I have my first feathered feet breed this year. I didn't really do my homework going into it because I didn't realize the Midnight Majesty Marans have feathered feet. They're 5 1/2 weeks old right now. One of the two MMMs has tons of feathers and she walks funny because of it. It reminds me of...
I'm in the same boat as you. I've got 5 chicks and mine are 5 1/2 weeks old and every time I give them grit, they go nuts and that's all they'll eat. Thanks for your question, so I could find the answer to mine as well!
Has anyone seen a Midnight Majesty Marans with sooo many feathers on her feet? Do they stay feathered as adult birds? My other MMM has feathers but not near as many. Do they get in the way? Do I need to do anything to maintain healthy feet? I feel like I'm asking dumb questions, but I've never...
No, she's not avoiding the heat. In fact, there are times when her and the other chicks cuddle up under the lamp, which makes me hesitate to turn the heat down more right now.
I haven't added grit yet, which is on my to-do list for tomorrow. They're only getting chick starter so far, no treats...
I hope things have gotten better by now, but I wanted to chime in.
I had a chick last year that had a vent that looked just like that. It also seemed to have crusted closed, so I'd have to go and put her vent under running water while I worked it open again. All I did was put a little Vaseline...
Hi, I've got some new chicks, about two and a half weeks old and one of my MMMs is starting to have a prolapsed vent whenever she poops. She starts peeping loudly when it happens. Is there something I should be doing for her? She has plenty of water and I've been steadily turning the heat down...
What are your thoughts on free-rangers? A previous article mentioned that chickens are less likely to hide from predators when they're used to people coming in and picking them up all the time. Is there a way to have flighty chicks with a healthy survival instinct along with being docile and...
Update: It's been about a week and a half and he still can't jump right (it's looking more and more like it's a cockerel). He gets a lot of air, but can't aim right. Before the "incident" he was always up on the bars, so I know it's a result of the injury, whatever it was. Other than his...
I changed it up and put chicken wire over the top. It's not as easy to get into it (to change water and add food), but I'm just going to have to make do. I've kept watching her and she still can't get up to the roosting bar. She jumps up, but can't gauge where she needs to land. From what I'm...
Thanks Carson213! I'm with you, I won't take them to the vet. Costs too much. I want to learn how I can assess them and what I can do to help. I'm an RN but it doesn't seem to translate to the chicks. At least I can use my skills with my dogs, but I'm feeling out of my depth with the chicks.
So I just saw her stretching her left leg and wing and then when she went to stretch her right, she recoiled and brought her leg up. She's walking and running but I haven't seen her open both her wings. I picked her up and tugged on and palpated her leg. Nothing overt. She wrapped her toes...
To start, this is my first time with chicks. We got 8 barred rock chicks, but only have 7 left after our little runt died. As the seven got bigger and more active, the brooder had to grow too. The solution I came up with was wire grid shelving configured in a 2 1/2' W x 5' L x 2 1/2' H. I...