B.Y.C. Dorking Club!

[lceh]

I'm downsizing a bit and have 2 young SG cockerels to rehome, will post pics later today if possible (we added a new baby to the household last week and I'm a little behind!). These are McMurray birds, hatched April 7. I might be convinced to let them go with a pullet or two, we'll see. Just thought I'd list them here first before putting them on Craigslist or taking them to the local poultry swap this weekend, in case someone local's hoping to get a start with Dorkings (or wants to see what they taste like!) No shipping, sorry. We're in central VA, near Charlottesville.

 

[rtroxel]

I would also mention that it might not have been the vent. Sometimes chicks that hatch in low humidity situation will not seal their belly buttons correctly. It's very close to the vent, so might appear to be the vent. It would look like a prolapse but would actually be a hernia of sorts. Most chicks die that have this. I think you could save them by treating the wound on some of them, but it is usually infected long before you notice and treat. But it is usually a humidity issue with the incubator. Fix that and you will have fewer problems with future chicks.

 

[dncarr09]

Thank you, I actually had a friend that hatched these for me. She has a really nice cabinet incubator and I only have a little Hovabator. I wanted to get the best hatch rate possible so she hatched them for me. She said she hasn't ever had that happen with her chicks so I don't know if it was the humidity or maybe some weird genetic mutation. I found pictures of a prolpased vent and it looked identical to the pictures. I read how to fix it and it worked after I worked on it for a while and a bunch of preparation h. The next day I checked on the chick and it was back out again and the second time I couldn't get it to go back in. It could have been a hernia. Not a fun experience either way.

 

[ki4got]

ok well my reds just took a step backwards. i've lost ALL of the chicks hatched from Rudy's eggs...

no idea why, they all quit within 24 hours of each other. the rest of the chicks in the pen are doing just fine. (cochins, guineas, ee/dorking crosses.)

so now i'm debating getting more eggs, or possibly placing an order for red chicks from Dick Horstman (unless you sell chicks rudy...)

 

[3riverschick]

ok well my reds just took a step backwards. i've lost ALL of the chicks hatched from Rudy's eggs...

no idea why, they all quit within 24 hours of each other. the rest of the chicks in the pen are doing just fine. (cochins, guineas, ee/dorking crosses.)

so now i'm debating getting more eggs, or possibly placing an order for red chicks from Dick Horstman (unless you sell chicks rudy...)

So sorry for your loss, especially in this rare breed.
what were you feeding them?
Best,
Karen

 

[ki4got]

Quote: i feed all the chicks a 20% protein chick ration (crumbles). actually i feed all the birds of any age the same thing, and offer oyster shell free choice to the laying aged birds. i have too wide an age range on my free ranging bunch to safely go with just layer pellets. the only ones on pellets strictly are those in breeding pens that don't get to free range at all.

i don't think it's a feed thing. it's the same feed all of my dorkings and even game birds are raised on. (the TSC chick crumbles are 16-18% protein, which is too low for the dorkings IMO)

 

[pysankigirl]

Oh, no!!! so sorry to hear it! how old were they?
that sucks.

 

[Yellow House Farm]

Hmmm....I have the exact opposite need. If I feed my chicks 20% protein they grow too fast and look deformed around the eyes. 17-18% is right on the money.

All the chicks in 24hours, though, wouldn't be protein levels. How old were they precisely? How were they behaving?

 

[ki4got]

Hmmm....I have the exact opposite need. If I feed my chicks 20% protein they grow too fast and look deformed around the eyes. 17-18% is right on the money.

All the chicks in 24hours, though, wouldn't be protein levels. How old were they precisely? How were they behaving?

well, i find if i go lower on the protein then they don't seem to develop well at all for me and tend to be stunted, while 20% seems to be about right. *shrug*
the mill i get my feed from only does 1 chick food and 1 layer pellet, and they both work well for me.

they hatched july 2. (4 of them, 2 pullet, 2 cockerels) they seemed to be behaving normally, then i found 1 dead, the others were still behaving normally as far as i could tell, but the last 2 i brought in because i felt something was off. they were still acting and eating normally, but crying a lot. the last few hours both looked 'hunched' and then became lethargic and just died a few hours later (about 2 hours apart). none of the other chicks in the pen are showing anythign like that. someone bought 5 chicks from that pen day before yesterday and they're all doing fine still too.

 

[3riverschick]

Did you check their crops to see if any issues there, perhaps? I have read while studying Sussex
that Dorking chicks can be hard to rear, sigh. But how odd, all within 24 hrs.
How sad and what frustration!
karen