BelmontFarm
In the Brooder
- Mar 10, 2020
- 31
- 77
- 46
We had a 5 day old Silkie chick that started out strong and active, but then went downhill in the last 2-3 days of it's life. The chick got sleepier and sleepier. At first we just assumed it was tired from growing and we fondly named it Briar (as in Sleeping Beauty, Briar Rose). The last 1.5 of her life, I had put her in a separate shoe box sized Rubbermaid in the brooder because I was starting to worry about cocci. Some local chicken farmers told us that it was unlikely to be cocci at such a young age. So I wondered if she had an injury from being brooded with some bigger chicks (Ayams and EE). They are on medicated chick starter and they had magic water available to them for a couple days at this point (AVC, garlic, and honey). I went to the feed store and picked up a pouch of electrolyte water with vitamins because I had another chick with a splayed leg and wanted to make sure she wasn't vitamin deficient. I got Briar and the other chick this water instead of the magic water. I had to syringe the water to her the last couple of days. Yesterday evening, my daughter found her deceased. She was stretched out on her side with her legs out straight.
I have no idea if this was cocci or something else? The rest of the chicks (2 Silkies, 3 Ayams, and 4 EE) all seem healthy and active, except for my splayed EE, but she's splinted and making progress. We also picked up 5 - 1 day old Silkie chicks yesterday from the person we got hatching eggs from. They are currently in a separate brooder since they are so small, but eventually, I want to add our other 2 silkies and our splayed legged EE in with them as their own little flock. I think a potentially special needs EE will be safer with the Silkies than the Ayams and other EE.
We are in Atlantic Canada and still waiting for all the snow to melt. It's damp and cold out, so the chicks won't be going outside anytime soon. We still have to decrease their brooder temp to get them use to the cooler weather here. I read in an article to put some soil from the property in their brooder. I got some, but it's basically mud. Can I put the mud, spread out, on a cookie sheet and put in the oven at a low temp to dry it out? It's just the mud, not a sod. Or will this kill any of the oocysts and defeat the purpose? Should I do a sod instead and not sorry if the dirt underneath is damp?
Last question, I feel like the ACV/garlic/honey water is really beneficial, can I nix the honey and add the electrolyte/vitamin mix I got to the ACV and garlic water?
Thank you for your time and input!
I have no idea if this was cocci or something else? The rest of the chicks (2 Silkies, 3 Ayams, and 4 EE) all seem healthy and active, except for my splayed EE, but she's splinted and making progress. We also picked up 5 - 1 day old Silkie chicks yesterday from the person we got hatching eggs from. They are currently in a separate brooder since they are so small, but eventually, I want to add our other 2 silkies and our splayed legged EE in with them as their own little flock. I think a potentially special needs EE will be safer with the Silkies than the Ayams and other EE.
We are in Atlantic Canada and still waiting for all the snow to melt. It's damp and cold out, so the chicks won't be going outside anytime soon. We still have to decrease their brooder temp to get them use to the cooler weather here. I read in an article to put some soil from the property in their brooder. I got some, but it's basically mud. Can I put the mud, spread out, on a cookie sheet and put in the oven at a low temp to dry it out? It's just the mud, not a sod. Or will this kill any of the oocysts and defeat the purpose? Should I do a sod instead and not sorry if the dirt underneath is damp?
Last question, I feel like the ACV/garlic/honey water is really beneficial, can I nix the honey and add the electrolyte/vitamin mix I got to the ACV and garlic water?
Thank you for your time and input!
