I bet it's a boy too. Remember that I have said he the whole time with that one? I'm glad that he's doing better. What about those other 2 last one's?
They're both still in the incubator, and still too weak to stand. I've been giving them Save-A-Chick, and have been trying to feed them chick food from my hands, but they aren't strong enough to eat it. Yesterday I decided to try something else and tried some canned dog food. One gorged herself, the other one just stuck her beak into it and left it. Maybe I should have used eggs instead, but I didn't think of that until later. Yesterday I also tried bracing their legs to see if that might help since their whole bodies just flop, but that did no good.
Glad you found our thread! Hoop coops are great, very flexible.
Tarps do block the sun's rays. If you find it builds up too much heat, consider replacing it with a double layer of good shade cloth, it'd probably repel rain staying bone dry inside and allow some of a breeze. I had a coop made out of the arc of a 14 ft trampoline and the 2 layers of shade cloth kept it completely dry. I was surprised, but I think it was the curve of the arc that allowed the doubled shade cloth to do this. Also, if you can have a fan, you could have a small outdoor swamp cooler instead. Even a fan probably won't be enough for Yuma, bearing in mind that even Andalusian chickens start to feel heat stress (panting, wings out) at 90 degrees. Most breeds show this same stress at 80-85, let alone 100 or 120 degrees. These coolers are about $150 probably by now. (oops, they've gone up! the one below is similar to what I had in black canyon city
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Hessair...er-for-500-sq-ft-in-Sandstone-MC18S/317051471
That way you'd worry a lot less. You can also put a small thermometer in the coop, the kind that registers its hottest and coldest reading, and you'll know if the coop gets hotter than outside or not, at any point in the day or night. Speaking of, roosttime is the heat of the day in most areas of AZ where it gets hot, so late afternoon sun will be very important.
I tried the egg yolk on 2 that arrived (shipped birds) in bad shape, but they were too sick to eat anything. I think a lot of people use it successfully though. Sorry to hear the young ones aren't very strong.They're both still in the incubator, and still too weak to stand. I've been giving them Save-A-Chick, and have been trying to feed them chick food from my hands, but they aren't strong enough to eat it. Yesterday I decided to try something else and tried some canned dog food. One gorged herself, the other one just stuck her beak into it and left it. Maybe I should have used eggs instead, but I didn't think of that until later. Yesterday I also tried bracing their legs to see if that might help since their whole bodies just flop, but that did no good.
Sometimes they are just too weak to thrive. At least you know that you tried.
Mamma G retired and the kids took over. Still better than what we can get up here in phx though.Chile Pepper has really gone down hill, not sure what is going on there but its been pretty sad lately.
Thanks for all the feedback guys!
