Consolidated Kansas

[Ivywoods]

Looks like we cross posted.

 

[HEChicken]

Well my poor little chick just kept falling over on it's back with the vet wrap on, so I took it off & I put an old kitchen towel in the hatcher for it to walk on & it seems to be able to get a better grip there. We'll see if that helps any. I think if it can just stay on it's feet for awhile it will get stronger & then be able to walk better. What we will go through for our chicks, huh. I did see it peck a little at the food, so maybe it will start eating, I sure hope so, I would hate for it to go through all of this & then starve to death. I make it drink a little water every once in awile, I wish it would drink on it's own too, that would help.

Sorry to hear he is still struggling. I wonder if he'd eat a little egg cooked up? Its really good for them but brooder babies are sometimes reluctant to try anything new. Funny isn't it that they hatch knowing they can trust commercial chick food but not anything else? I gave my 3-week-olds some egg yesterday and went through the usual production. It went silent in there as they all froze and watched the egg, to see what it was going to do. Eventually the bravest of them approached and with neck stretched as far as he could, did the little grab and run before the rest of it could grab him. Of course, once he had some, there was bedlam as the rest tried to steal his little morsel from him rather than go and get their own. Good entertainment.

We were without power for a while this morning while the electric company fixed the damage caused by the storm the other day. During the time it was off we were at physical thereapy. When we got home the power was on, but DH had lost 4 of his quail chicks when they all piled in a corner for warmth.

Oh that sucks - I'm so sorry. Those little guys are so tiny and unable to generate any heat of their own for awhile. With all the storms we've been having lately and as much as you incubate, perhaps a small generator JUST for your incubators and brooders might be something to think about?

 

[tweetysvoice]

Well my poor little chick just kept falling over on it's back with the vet wrap on, so I took it off & I put an old kitchen towel in the hatcher for it to walk on & it seems to be able to get a better grip there. We'll see if that helps any. I think if it can just stay on it's feet for awhile it will get stronger & then be able to walk better. What we will go through for our chicks, huh. I did see it peck a little at the food, so maybe it will start eating, I sure hope so, I would hate for it to go through all of this & then starve to death. I make it drink a little water every once in awile, I wish it would drink on it's own too, that would help.

Something else to think about.. Chooks has me feeding my baby silkies a paste made from baby parrot formula powder to give them additional vitamins and minerals to help them be stronger. They absolutely love it! They go nuts and do zoomies when they see me set it down. That might be a thought for something he can eat and get hydration a bit as well...

 

[Chickies-duckies-etc]

Well my poor little chick just kept falling over on it's back with the vet wrap on, so I took it off & I put an old kitchen towel in the hatcher for it to walk on & it seems to be able to get a better grip there. We'll see if that helps any. I think if it can just stay on it's feet for awhile it will get stronger & then be able to walk better. What we will go through for our chicks, huh. I did see it peck a little at the food, so maybe it will start eating, I sure hope so, I would hate for it to go through all of this & then starve to death. I make it drink a little water every once in awile, I wish it would drink on it's own too, that would help.

I read somewhere that you can put a chick with spraddle legs in a cup or glass to keep their legs together. I have not tried it as I have not had a chick need it since I read that. Sounds like it might be something to try in this case to keep him upright and legs together. I don't remember how long at a time they said to keep them in the cup, but you do need to give them breaks.

I agree with a "wet" feed. Nutrition and water at the same time. Also if there is a way to have another chick in at feed time to encourage it to eat. They do like to eat with others.

 

[Trish44]

Thanks for the tips everyone, I've got to get this little guy eating!

I don't know if it's the threat of rain or what, but my left knee has just been killing me! I told my DH awhile ago it's like walking around with a constant toothache only in your knee, ouch! Whatever is causing it I wish it would stop.

 

[WichitaKidd]

Wish I could take any of the credit, but this is all my husbands work!!!! I have a wonderful husband who despite his dislike for my newest hobby, still built me a coop in record time!!! I am going to put a better feeder and waterer in when we get the permanent doors, those are just temporary, so that the chickens could be out of the house by the end of the weekend.

Still got the final touches to put on, but hey not only do I have a coop, I was able to put the dog crate in so the newest chicks could get to know the older ones without them being picked on too much!

Thanks again to Wichitakidd!!! I really appreciate the shingles!

He made a lot of progress this weekend. Glad you were able to get your chicks moved outside. No problem on the shingles. More than happy to help you out. Can't wait to see the finished product!

OK, so really quick question. I checked on the chickens in their big girl house today and the rain made most of the shavings moist if not wet. But not like soaked. Is this going to make my babies sick and what can I do to resolve this situation???

I've had the same problem. Happens when you leave the windows open when it rains. Go figure. I wouldn't leave them sit. Otherwise they may get moldy. What I did was to put some dry shavings in the coop & then mixed them together with the wet ones. After a few stirrings & about a day of drying out you wouldn't have known it was ever wet. My chickens didn't really seem to mind them too much. Probably wouldn't worry too much about it.

 

[cherwill]

Ivy, Trish, and anyone else with problem chicks, I'll keep my fingers crossed. It's really something how we get invested in those little fluffballs. That really sucks about the quail.

Hawkeye, my nephew gets paid Wednesday. He thinks he can get a muffler then. He and my FIL, and DH when he's off work, will probably put it in themselves. That all may take a day or two depending on everyone's schedules and whatnot. The other car needs the water pump replaced. He was told it would be $600, which is more than a paycheck. He and DH are going to take a look at his car and see if they can do that themselves. My nephew doesn't know that much about cars but DH does. Hopefully he can save my nephew some much-needed money!

 

[cherwill]

Oops, I wasn't finished. RVRoman, unless the shavings are soaked, you'll probably be OK with what WichitaKidd said. We put plexiglass in the windows; it slides up and down and we can prop it up at whatever height we want. If we know there will be rain, we can leave it open just an inch or two and the shavings don't usually get wet then.

 

[Trish44]

Well my little chickie is doing better tonight, the towel seems to have helped it to walk better since it can get a better grip. The leg isn't that bad now, it seems to be resolving, yay! At first right after it hatched it couldn't stand on it's legs, it sat on it's bottom & just rolled all over the place, so to see it now is a big improvement over that. It's still a little unsteady, but nothing like it was. Oh & I went out & brought in it's little buddy that was in there before & they were so glad to see each other. I think this one is going to make a full recovery, I'm so glad. I ended up with 4 of the 8 eggs from California hatching. There were about 3 that developed but died in the shell. The last one actually was alive until the last day & then it died before it hatched for some unknown reason. Anyway, I did get 4 that are alive & kicking. The other 3 out in the brooder seem to be doing great with all of my other new chicks.

It's getting ready to storm here, so I may have to shut down at any time, it's been heading this way for awhile. Thank goodness I could get my chores all done & everything before it got here.

 

[Trish44]

KarenS, I forgot to say that I sold something this afternoon that I had on one of the other swaps & got enough money to get the humidity kit for my GQF, so I ordered it, I can't wait for it to get here! I may be asking you some questions once it gets here.