California - Northern

[18Peeps]

I'll have eggs from my Blue Copper Marans covered by my Black Copper Marans available in a couple more weeks. They've only been exclusive to the BCM for a couple of weeks so there could still be some Olive Eggers from my EE roo. After this hatch I'll set some of their eggs. They lay nice dark eggs for Blues.
This is what's in the incubator now and my one egg from my blue is furthest to the right, mostly covered by the blue ribbon my BCM from debs_flock won.

Those are Gorgeous with a capital G! I have been trying to hatch some BLCM from My Pet Chicken and have not had luck at all. The post office has been too rough with them and most just didn't grow. I do have 2 in the incubator that are growing, but I didn't sand them as Chooks Chicks suggests, so I'm not too hopeful they will be able to hatch through their tough shells. I would have gone local if I'd known there were local ones around. No one advertises anything but BCM (which look pretty great too, but they just weren't blue and I liked that blue color). Are you going to sell the hens?

 

[18Peeps]

Cute chicks! I need to take new pics of mine. It is hard to believe that they are 2 1/2 weeks old already! My favorite one is looking like he is a boy. He is the tiny Icelandic mix and all of a sudden he is sporting a comb on his little head! My other favorite also is sporting a huge comb and tiny pink wattles! Why is it always the favorites that end up being boys?!!!

AH! Don't say that. I've got 3 Amercaunas 2 1/2 weeks old and I'm still hoping my favorite is a GIRL...well, that ALL are girls really, but I do know that's not reasonable!

 

[lawatt]

so here's a question, regarding my overabundance of broodies -- if i were to try moving one of them to a new location (a pen with its own nesting box, inside the run of my coop -- previously used as the transit lounge for the amelias) at night, with her eggs, would it be wiser to move:

a) the basque on day 17 of her sit, closest to hatching
b) the SPPR on day 8, kind of in the middle
c) one of the two (australorp and CL) who just went broody this weekend & are competing for next space -- at this point jointly sitting on a collection of mutt eggs, i'll be getting the ones for hatching this afternoon & tomorrow by mail (thanks to chiqita, deann, and molly!), so probably starting thursday.

the pen can be closed, to keep the broody in with her eggs -- and it might be better for the first one with chicks, my brave Eleanor, to be by herself -- but i don't want to risk disrupting her too much at this late of a date into her sitting.

any advice/suggestions is welcomed!

 

[PetRock]

Thank you so much for your story. I'm so sorry you have had to deal with this, too!! I just lost a Silkie from wry neck & now this... I have quail that should be hatching by tomorrow, too. She wouldn't eat this morning; I have her in a kennel in the garage. I just went out & she ate/drank a little, but not her usual. She cannot stand at all. Please tell me- in your experience, would you keep trying or Go ahead & stop it for the sake of the chicks & for the fact that she may not recover at all. I have my husband prepared to do the deed, but as a nurse, it's hard for me to stop treatment unless I know it's terminal.
What do you think I should do? Please, anybody tell me your opinion. With all the other crazy things in my life right now, I can't dedicate the treatment/feeding/cleaning that may help her, but most likely won't. Luckily my wry neck chick went on his own. This is the first time I've had to face THIS decision

How is your sick one? I'm sorry that I didn't answer you back. We hike on Mondays afternoons and after a 5 mile hike I wasn't good for anything except lounging on the couch! I couldn't believe how far behind I was on reading this thread! My husband shakes his head at me when I have a sick chicken and spend hours nursing them only to have them die anyway. He teases me that I have the touch of death.

When my first bird with Marek's became sick, I originally thought that maybe it was botulism. I wanted it to be botulism rather than Merek's. So I treated him for that with no success. Then when I finally faced the fact that it was Merek's, I spent week treating him with hypericum perforatum and vitamin E. I guess that I would consider the treatment a success since he went from not eating/drinking at all and totally paralyzed to functioning almost normally. If an expensive, female chicken came down with Merek's, I might try that treatment again. Hopefully, I would recognize the signs and start treatment before the bird was not eating and totally paralyzed.

Here is a thread that talks about it: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/135247/st-johns-wort

Nursing a chicken with a serious illness is very time consuming and heartbreaking when you lose them anyway. Now we have a 3 day rule. If it is a serious illness and they don't start showing signs of improvement after 3 days of separation and treatment, we cull them.

I have to remind myself of this rule because my tendency is to try my hardest to get them better even if it isn't the best choice for the bird. It is hard but I know that you will make the right decision for her.

 

[PetRock]

AH! Don't say that. I've got 3 Amercaunas 2 1/2 weeks old and I'm still hoping my favorite is a GIRL...well, that ALL are girls really, but I do know that's not reasonable!

LOL!!! Isn't that funny how our minds work? Of course, you do get lots of girls, don't you? My hatch rate and also straight run purchased chicks are always very close to the 50/50 mark. Out of my 7 chicks that I hatched, I am almost positive that 3 are boys and the other 4 have yet to declare themselves.

 

[HighNDryFarm]

Quote: Parkmule, are you showing him off at the Red Bluff Roundup? The Budweiser Clydesdales are going to be there. Maybe show the new boy what he can be when he grows up!

Kim, the lake water is probably around 40? I brought my floatie but never got in it but it was so warm out that I did stand in the water from the shore while I threw sticks for the dogs and moved my chair into the shade in the afternoon. Was warm enough out that we got our "base burn" for the year!

Molly, I had a horse that had Cushings Disease which is a tumor on their pituitary gland. Do people get Cushings?

W
Quote: We plant our garden the weekend of Mother's Day or the week before if I think I can get away with it but we always get some radical weather before the good weather sets in. I've found since we added the raised beds we don't lose the whole garden like we use to. If it rained too much the plants would drowned but the beds drain better. The Marans are in the garden right now, fertilizing until I get their coop ready.

 

[debs_flock]

Jojo and another grocery chick (or possibly the same one again!).

Not sure on the others yet, this little white one of course is a boy.

For those of you who use leg bands, where do you get them and what kind do you prefer? I need to order right away. I need to band so I know where the chicks came from, Sunny or Deb. So much easier making EE's!
I use colored zipties. You just have to be really careful to keep an eye on them. The leg will expand and the ziptie will not. You have to check it at least weekly to make sure it doesn't need to be replaced. When they get a little older, I change over to colored spiral bands. I have five little araucana chicks right now that I banded with a small piece of vetwrap. It has been on for a week now with no problem.

I'd sure like to put them together (the new chicks, not the Springer puppy), the OE's too small for the big chickens but is she going to be too big for the new ones?

Ok I lied, I have another question....does anyone know if you can change your screen name w/o adding a new account? In the search it said the moderators could but it was a 2010 post so before the new format. I wanted to change to my farms name. I picked this name, the name of one of our roosters, when I was frantically creating an account after I lost all my chickens to a predator attack and had questions..imagine me having questions!!

You just contact a moderator and they can do it for you. Jason changed his to Hangtown Farms. I believe their rules say you can change your user name once.

You all are probably off at the after hours thread, I'll probably have to wait until tomorrow for replies! LOL

 

[chiqita]

Does anyone in Sonoma County have Barnevelder or Maran pullets for sale? I am looking for birds that are in the 10-14 week range and that have been handled.

At some point this year I will. I have some about 6 weeks now but I doubt they will last. I have one Barnie at 9 weeks. But I won't have more of those. I'm going off comb and feather sexing so you know slow maturing roos can sneak in there. ( sneaks away from petrock) so far the Barnie has little comb and is not showing streamers but it is a bit early for that.

I go to novato frequently if you can pick up there. My guys are handled but I don't have a 3 year old that always has a chick on its lap or anything.

You guys are doing an awesome job on coops! All the building as got me thinking about more pens myself. Mario just fixed our outside water last week so yes not yet on Bord with that, lol.

Ron, I use older silkies as comforters all the time. I have 2 inside now that live with the babies over 1 week old. Calms them right down. Its like cheating!

So, you Gardners, I have a question for you. Mario forgot to move my new seedlings in last night and some were frosted. I moved in to the inside porch where they won't get direct sun while defrosting. Anything else I should do? Move them inside? I'd hate to loose all my heritage veggies they were not cheap and not replaceable.

Someone was discussing marans eggs. After a year of hatching them and discussing hatching them I've cone to some conclusions. They ave a reputation of being harder to hatch. I thing genetics shell shape shell thickness and size all play a part. Since a lot o marans eggs are round and xl, the membrane can stretch more during shipping. They are also prone to loosing moisture erratically. This can lead to bigger chicks that either
A/get too big to turn and die without pipping
B/ grow too much and run out of yolk food before they are ready to hatch.

I almost never see a marans quitter if I loose them they fail towards the end or don't start at all. And they almost never hatch early instead they are the last out.
(While silkies in their small egg are sensitive to temp changes and just quit sometimes)

This makes marans eggs more Dependant on a really good incubator if shipped. Or weigh and adjust your humidity accordingly.

I have found every type of egg to have its quirks. Its fun to think about.

My first test breese eggs are due this week! I forgot about them and have been swapping the rest so I forgot about them. So exciting! Think I will give them to silver hr chicks are due about the same time.

OK time to refill feeders before I go to work. My crazy serama story will have to wait!

 

[PetRock]

At some point this year I will. I have some about 6 weeks now but I doubt they will last. I have one Barnie at 9 weeks. But I won't have more of those. I'm going off comb and feather sexing so you know slow maturing roos can sneak in there. ( sneaks away from petrock) so far the Barnie has little comb and is not showing streamers but it is a bit early for that.

I think that I need to hire Monet out! She is so good at sexing chicks! She knew that one was a boy but she was too shy to speak up! She also helps me candle the eggs and she has been correct every time! I always want to keep the iffy ones but they never develop/hatch.

 

[Miss Molly]

OMG, can't believe it's still snowing so low, although I did hear on the news the snow level was surprisingly low.

We spent the weekend on the lake in swimsuits but on the way in last night it was cold and overcast...gotta love the fickle Northern CA spring.
MRI's and I don't get along w/o Valium. I hate that I can't convince myself that it's ok! And what's up with waiting so long for results?? I need a biopsy but they can't get me in for a month! Hope everything is good news, aren't you glad you have your chickens to think about while the machine plays the drums around your head?

They started running test in January ....they are still running test...I say it's ....hurry up and wait! Frustrating!