Chicks for the first Time

[Wendy64]

watermelon and cantalope kepp the seeds in and just cut in half make sure to put in fridge first they love it. I also got a large plastic dish for extra water

 

[winchuck]

Finally took the camera out with me this morning. I think the last chick is a rooster or a real assertive hen. Everyone is doing fine out in their larger fenced area. We had to do one in that did not have bumble foot but steadily got worse. When she was in a heap, we wrapped her in a towel and gently bled her out which only took a couple minutes. She even fell asleep while we were doing it. Love, love just watching those happy little guys enjoying wide open spaces.

 

[winchuck]

My chicks also come running when they see me. I feel loved! Or, I am just a food object? At night, if I wait long enough I find them already in the coop and if not a few tosses of yummies into their "safe" coop area and they are eagerly hopping in. My neighbor said she heard one crow, so I guess I do have a rooster. I can't tell from my house as the neighbor has a crowing rooster just over the fence from my chickens. Yae! I wanted at least one rooster. They sure loved the plums I found under the tree along with chopped up apple. I appreciate having a reason for all my fallen fruit. The bears will be disappointed as I have been tossing it back into the forest for them. I went out early enough this morning to witness the red light blinking on the chicken guard solar light thing I put up near the coop that turns on when any motion happens. Ah, so that works. Cougar beware that red light will get you!! Yes, I will love having my own eggs, but finding out that I do love those little chirpping chicks who find happiness living in the old compost area.

 

[eyotig25]

Ok so I am a little nervous right now...here are pics of my two speckled sussex and two australopes....they r just shy of 16 weeks...please tell me that the ones with more combs and wattles r juat more mature hens...please please please

https://www.backyardchickens.com/content/
type/61/id/5896604/width/200/height/400

https://www.backyardchickens.com/content/
type/61/id/5896608/width/200/height/400

 

[eyotig25]

 

[winchuck]

He is crowing like a trooper that he is! OMG another lame chicken. I can't stand the thought of killing off another one. Is that Merkel (sp?) disease contagious?

 

[kynewbchickie]

He is crowing like a trooper that he is! OMG another lame chicken. I can't stand the thought of killing off another one. Is that Merkel (sp?) disease contagious?

Mareks? Yes, it's contagious. Highly. I normally don't do vaccinations but that's one vaccine I can't recommend enough in day-old chicks. I hope it's not Mareks - it seriously takes its toll on a whole flock. :/

 

[mithious]

He is crowing like a trooper that he is! OMG another lame chicken. I can't stand the thought of killing off another one. Is that Merkel (sp?) disease contagious?

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/741957/not-an-emergency-mareks-in-the-flock this link will tell you everything and more than you need to know about marek's disease. Start at the end, as those are the newest posts. If you suspect you have marek's this no longer just about you and your flock, but everywhere you go, and all the other chickens near you...as this stuff is not curable, can fly on the wind for miles and miles and you can never get it out of your land.

I wish more people would research these really bad diseases more...it would save a lot of people much heartache and maybe put a dent in some of the incurable ones, like marek's. MG/MS and others....PLEASE read this...if not for yourself, for those you come in contact with. We all have a responsibility to those around us, to not pass this on to the next flock.( transmition is so unbelievably easy) It's bad enough to have to go through it ourselves!!! I have dear friends going through this right now...and it is heart breaking!!!! Please!!!!

 

[winchuck]

I read it all. OK, now I am so **** sad! My infected bird is still strong but limps. Plan? OMG. Gotta read it all over again and digest better. Sounds like I just need to not cull everyone (what a blessing) and wait until I see who goes south on me. I am sickened that I do have a neighbor with chickens and that I might just infect her flock. I am also sickened about the woman who sold me the chicks. Can I believe she didn't have a clue? Should I let her know. My feeling is, "you betcha". I will never sell or give away any of my chickens from this day forward ...and haven't done it before so I am able to show my face in town and here on the river. I bought them early May when they were old enough to put outside in the coop. So, they are at least six weeks old and probably seven going on eight. This is what size they were when I brought them home. So, if they live 10 weeks without it; they won't get it? I think that is what I read. Can I eat chickens that carry the disease but do not have it? I plan to cull my flock as they age and do not lay eggs any longer or cull roosters if I acquire too many. Maybe now I will be culling because I have too many chicks at some point since I cannot give them away. Ah, lots to digest and understand. Guess I will just become an expert on this with little other choices. Does this mean I should give up other interest I might have in life to become the chicken disease woman up river? What about anyone with chickens visiting me? OMG! The worries are just being put into reality that I think will send me over some edge that I can't manage to keep myself from jumping over!

 

[kynewbchickie]

I read it all. OK, now I am so **** sad! My infected bird is still strong but limps. Plan? OMG. Gotta read it all over again and digest better. Sounds like I just need to not cull everyone (what a blessing) and wait until I see who goes south on me. I am sickened that I do have a neighbor with chickens and that I might just infect her flock. I am also sickened about the woman who sold me the chicks. Can I believe she didn't have a clue? Should I let her know. My feeling is, "you betcha". I will never sell or give away any of my chickens from this day forward ...and haven't done it before so I am able to show my face in town and here on the river. I bought them early May when they were old enough to put outside in the coop. So, they are at least six weeks old and probably seven going on eight. This is what size they were when I brought them home. So, if they live 10 weeks without it; they won't get it? I think that is what I read. Can I eat chickens that carry the disease but do not have it? I plan to cull my flock as they age and do not lay eggs any longer or cull roosters if I acquire too many. Maybe now I will be culling because I have too many chicks at some point since I cannot give them away. Ah, lots to digest and understand. Guess I will just become an expert on this with little other choices. Does this mean I should give up other interest I might have in life to become the chicken disease woman up river? What about anyone with chickens visiting me? OMG! The worries are just being put into reality that I think will send me over some edge that I can't manage to keep myself from jumping over!

In my honest, most gentle opinion (as I'm soft-hearted over our feather babies, too!) - I'd cull them all. The risk is too great for transmission to the neighbor's birds, and to other flocks within miles of yours. The disease is carried on the wind very easily. The chances that the lady who sold them to you didn't know are pretty high, actually - and unless you get day-old hatchlings from a local, reputable breeder and vaccinate them yourself at a day old (or even order them from a reputable hatchery and have them vaccinated for you), it's rather difficult to be certain that you're not going to have a recurrence. The disease is now in the ground where the birds were, so with any future flocks, make sure you vaccinate at a day old (or have them vaccinated by whoever hatches them for you). Even though my state hasn't had many issues with Mareks, we still elected to vaccinate our birds - the ones we ordered we paid the extra for the vaccine to be administered (0.18/bird), and the ones we got later that were just a few days old were vaccinated. I saved a roo chick from a friend's father who ordered from Cackle Hatchery and all his chicks were vaccinated before being shipped, and the silkie hen I got from my father-in-law was vaccinated when she was hatched by a friend of his. That's the one rule I was advised about before getting our own flock that I've taken seriously, even in an area with hardly a Mareks complaint/issue.

It's not too late in the season to cull these and start over. It's heart-breaking, but it will probably be in the best interest of any future birds you get AND those folks within a few miles of you who have poultry. My heart goes out to you - I'm so very sorry to hear about this.