A Journey Through a Different Way - Funny Story Pg. 69

[bayouchica]

How cool Monique,what a great hubby you have.
Congrats on the new duckies,don't they move like greased lighting? LOL
Good luck with Lucy

 

[smom1976]

Ok so I just finished reading this long thread.. took me all day stopping to care for the chicks and had 3 chick emergencies (details to follow) and a husband who closed out the open window.. so now all the kids are sleeping the chicks all huddled in a tote next to me with a warming light on them and I can sit and respond to this wonderful thread.

Inspiring is my first response.. yes this thread inspired me to want to give my little 3 day old chicks a feel of what it is like to be out in the yard. (Yes this is what I want to have free range yard birds) Unfortunetly it turned to disaster for one of my darlings.. The dog hasnet gotten the protecting process down yet. She like your dog just sits there and watches them and just loves sitting there she is so sweet with them. But I built a 4x4 box out of tall ply wood kind of a playpen for the chicks to play in out in the grass and get them used to looking for bugs and pick at the grass.. well we had a hawk or something come down and snatch one up. The dog freaked out trying to chase it around the yard. So I am nervous about having free range chickens even when they get a bit older. This was the last of the three disasters we had today, and only the second day of chicken owning (we got them on sunday)

One little chick wasnt doing too well slept all the time and then got to the point that she (all supposed to be she's) wouldnt even stand up, so I started feeding her water and food mixed with a dropper, I am happy to say she is doing better so we named her Ruth. This thread inspired that. And the fact that the kids were all praying for her to pull through reinforced it.

Then the kids again... they had a friend over and they were all playing with the chicks and dropped a small wire cage on one of the chicks it was moving around in circles on its side I imeidietly picked it up and after about 5 seconds it layed its head down in my hand and closed its eyes.. I figured the neck was broken it couldnt hold it up at all, and I thought it was dead. But nope after about an hour of laying on its side and on occasion flipping around on its back it came back to its feet. It is now walking around and holding its head up. I would say it is about 75% better. Like I said they are all sleeping nicely in the indoor broader that I have made for nights (just for the first couple of weeks then they can just have the light outside) Tomorrow will tell if she makes it through the night. We named her Lazarus..

But I compleatly understand your pain with falling in love with these little ones then loosing them..

And as for the tough husbands.. ha ha ha .. Mine too.. but he gave me a shocker tonight as well.. he has been not so sure about the chicks and raising them thinking it is a phase.. I am happy with my now 11 (RIP little black one) and he tells me tonght, "In two weeks we need to get another 25 or so" I totally hope he was kidding because even though yes they are more tough than we give them credit for, I am not! These little chick emergencies are stressfull.. I dont know if I could handle a whole new batch of stresses...

Now maybe if one turnes out to be a roo.. ????

Thanks for the great read and all the updates..!

 

[ruth]

Smom - thank you much for the kind words - they mean a lot to me. Glad to be able to inspire you.

I would caution you against handling 3 day old chicks however. They are pretty fragile those first few days and I wouldn't let kids handle them at all at that age. I don't ever handle my chicks at any age because I don't want them to be too tame and would rather they be on the wild side for free ranging so except for my first batch, none of mine are pets. For the first week I keep them pretty secure in brooder box in bathroom and then if it's warm in a cage outside on grass. But I never put them out unprotected until they are a few weeks old. They're outside but usually in a hutch, rabbit cage or dog kennel. Once they are three weeks old I no longer lock them in cage in coop at night - they just get to join all the rest in coop loose and run out the door each morning. I keep them in run till they are several weeks old and then they can go out with big girls for true freeranging.

Hope this all helps and sure hope your little ones make it. So sorry to hear about a hawk carrying one off - you'll need to put some wire over the pen.

 

[ruth]

Today's updates would be that the new baby Malllards seem to very happy. They are in coop at night, in their cage, and outside in day, in their cage. The older ones hang out next to them and seem to be checking them out.

Here are the older ones enjoying sunshine and a swim. They are only 4 weeks old - hatched April 5th - but boy are they big.

I call this photo "Monty I'll take what's behind curtain #1"

And "It's a broody Buff Orp". She's sitting on Blue Orp eggs from Speckledhen.

I had to hang the "curtain" because she kept trying to go broody, would stay about two days on nest of nonfertile eggs, then get off and go eat and play and seemingly forget she was setting. Then after a day or so she would start again. This went on since Ms. Broody had her nest in barn and got herself killed. At first I thought the Buffs must be smarter because at least she was in coop but then she seemed to keep forgetting she was supposed to be broody. After I put the curtain up, she hasn't gotten off nest in 4 days except to take a quick break and then back on - so I added Speckledhen's eggs. In fact I'm kind of worried about her because I haven't seen her eat or drink. Just gets up twice a day for about 1/2 hour - goes outside, lays under bush in shade, then goes back. Her comb is really pale. The curtain seemed to really calm her though because before when everyone would come back to coop at night, or during the day, it really upset her and she would puff up and squawk. Now she's so quiet I have to check on her and make sure she's still alive.

 

[speckledhen]

Good luck with the eggs, Monique! My Buff Orp Sunny had a really bad first broody spell, before I ever had my darling Hawkeye. She came so close to death then, twitching and no control of her legs, even though we made sure she was off the nest and ate and drank daily. She sat on air for three weeks, in spite of all attempts to break her up. Finally, after vitamin water and vitamin E capsules squeezed into her beak daily, she snapped out of it. She was the perfect mother the second time she went broody last year, though. That first time on occasion will throw the hen for a loop, I understand. It sure did my Sunny! Your girl looks alot like her. Crossing fingers for a great hatch and for your pretty girl coming out of it with flying colors, too!

 

[ruth]

Thanks Cyn - I'm watching her closely. As you can see she gets all puffed up if you peek behind the curtain. But she looks so weak when she's taking her break and there's no color left in her comb. Today when I saw her take a break I ran in and scrambled up a couple dozen eggs and added a can of greens (enough for everyone) and ran back out hoping to get her to eat something but she just got back on her nest despite the fact that I went so far as to hold a spoonfull up to her beak. I haven't seen her eat or drink - she may be doing it when I haven't been there but I don't know - I kind of doubt it - I'm out there all day long off and on. I can probably get some Poly-Vi-Sol in her beak when she's on the nest because she won't get off no matter what. I also saw her poop a big splatter of green/yellow foamy looking poo and I've read yellow foam is a sign of worms. I've never wormed them. She's 8 months old. Should I use a wormer and which one - especially if she won't drink.

 

[speckledhen]

Well, not sure this is a good time to worm her. Maybe if you could get her to eat some runny oatmeal with buttermilk and chopped pumpkin seeds in it. We take our Olivia out of the nest and sit her in front of a bowl of food like that once or twice a day. The pumpkin seeds and buttermilk are a natural wormer. The chemical ones may be too hard on her already taxed system right now. The green poop is probably just a sign that she isnt eating much. Livvie's looks like that, too, so maybe your girl doesn't have worms at all.

 

[ruth]

Thanks Cyn - I'll try that. Is it the store bought snack - salted pumpkin seeds or are they sold in some other form - health food store maybe? Yeah I didn't want to give her any wormer right now either. She's been broody off and on for about 3 weeks now. Sits for a couple of days then off all day then all day and night then off for 2 days - like she couldn't make up her mind but I know she's serious when she won't eat all the treats I've tried to tempt her with cause my girls LOVE their treats.

Edited to add - At least I think it's the same Buff - can't tell them apart. But I believe it is and if so she's been off/on nest since April 9th. Of course till 4 days ago when I put up the curtain she was taking whole days off nest and going freeranging with the rest so I know she was eating then.

 

[speckledhen]

These are unsalted pumpkin seeds I get in the bulk nut bin at the regular grocery store OR I can also get them at the health food store. Definitely UNsalted ones. The ones I get I believe are organic, but they dont have to be.

 

[Mrs.Puff]

Ruth-- My banty hen was very lethargic and wouldn't get off the nest much either when she went broody. She wouldn't even come out sometimes at all unless I took her off the nest. I have another hen right now doing the same thing. Try just taking her down for a bit and letting her sit there for a while next to the food/ water. Mine always perked up after a couple minutes and ate and pood, then went back to the nest when she was ready. Broodiness decreases metabolism greatly, and she won't want to eat hardly anything. missprissy (moderator) told me don't worry, that the hen knows what she is doing. After her eggs hatched, my banty wants to eat a LOT. I don't know about the foamy poo though. I definitely would not worm her though.
also-- do you know Curtiss Vedrine, from Woodville?