Anybody setting eggs this weekend? (4-25-15)

[RubyNala97]

They sure are. Not to take anything away from the great instructions your broody is giving those chicks, but its hilarious for me to watch chicks in my brooder for the first time. One chick pecks at something and 3 others come and peck at exactly the same thing, whether its wood chips, food, or water. My feeder has like 14 openings down each side...so one pecks in one hole, another comes and wants to peck in the same hole. Its like they're associating with the action, not the smell or sight.

Anyone else got chicks lying down with one leg stuck out behind them? Almost all of mine have done this at some point, and every time I see it they look like they've dropped dead mid-step...

I'm watching chicks in my brooder too! It is beyond adorable to watch. I love how they are in the middle of doing something and then just fall over sleeping! The first time I actually had to double check to make sure they weren't dead! Lol. I mashed up some hard boiled egg yolk with their starter and I thought they would go crazy, but it took them about an hour to start eating it. But once they did they didn't stop. I also just put some grit in and they haven't figured out that yet. (I only have 2 of them). Do you put any sand in with the chicks for them to dig/play in?

 

[Pywakyt]

Tomorrow is day twenty for me I can't wait! I also set my eggs upside down

 

[NTBugtraq]

Tomorrow is day twenty for me I can't wait! I also set my eggs upside down

Thanks for saying that Pywakyt, I don't feel nearly so dumb now...;-] It will be interesting to see if you get > 50% hatch rate like I did. Best of luck!

 

[NTBugtraq]

I'm watching chicks in my brooder too! It is beyond adorable to watch. I love how they are in the middle of doing something and then just fall over sleeping! The first time I actually had to double check to make sure they weren't dead! Lol. I mashed up some hard boiled egg yolk with their starter and I thought they would go crazy, but it took them about an hour to start eating it. But once they did they didn't stop. I also just put some grit in and they haven't figured out that yet. (I only have 2 of them). Do you put any sand in with the chicks for them to dig/play in?

No, I just have them on pine shavings. They seem content though, and they scoot across the 5' of the brooder at like 900 miles an hour when something catches their attention...like me standing watching them.

One of my remaining 15 eggs pipped over-night, so clearly they aren't finished yet.

 

[chicken pickin]

I woke up to 3 pips, a little bit of cheeping and other eggs rockin

 

[WalleyWaller]

I woke up to 3 pips, a little bit of cheeping and other eggs rockin

Cant wait to see some picks. I am 5 days behind you. We have 6 set under a broody hen. 4 are Araucana and 2 are Cream Legbar and Araucana mix hybrids. Good :Luck!!

 

[chicken pickin]

Cant wait to see some picks. I am 5 days behind you. We have 6 set under a broody hen. 4 are Araucana and 2 are Cream Legbar and Araucana mix hybrids. Good :Luck!!

Good luck on your hatch as well!

I also have 6 eggs under a broody that are due in 4/5 days. They are Cream Legbar eggs under a BCM hen.

 

[smarsh00]

I set 6 under under 2 Broody hens on may 1st. The one hen does most of the sitting while the other takes over when she gets off from time to time. I've only had hens since the fall so I'm real new to this. I candled an egg last nite on day 16 n it looks like the pix I've seen on this site. I have alot of questions as far as what to do once they hatch. Do I separate the chicks in a smaller Koop? Give them medicated starter feed like the woman who gave me the fertile eggs suggested or not? Do they need a heat lamp? I love these chicken like my children n don't wana screw this up. Any suggestions?

 

[FoxyChicken]

I set 6 under under 2 Broody hens on may 1st. The one hen does most of the sitting while the other takes over when she gets off from time to time. I've only had hens since the fall so I'm real new to this. I candled an egg last nite on day 16 n it looks like the pix I've seen on this site. I have alot of questions as far as what to do once they hatch. Do I separate the chicks in a smaller Koop? Give them medicated starter feed like the woman who gave me the fertile eggs suggested or not? Do they need a heat lamp? I love these chicken like my children n don't wana screw this up. Any suggestions?

Hi smarsh! I would recommend separating the chicks and broody from the rest of the flock, unless your two broodies are your only chickens. If your broody is a good mom you shouldn't need a heat lamp, that's what she is for. As for medicated starter... that's personal preference. I personally don't use medicated. I've read that chicks raised under a broody are much healthier and build up their own natural immunity to cocci. But, it wouldn't hurt anything to feed it either. Keep in mind I just hatched my first chicks under a broody 3 days ago, so that's how much real experience I have

. I did raise my original chicks in a brooder without medicated too though. I've read that if you expose the chicks early on to the soil that they will be living on, it helps them build that immunity. So you can just put a small chunk of your soil in the brooder or coop with the chicks and as they pick through it they will be exposed to very small amounts of cocci and that's what builds the immunity. Apple cider vinegar in their water is supposed to help build a strong immune system too. Good luck!

 

[NTBugtraq]

Day 14 (5/9) = Candled all eggs, 2 showed no signs of development so I gave them to the dogs
Day 19 (5/14) = 4 pipped eggs and lots of cheeping sounds
Day 20 (5/15) = 7 hatched so far (6 yellow, 1 BCM-looking) all healthy looking, about half the remaining eggs have pipped
Day 21 (5/16) = 16 hatched so far (8 yellow, 8 BCM-looking) all healthy looking
Day 22 (5/17) = 20 hatched so far (11 yellow, 9 BCM-looking)

Meanwhile, my chicks are a mix of BCM (rooster) and Red Sexling (hens). I read another thread about crosses in the opposite direction, but nothing with the rooster as BCM. Can anyone suggest anything about my 2 distinctly different chick types?

...just lost one of the brooder chicks, it was the last to go in and got picked on, I should've left it in the bator longer...

That leaves 14 eggs in the bator with no pips in sight