Arizona Chickens

[ArizonaDesertChicks]

Quote:
I have an Ameraucana with a crossbeak that is 1 year old and does great - I've trimmed her beak about 3 times with fingernail clippers because she doesn't keep it filed down as well, but other than that - have had no problems. She eats pellets, lays beautiful blue eggs, and even went broody on me.

That's nice to hear. My first thoughts of trimming her beak made me a little squeamish but it's better than having to cull if she doesn't thrive. I was worried that she would have to always eat crumbles because pellets would be too cumbersome. Do you just clip off the tip of the top and bottom a small amount?

I ususally clip both top and bottom, but you'll have to judge for yourself whether yours needs it or not. Mine was at least 6 months old before I ever clipped her beak. It's kind of like clipping dog's toenails - just be careful not to cut the quick. I can see where to cut because the area needing trimmed is clear/white and is longer than it is supposed to be - it actually looks pretty obvious. I always have someone else hold the hen while I clip - if you are nervous about it, you can always file it rather than clip it.

This is a photo of her when I first discovered her crossbeak:

This is her a few months ago - not a very good picture of the beak - if you look close, you'll see that top of her beak goes to the right of the bottom part (it looks much worse in person).

And just to show her with her sisters - no discernable difference, other than the beak:

Check out Charlie on this thread - seeing him should give you hope

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=356404



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[ArizonaDesertChicks]

Quote:
I have an Ameraucana with a crossbeak that is 1 year old and does great - I've trimmed her beak about 3 times with fingernail clippers because she doesn't keep it filed down as well, but other than that - have had no problems. She eats pellets, lays beautiful blue eggs, and even went broody on me.

the broody ameraucana is going to hatch some chicks in ten days

Great!! I'm so glad she stayed broody for you. Good job keeping her stable and comfortable!

*

 

[mclevinson]

One Maran, one Americauna out. Two more pips. Hummidity keeps fleeing, have to add water 3x a day.

 

[nurseshelly]

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Have you tried a new, wet large sponge? That is what really helped hold the humidity for me. I just put it on a shallow dish of water so it stays wet longer.
Congrats on the two chicks!!!!

 

[mclevinson]

Quote:
Have you tried a new, wet large sponge? That is what really helped hold the humidity for me. I just put it on a shallow dish of water so it stays wet longer.
Congrats on the two chicks!!!!

I have been using cotton pads, will switch to sponge cloth next.

 

[LarryPQ]

Quote:
Really? hm... I have seen countless posts regarding the hens as having rounded saddle feathers and hackle feathers, while the males have pointed saddle and hackle feathers. For example:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=169925

That diagram you linked to doesn't list hackle feathers on the hen either - is it because she doesn't have any hackle feathers are did the artist just not mention the hackle or saddle feathers on the female?

I tried searching for definitions and couldn't come up with much - did find this:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/5922348/how_do_i_tell_if_my_hen_is_a_rooster.html?cat=53

"While hens typically sport rounded tails and saddle feathers, roosters tend towards finer, sharper feather definition."

Well, yes, they have feathers in those areas, but the saddle feathers are not typically IDed as such on the girls, although pointed versus rounded feathers in the saddle and hackle areas are gender traits. If you look at the standard, it does not describe saddle feathers for females--mainly because they are not a female pattern area. They do call the neck feathers hackle feathers and specify them in the standard for hens.

I am going to call shenanigans, even though I usually defer to the genetics gurus.

Yeah, I KNOW they are often calld other things (My 2010 SOP says "sweep of back" and "cushion") but SO FEW of us need that level of distinction.

So, in the interest of lay-man linguistics as a whole, I declare they are saddle feathers! Because if I was going to ride that chicken, that's where I would saddle up!

 

[Smiles-N-Sunshine]

Quote:
Have you tried a new, wet large sponge? That is what really helped hold the humidity for me. I just put it on a shallow dish of water so it stays wet longer.
Congrats on the two chicks!!!!

I have been using cotton pads, will switch to sponge cloth next.

What % humidity are y'all aiming for? And if you had to pick between too high or too low humidity, which would you prefer?

 

[mclevinson]

Quote:
I have been using cotton pads, will switch to sponge cloth next.

What % humidity are y'all aiming for? And if you had to pick between too high or too low humidity, which would you prefer?

I aim for 35 during incubation and 65 during lockdown.

 

[LarryPQ]

In our climate, you can't really be to high.

You may think you are holding steady at 55% the whole time, but the sneaky weather will get you everytime LOL!

I aim for 80% in the Brinsea during lockdown. I would NEVER be able to acheive that with my Little Giant.

 

[nurseshelly]

Quote:
I have been using cotton pads, will switch to sponge cloth next.

What % humidity are y'all aiming for? And if you had to pick between too high or too low humidity, which would you prefer?

The breeder I got my Serama eggs does 40 - 50% days 1-18, and then 80% for lockdown, so that is what I've been doing and had good results for my first hatch. This will be my second, so we'll see. I have a notebook I'm taking notes in, so I can fine tune things if I think it is needed. Or at least try to correlate what worked well, and what didn't - LOL! Oh the first time I put them in egg cartons for lockdown and it kept things less messy, and they hatched really easily. The only bad thing was when one was trying to zip out, sometimes another chick would get on top of the egg - sure that can't help the baby trying to get out - LOL! It all worked out though, even the ones with chick top hats got out.