2015 Peafowl Hatching Support Group - Eggs and Chicks!

[Peafowlssssssss]

@Pyxis Congrats & good luck!!

@q8peafowl What do you feed your pea chicks? What do you feed ur adults?


Did someone on here mention supplementing with dry cat food?

I feed my peachicks a chick starter 26% for the first 10 days then i lower the protein to 18% after that, both of these feeds i make them at home, for the adults i feed them pheasants laying pellets from Versele Laga company, the protein is 16%, sometimes i feed them grapes, bananas, Alfalfa and peanuts.

 

[Peafowlssssssss]

One more note about the feed, always make sure the feed isn't older than 3 months, after 3 months the feed will lose most of the vitamins and if you feed it to the peachicks its like feeding them nothing, the last hatch from last year my starter feed for the first 10 days was too old and i was tired to make a new feed and thought it would be okay, every single chick from that hatch died, they were the only chicks i have that died when they are that young last year.

 

[casportpony]

Anyone mind if I join? I just won an auction for some pea eggs

It'll be my second time doing them.

Congrats!

-Kathy

 

[Pyxis]

Thanks for all the advice! I think maybe the protein in the food was too low, it was 20% and I was cutting it with medicated chick starter that was 18%. I'll do a higher protein this time around. I set the eggs earlier this evening. One has a detached air cell but the others look good so we'll see.

 

[snowshoe]

DylansMom the eggs might of came from me I did ship some to Vermont that I sold on eBay when checking my records. Pyxis by mixing a medicated feed with a non medicated the chicks would not be getting the right dose of medication for it to work properly.

 

[Pyxis]

DylansMom the eggs might of came from me I did ship some to Vermont that I sold on eBay when checking my records. Pyxis by mixing a medicated feed with a non medicated the chicks would not be getting the right dose of medication for it to work properly.

The eggs didn't come from you Thanks for the feed feedback, I've already found a solution to that problem if these eggs hatch so for them.

 

[Garden Peas]

Thanks for all the advice! I think maybe the protein in the food was too low, it was 20% and I was cutting it with medicated chick starter that was 18%. I'll do a higher protein this time around. I set the eggs earlier this evening. One has a detached air cell but the others look good so we'll see.

@Pyxis , congrats on getting the first eggs to hatch -- lots of folks don't get that far with their first pea eggs. Sorry about the losses.

It seems pretty unlikely to me that the chicks would die from lack of protein if the lowest percentage component was 18%. They may not grow as fast -- but some people feel that is safer for just that reason, because very rapid growth has been associated with development of leg problems, particularly twisted tibias. Chicks can grow and thrive on 18% so I'm trying to figure out how that level of protein would kill them.

From here (and unfortunately not knowing a lot of specifics), I'm wondering if the chicks didn't pass from coccidia? That's the most common reason for chick losses, and that's about the right age when it starts hitting them. The amount of medication would have been lower with cutting the feed (I've had that happen too

) and even the level of amprolium in the medicated feed is not necessarily enough to prevent coccidia in every chick. Even with medicated feed, coccidia outbreaks can occur, and we know that peachicks are highly susceptible. Those chicks need additional meds and treatment to pull through.

Coccidia can kill a chick very quickly, and sometimes it's not obvious that a chick is sick until it's on the point of death. I'm wondering what you were able to observe last time -- what did the poo look like? What symptoms did the chicks exhibit? Were any of the chicken chicks ill and did any of them die also? Did the peachicks seem stressed at all? Were they warm enough? Were there any issues with them that might have provided clues such as difficult hatching, large red bellies, foot problems, lethargy? Were they eating and drinking well and acting perky? Was there any supplementation, such as vitamins in the water? (Vitamins are great but can affect the amprolium/coccidia.) What kind of cages/brooder/flooring did they have?

I'm also wondering about other possible diseases... I don't know, it just doesn't sound like a nutrition problem to me. Asking lots of questions, because there's lots of experienced folk here who can help. Sure don't want to see you go through this again!

 

[Birdrain92]

@Pyxis , congrats on getting the first eggs to hatch -- lots of folks don't get that far with their first pea eggs. Sorry about the losses.

It seems pretty unlikely to me that the chicks would die from lack of protein if the lowest percentage component was 18%. They may not grow as fast -- but some people feel that is safer for just that reason, because very rapid growth has been associated with development of leg problems, particularly twisted tibias. Chicks can grow and thrive on 18% so I'm trying to figure out how that level of protein would kill them.

From here (and unfortunately not knowing a lot of specifics), I'm wondering if the chicks didn't pass from coccidia? That's the most common reason for chick losses, and that's about the right age when it starts hitting them. The amount of medication would have been lower with cutting the feed (I've had that happen too

) and even the level of amprolium in the medicated feed is not necessarily enough to prevent coccidia in every chick. Even with medicated feed, coccidia outbreaks can occur, and we know that peachicks are highly susceptible. Those chicks need additional meds and treatment to pull through.

Coccidia can kill a chick very quickly, and sometimes it's not obvious that a chick is sick until it's on the point of death. I'm wondering what you were able to observe last time -- what did the poo look like? What symptoms did the chicks exhibit? Were any of the chicken chicks ill and did any of them die also? Did the peachicks seem stressed at all? Were they warm enough? Were there any issues with them that might have provided clues such as difficult hatching, large red bellies, foot problems, lethargy? Were they eating and drinking well and acting perky? Was there any supplementation, such as vitamins in the water? (Vitamins are great but can affect the amprolium/coccidia.) What kind of cages/brooder/flooring did they have?

I'm also wondering about other possible diseases... I don't know, it just doesn't sound like a nutrition problem to me. Asking lots of questions, because there's lots of experienced folk here who can help. Sure don't want to see you go through this again!

If the parents were on a low protein diet as well it could set the chick back even further, not enough energy to keep the body functioning at the beginning. Before I switched from a medicated chicken feed to a medicated game bird chick feed I would lose chicks at 1 week to the day. Vitamin B area helps with the body use and absorb protein properly. So maybe chicken chick feed isn't a high enough vitamin electrolyte for peachicks and need to be supplemented in. I know some people can have chicks on an 18% protein and have some amazing chicks but I don't know what the parents are at or if they are getting a vitamin electrolyte supplement.

It could be coccidia as well. After all amprolium is more like a vaccine. Helps prevent it but doesn't always mean you can't get it. Not sure how many people have heard of the disease Brucellosis in cattle, bison, or elk. With Brucellosis you can vaccinate but if a cow is exposed to a certain level of brucellosis bacteria they can contract the disease. Just makes it harder to contract the disease.

 

[DylansMom]

DylansMom the eggs might of came from me I did ship some to Vermont that I sold on eBay when checking my records. Pyxis by mixing a medicated feed with a non medicated the chicks would not be getting the right dose of medication for it to work properly.

I thought of you! Just wondering if there was someone out there I didn't know. I would have to agree with snowshoe and wonder if it was cocci that did them in. I used to lose chicks to it even when they ate nothing but the medicated starter. Now when they go on the ground they get medicated starter and preventative amprolium in the water a well.

 

[DylansMom]

Thanks for all the advice! I think maybe the protein in the food was too low, it was 20% and I was cutting it with medicated chick starter that was 18%. I'll do a higher protein this time around. I set the eggs earlier this evening. One has a detached air cell but the others look good so we'll see.

This is Chirpie,he will be 3 this coming July 4th. He was raised on 18% starter and never had anything with a higher protein. At about 6 months I start to supplement with dry cat food. He s a big healthy boy who has never had any health issues. I have to be doubtful that it was the protein level that caused you to lose them.