California - Northern

[lawatt]

wow, thanks for posting all the cocci info, shantih!

and here's a question: the campine chicks are 6 days old now. the one with the marans mama is doing great, already taking small excursions outside the coop to scratch in the sunshine -- and of the two with the sussex, one seems similarly strong and perky, the other is still having trouble -- is a little better at following mama around, but still lags behind and seems to get cold/unmotivated easily, then just sits and cries. if left to its own devices, i think it would prefer to snooze under mama's feathers all day.

so: I COULD tuck it in under the "aunt" broody that's sitting on eggs (who doesn't seem to mind one way or the other) and just let it get stronger -- or I could leave it with its mom & just see if it catches on or not. it definitely knows that the sussex is mama, it cries if they get too separated -- unless its underneath the other broody, in which case it goes to sleep.

with my first round of chicks/broodies, there were several chicks that acted more or less like this -- one araucana, the only bresse chick i hatched, and the naked neck/icelandic cross -- none of them seemed to keep up with the others, often cried & ended up sitting in the sun by themselves, trying to get warm -- and they all died ("failure to thrive"?) -- so i'm not sure if i should just let "nature take its course" for the weaker chick, or try to nurse it along by tucking it under the other broody?

any thoughts?

 

[ChickNmamma]

wow, thanks for posting all the cocci info, shantih!

and here's a question: the campine chicks are 6 days old now. the one with the marans mama is doing great, already taking small excursions outside the coop to scratch in the sunshine -- and of the two with the sussex, one seems similarly strong and perky, the other is still having trouble -- is a little better at following mama around, but still lags behind and seems to get cold/unmotivated easily, then just sits and cries. if left to its own devices, i think it would prefer to snooze under mama's feathers all day.

so: I COULD tuck it in under the "aunt" broody that's sitting on eggs (who doesn't seem to mind one way or the other) and just let it get stronger -- or I could leave it with its mom & just see if it catches on or not. it definitely knows that the sussex is mama, it cries if they get too separated -- unless its underneath the other broody, in which case it goes to sleep.

with my first round of chicks/broodies, there were several chicks that acted more or less like this -- one araucana, the only bresse chick i hatched, and the naked neck/icelandic cross -- none of them seemed to keep up with the others, often cried & ended up sitting in the sun by themselves, trying to get warm -- and they all died ("failure to thrive"?) -- so i'm not sure if i should just let "nature take its course" for the weaker chick, or try to nurse it along by tucking it under the other broody?

any thoughts?

I know the temptation is to save them all - but if you do not want to have any weakness in your flock, and you do not want to continue that weakness on by breeding to it if it does survive, I would let nature take its course.

If you stick it under Aunt broody she might get off the other eggs to shepherd that chick around when it gets stronger, thereby loosing all the other potentially healthy chicks still in the eggs .... Putting chicks under a broody is one way to "break" them from sitting on the eggs.

 

[ronott1]

wow, thanks for posting all the cocci info, shantih!

and here's a question: the campine chicks are 6 days old now. the one with the marans mama is doing great, already taking small excursions outside the coop to scratch in the sunshine -- and of the two with the sussex, one seems similarly strong and perky, the other is still having trouble -- is a little better at following mama around, but still lags behind and seems to get cold/unmotivated easily, then just sits and cries. if left to its own devices, i think it would prefer to snooze under mama's feathers all day.

so: I COULD tuck it in under the "aunt" broody that's sitting on eggs (who doesn't seem to mind one way or the other) and just let it get stronger -- or I could leave it with its mom & just see if it catches on or not. it definitely knows that the sussex is mama, it cries if they get too separated -- unless its underneath the other broody, in which case it goes to sleep.

with my first round of chicks/broodies, there were several chicks that acted more or less like this -- one araucana, the only bresse chick i hatched, and the naked neck/icelandic cross -- none of them seemed to keep up with the others, often cried & ended up sitting in the sun by themselves, trying to get warm -- and they all died ("failure to thrive"?) -- so i'm not sure if i should just let "nature take its course" for the weaker chick, or try to nurse it along by tucking it under the other broody?

any thoughts?

I would give the chick a drop of Pol visol without iron twice a day and let nature take it's course.

It is three days old? They usually make it if they live that long.

 

[lawatt]

I know the temptation is to save them all - but if you do not want to have any weakness in your flock, and you do not want to continue that weakness on by breeding to it if it does survive, I would let nature take its course.

If you stick it under Aunt broody she might get off the other eggs to shepherd that chick around when it gets stronger, thereby loosing all the other potentially healthy chicks still in the eggs .... Putting chicks under a broody is one way to "break" them from sitting on the eggs.

for what it's worth, the "aunt" (in the same coop/henhouse as this broody and her chicks) has not moved off her eggs at all, despite these two chicks sitting under/on her at times, for several days now -- so seems little risk of that (she's sitting on temporary eggs anyway, the ones i'd like her to hatch are being shipped today) -- this was her two days ago:


but i have the same thoughts as you on weakness in the flock -- if only i'd managed to hatch more than only three campines! losing one seems like a big loss.

I would give the chick a drop of Pol visol without iron twice a day and let nature take it's course.

It is three days old? They usually make it if they live that long.

they are six days today, and the weak chick has been getting poly-vi-sol intermittently since it hatched. but my weak ones from the earlier hatch, mentioned in my previous post, all died around a week old or so. they just didn't thrive.

i let them out earlier to "free range" for the first time -- after about ten minutes, the weak chick stopped trying to keep up with mom -- and when i put my (warm) hand next to it, it totally snuggled into my hand & ignored its mom's calls completely. i put it under the other broody to warm up, at least for now... seems better than bringing it indoors to be in a brooder all by itself.

(if the ambient air temps were warmer, i'd be less concerned, but it's been in the high forties each morning here lately, and slow to warm up -- still only 55 outside now. a chick sitting by itself gets chilled very fast.)

 

[lawatt]

fact is, the sussex just isn't being a great mom -- she doesn't stop to let them rest often enough. i wish all three were with the marans, she's doing a great job!

 

[ChickNmamma]

Quote:
Auntie is a very pretty bird. I think if she doesn't think the chicks are hers she might continue to set. I would be concerned if she bonds with them and leaves the nest to follow them. Especially since the eggs you want to set not arrived yet...

I can see that loosing one out of three is a huge dent.

The Sussex might not be a good mom for bantams that can't keep up with her. With the Sussex being LF and and active birds and the Campines are small (bantams?). Maybe that is the difficulty? It may be the boys can keep up, but the girl can't. If Aunty will watch the little one and not break, then I would be tempted to do just what you have done - let her babysit the weakest one.

Usually my weak ones die in the first week too.

it survives for you.

 

[lawatt]

Auntie is a very pretty bird. I think if she doesn't think the chicks are hers she might continue to set. I would be concerned if she bonds with them and leaves the nest to follow them. Especially since the eggs you want to set not arrived yet...

I can see that loosing one out of three is a huge dent.

The Sussex might not be a good mom for bantams that can't keep up with her. With the Sussex being LF and and active birds and the Campines are small (bantams?). Maybe that is the difficulty? It may be the boys can keep up, but the girl can't. If Aunty will watch the little one and not break, then I would be tempted to do just what you have done - let her babysit the weakest one.

Usually my weak ones die in the first week too.

it survives for you.

thanks -- although the "auntie" (SPPR) hasn't shown any sign of bonding with them, and they been hanging out with/near her since they hatched six days ago -- i think if she was going to follow them, she would have already? and they aren't bantams, they're LF campines -- not a particularly large breed, but not bantams. the chicks are pretty standard-sized chicks.

keeping fingers crossed too!

 

[juststruttin]

Shantih (Chiqita) thanks for the great info.

 

[Chickengirl1304]

I am bidding on some adult chickens and they would be shipped from Florida. Anyone had experience with shipping adults? I'm really hoping they don't die

 

[zooweemama]

HI everyone! Remember me? LOL I feel like I so rarely get to get on the computer these days. I haven't hatched in a while. I just sold off the last of our ducklings (not babies anymore at 12 weeks old). We've had the broody bug hit and that has been annoying. I had 5 broodies at once and it was 105-110 here. Um heck no silly hens. Breaking them has been a chore. But I think for now- we managed to break them. Watch now I will find someone sitting next egg check.

One is a persistent girl and I don't want or need many broodies so I will cull her.

My ducks have still so far been outlaying my chickens. They have just now paused for molting. Otherwise regardless of Summer, Fall, Winter or Spring...with no heat and no lights- pretty much laid nearly every day. haha!

My little gosling is HUGE now. The biggest goose we have. She is really really big lol. She is a Buff African from Holderreads.




My mixed ducks from our own ducks & hatching. They were too pretty not to keep.


Cookadoodle doo!


Ron this is one of the EEs we got from you. She lays a pretty brown egg. My daughter named her Angel.


This is Socks. Our beloved goofy Sizzle. Oh Lord she is a riot. Her socks are SO big she walks wide like a giant. I don't think she is very smart but she makes us all smile.


This is Red. She is our own mix. A heritage breed Buff Orpington and a French Black Copper Marans cross. She is big and pretty.


Anyhoo! HI guys!!