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

[smarsh00]

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!

 

[smarsh00]

Foxychicken. Thanks so much for ur advise I keep them in a Koop on a concrete slab not on soil is that ok? N t I will add the vinegar to the water. A few cap fills to a gallon I'm guessing like I said, I'm really new to this but I'm enjoying it so much

 

[danotoyou2]

2 hatched out on day 19 (today!) and I have 9 more with pips.

They are early birds. Literally. LOL

 

[Chickentera]

Nice!!
I am stuck at work, but wife said she heard some chirping! It's the middle of day 20 for us!

 

[FoxyChicken]

Foxychicken. Thanks so much for ur advise I keep them in a Koop on a concrete slab not on soil is that ok? N t I will add the vinegar to the water. A few cap fills to a gallon I'm guessing like I said, I'm really new to this but I'm enjoying it so much

Do they go outside at all? If not, I wouldn't even bother with medicated feed. Cocci is a parasite that lives in the soil so if they're in a coop with a concrete floor I think there's little chance they would even be exposed to it.
As for the vinegar, use 1-2 tablespoons per gallon. The important thing is to use raw unfiltered apple cider vinegar with the mother in it, like Bragg's.
It is fun and so addicting!

 

[smarsh00]

Do they go outside at all? If not, I wouldn't even bother with medicated feed. Cocci is a parasite that lives in the soil so if they're in a coop with a concrete floor I think there's little chance they would even be exposed to it. 
As for the vinegar, use 1-2 tablespoons per gallon. The important thing is to use raw unfiltered apple cider vinegar with the mother in it, like Bragg's. 
It is fun and so addicting!

No they don't go out. I will get the regular starter feed then. I will also look for the Bragg vinegar. 4 days n counting lol. We're pretty excited to c what happens. Thanks so much. Will post up pix when they hatch

 

[RubyNala97]

...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

what happened to the chick??? I'm so sorry!! That must have been devastating! Hugs!!

 

[NTBugtraq]

what happened to the chick??? I'm so sorry!! That must have been devastating! Hugs!!

Well, I couldn't stick to my guns. I had said I was going to do nothing until 3:00pm today, but at 9:00am I decided to take the 3 live chicks that were in the bator and put them into the brooder. I just felt sorry for them and the eggs they were constantly tripping over. But as Sally Sunshine says in her great article about assisting hatches, DO NOT RUSH THE HATCH! I rushed the hatch.

They were dry, but they had "stuff" on their feathers and were not fluffed out. When I put them into the brooder, the others, who had been there for more than a day, started pecking at the three of them. I had read that this was a normal behavior, so I just kept checking on them. The one that died appeared far more lethargic than the others (even though all three hatched out > 24 hours before I moved them to the brooder), so I made sure I dipped its beak in water and food, and put it back in the center under the light. 15 minutes after that, when I checked again, it was flat on the ground with its head to one side and the eye open...not what they look like when they're alive but looking dead. I picked it up, checked it everyway I could and determined it was dead.

Now I don't want people to think me unfeeling, but I raise chickens for money, eggs and meat. I expected a death, and I expect others will die at some point. Of the 30 chicks I bought alive last September, 15 males were culled for meat, and 3 of the 15 hens have died in the coop over the winter. So death happens, but I kick myself enormously for being the one who caused this little guy's death, I do try my best to give my chickens the best chances they can have.

I had 14 eggs left in the bator this morning, so at 3:00pm (beginning of day 23) I followed the instructions of Sally's assisting article. I candled them all again, discarded 1 as it was far clearer than I had thought...when opened, it had no development at all. I opened a viewing hole into 6 eggs. 5 were definitely dead due to mal-positioning (cause I put them in the bator upside down). One had its head above its wing, and no veining in the membrane above it, so I lifted its head out of the egg and put it back in the bator...it has not moved. The remaining 8 have done nothing since, and I expect are all dead due to mal-positioning. Again, I am really kicking myself for not checking that one very basic question...pointy side up or down? If you don't already know, its pointy side down!!

So, all in all, a lot of experience gained. I might make one suggestion to OP and anyone who starts a hatch-a-long thread, make that initial message hold some very basic FAQs...like pointy side down, no eggs older than 7 days, turn baby turn, DO NOT RUSH THE HATCH, and Sally's Hatching 101 post...etc...wish I'd been assaulted by them, I'd be feeling far less stupid now...;-]

Anyway, I got 19 new kids in my flock of 25...of course these guys will go into their own coop when they go out so I can feed them different food than the rest. No free ranging here, my dogs would just love me to let the chickens out. And between 8-10 weeks the males will go to be processed for meat, while the females will get put in with the rest.

I started collecting new eggs for another hatch attempt starting next Saturday. This is truly addicting. I am allowed 100 hens and 300 meat birds a year, so I'm working on it. In 6 months when my hens from this hatch start laying, I'm hoping to see some BCM-like eggs. Those eggs will then go into a hatch of their own, to get my 2nd generation.

 

[NTBugtraq]

No they don't go out. I will get the regular starter feed then. I will also look for the Bragg vinegar. 4 days n counting lol. We're pretty excited to c what happens. Thanks so much. Will post up pix when they hatch

Smarsh,

Concrete or soil, going out into the yard or not, cocci is outside...period. You may track it in on your shoes, or the bottom of the feeder...its a natural occurrence. So, you either go the medicated route, or you don't, cause unless you're keeping them in incredibly strict sanitary conditions like they do when there are 10,000+, your chickens will be exposed. Now I choose not to use medicated, and non-GMO food, so I can say my chickens (and they're eggs) are free from any of the stuff people these days want to avoid. That means losses (e.g. dead chickens), and higher feed costs (since I cannot free-range), hence the typically higher price of such things.

So, I say, if they're a pet, get medicated and do whatever you have to to keep them alive. If they're a profit center, then consider the cost benefits. Apple Cider Vinegar, Cod Liver Oil, fermenting feed, and adding some cheap but interesting feed with starter (e.g. black-oil sunflower seeds) can be as effective as the drugs.

 

[NTBugtraq]

Ruby,

Can I just say that pic of, I assume, your son with a bird is absolutely awesome. To get a kid that young to know how to hold a bird is no small feat!