5th Annual BYC New Year's Day 2014 Hatch-A-Long

[chickengirl1193]

How many chickens are you talking about? How old are they? How many eggs were you getting?
I would blame light. They may also have been stressed by an attack you could be unaware of.

Had you been offering a smaller size? There are various sizes of grit. For chickens most sell 3 sizes, #1 (1-2 mm) for very young chicks, #2 (2-4 mm) for young growing birds and #3 (4-6mm). It can be categorized other ways, chick grit, finisher grit, layer grit, etc.. It's always better to offer a larger size if unsure since grit too small will simply pass right through the gizzard and not aid in grinding. I believe LF by 12 weeks should be on adult grit.
I was always under the impression that birds fed only a manufactured feed didn't need grit since the grains in the feed were already ground.
I offered some 3 week old chicks some #1 grit in a separate feeder this summer. These chicks had been fed starter feed and nothing else. In less than a day, they emptied the grit feeder.
I since read a report that said grit can improve feed conversion by 8%. I now keep all 3 sizes and feed accordingly.

Same goes for worms. They can become resistant in 8 or fewer generations so if one worms on a schedule, using a different type is important.

I bought adult size grit from TSC its the dumor brand in the smaller bag and it is a mixture of sizes so i just take about a fourth of a cup and i think they had eaten all the larger pieces and all the smaller pieces fell to the bottom and were left and i didnt think to give them more since they still had a bunch out but then today i gave them some fresh with larger pieces and they ate it up. i guess i can save the small pieces for my chicks as well as getting some chick grit. I give my birds a hand full of scratch on cold nights so they need the grit for that, and i dont think they get enough from free ranging.

 

[CackleJoy]

Sorry about the CLs , but that is great on the others!

I don't take my eggs out to candle. I put the light on top of the egg and can see everything that is going on. I do have the high intensity Ovaview candler though which helps

Oh that's a good idea! I didn't think of that. Learning all the time.

 

[ronott1]

You do what I do...XL for everyone in the house. Can't answer the dosaging on the Frontline, I haven't done it for the chickens yet. Ron?

I bought a generic from Amazon and plan on using it next time I treat them. I will verify the dosage then but is is not too much per chicken. I used Ivermectin last time to treat the cats and Dog. Ivermectin is a Heart Worm preventor in Dogs.

 

[carriebain]

She is so cute. They are bad pictures, but here you go!!!!!!

 

[chicken pickin]

Very cute chick! What kind is she again?

 

[ronott1]

I have a hatchling! It hatched while I was sleeping! I will get pictures up soon! It is sooooo cute!

She is so cute. They are bad pictures, but here you go!!!!!!

Very nice!

 

[Myfourladies]

She is so cute. They are bad pictures, but here you go!!!!!!

Awww! What a cutie!

 

[carriebain]

Very cute chick! What kind is she again?

A feed store mutt. The dad is a Cochin mix and the mom is a red barnyard mutt

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I bought adult size grit from TSC its the dumor brand in the smaller bag and it is a mixture of sizes so i just take about a fourth of a cup and i think they had eaten all the larger pieces and all the smaller pieces fell to the bottom and were left and i didnt think to give them more since they still had a bunch out but then today i gave them some fresh with larger pieces and they ate it up. i guess i can save the small pieces for my chicks as well as getting some chick grit. I give my birds a hand full of scratch on cold nights so they need the grit for that, and i dont think they get enough from free ranging.

Sounds like a good plan.

 

[Aphrael]

Well I wont be winning any hatching contest. I need another rooster I thought this stud was all over the girls but I have 6 clears then again I think she just started to lay. I know when I had 9 ladies he was fine this summer. I lost a few birds and got some new ones I don't think the new ones are bowing down for him. That or he just don't want his junk out in the cold lol.

So far I'm sitting at a 22.87% loss already. the 6 clears and 2 blood rings. Here is a pic of my blood rings I knew there was some talk about them before but this is what mine normaly look like.



On a plus note it looks like all my golden cuckoo marans are going strong so may get to try out sexing them by head spots.

Sorry to hear about your losses. Those are really great blood ring photos! Glad your marans are going strong.

Well you're still above me and my 92% loss. My one rooster has yet to fertilize one egg. I'm setting another batch Saturday so he can hopefully redeem himself. Although I will give him that has/had mites really bad. I gave him a bath a couple days ago and I swear there were hundreds if not thousands of those nasty things. So he got two baths right in a row and then into the basement. Everyday I've been hosing him down in permethrin. Seems like there's a lot less already. This would of had to happen in a matter of about three weeks because I know he didn't have them when I bought him in early November and when I last looked him over I didn't see anything. They were all at the base of his tail and down towards his vent

.

Oh that poor fellow!

I bet they are making him miserable. I hope you can get him cleared up soon, and as others have already suggested, I would definitely give the hens a good look over as well.

http://www.oysterrecovery.org/

Very interesting link!

X2!

I candled last night, pulled 22 clears, I only have one BBS Orp left, sooooo sad

Awww. I'm so sorry.

​

Soooo cute! I'm loving that darling little puppy!

Ok. I figured I would ask this seeing that there is so much information on this thread. My hens just recently stopped laying. I'm talking total egg drop, none a day.

Is this because of the daylight hours dropping? They are all healthy and aren't molting. The temperature has even been really nice. I dont know what's up?

In addition to the great answers already given for this, are you sure they haven't had a bad scare from something? It they get scared or upset enough it can put them off laying for a time.

It does happen about now If you're not doing supplemental lighting. Last month I had 1 hen laying out of 13 all month. This week 2 more started back up laying. You say none of your hens are molting, but I'd bet a few are gearing up for one. My coops are a mess with all of the feathers, and I've heard a lot of talk about others molting. 'Tis the Season. Mid-late February they should be getting back to normal.

All my LF are molting hard. And the ducks! They are molting too and the poor things look dreadful. They look like zombie ducks.

How many chickens are you talking about? How old are they? How many eggs were you getting?
I would blame light. They may also have been stressed by an attack you could be unaware of.

Had you been offering a smaller size? There are various sizes of grit. For chickens most sell 3 sizes, #1 (1-2 mm) for very young chicks, #2 (2-4 mm) for young growing birds and #3 (4-6mm). It can be categorized other ways, chick grit, finisher grit, layer grit, etc.. It's always better to offer a larger size if unsure since grit too small will simply pass right through the gizzard and not aid in grinding. I believe LF by 12 weeks should be on adult grit.
I was always under the impression that birds fed only a manufactured feed didn't need grit since the grains in the feed were already ground.
I offered some 3 week old chicks some #1 grit in a separate feeder this summer. These chicks had been fed starter feed and nothing else. In less than a day, they emptied the grit feeder.
I since read a report that said grit can improve feed conversion by 8%. I now keep all 3 sizes and feed accordingly.

Same goes for worms. They can become resistant in 8 or fewer generations so if one worms on a schedule, using a different type is important.

That is good to know about the grit helping feed conversion even with regular chicken feed.

I have a hatchling! It hatched while I was sleeping! I will get pictures up soon! It is sooooo cute!

She is so cute. They are bad pictures, but here you go!!!!!!

Yay! Congrats! It is so cute! Can't wait to see it all fluffed.