss. I hate losing birds to hawks.

 

[AWalker3]

So, gee... I think we're practically related then right??
Oh... can you hear it??? Listen carefully, hum along if you know the tune... It's a small world after all, It's a small world after all, it's a small, small, world.

I've heard he was pretty popular, but that was through the family grapevine and you know how proud aunts can sometimes exaggerate.

Actually it's MRS. Burkholtz that is my cousin. Sadly she passed away a few years ago so now Glenn gets the title. Good people.

I was over there for the county fair a couple of years ago, little cousins had steers in 4-H so we got to hang out and join in the activities. That's a pretty cool little fair, do you show anything there, or have kids doing the 4-H thing?

It is a decent little county fair. I have not had opportunity to show anything but have done some commercial booths there for a couple of my employers, in the past. I enjoy watching the 4-H kids show their animals however my kids never got involved in 4-H when they were growing up.

 

[FirewifeJess]

Question: Are chicks brooded indoors more susceptible to getting worms if you give them earthworms really early? Mine started having worms (in the brooder!) that we dug up from the garden as early as 2 weeks old. Or maybe just because the fleas are so prevalent this year, could the girls have been biten (but not infested...we've never seen any bugs on them before) and instead, eaten the fleas and gotten worms? That's how cats get them anyway.

 

[Cloverleaf Farm]

Question: Are chicks brooded indoors more susceptible to getting worms if you give them earthworms really early? Mine started having worms (in the brooder!) that we dug up from the garden as early as 2 weeks old. Or maybe just because the fleas are so prevalent this year, could the girls have been biten (but not infested...we've never seen any bugs on them before) and instead, eaten the fleas and gotten worms? That's how cats get them anyway.

I never purposely give my chickens earth worms. I know they find them outside, but probably in smaller numbers than if I were to feed them intentionally. I've just heard too many things about the parasites they can get from eating them.....

 

[FirewifeJess]

Quote:
Yeah I probably did that part way wrong when they were tiny. I heard they love them and well, they do! But we'd bring them worms to fight over in the brooder every single day; the kids had a blast in the garden for a good long while each day digging them up.

I guess I won't be doing that anymore, with future chicks. I've even heard that newbies shouldn't even touch the ground outside for at least their first 6 weeks, but that didn't make sense to me since chickens are supposed to be able to learn to eat grass and live outside! If they were with their mama bird, she'd have them outside on day 2. Hmm