Consolidated Kansas

[chicklover56]

So my chicken Claire (the one that was sick last spring) hadn't been doing well these past few days. Her bum had grown huge, to the point where she could hardly walk. I thought maybe she was egg bound, but it seemed to big to be just an egg. We called the vet and they said they could see her, so we brought her in. He seemed very concerned and decided to do an ultrasound. Turned out she had a tumor the size of a tennis ball. She had always been so sweet and healthy so this was a big surprise. He thought it had to be growing for a while - possibly since she got sick. We had to put her down, and it was very sad - she has always been my favorite.

 

[HEChicken]

.... so guess on NYE we will see what new chickens and turkeys we get to join our flocks...chicken math its SUCH a thing

Just so you are aware, turkeys take 28 days so won't hatch the same time as the chickens if set at the same time. A good way to do both together is to set the turkeys 7 days before you set the chickens. That way their hatch date will be the same and you can increase humidity and stop turning the eggs all at the same time, instead of having chicks hatch, while the turkeys are still developing.

 

[HEChicken]

Chicklover, I am so sorry about your Claire - it sounds like she had the best of care and you gave her a good, happy life.

 

[Dani4Hedgies]

Chicklover so sorry to hear about sweet Clair hugs

 

[chicken danz]

So my chicken Claire (the one that was sick last spring) hadn't been doing well these past few days. Her bum had grown huge, to the point where she could hardly walk. I thought maybe she was egg bound, but it seemed to big to be just an egg. We called the vet and they said they could see her, so we brought her in. He seemed very concerned and decided to do an ultrasound. Turned out she had a tumor the size of a tennis ball. She had always been so sweet and healthy so this was a big surprise. He thought it had to be growing for a while - possibly since she got sick. We had to put her down, and it was very sad - she has always been my favorite.

So sorry about your chicken, chicklover.
@Dani4Hedgies , Hechicken mentioned the hatching time for turkeys. I do have one thing to add though. Turkeys need lower humidity to hatch. They drown in the egg if it is too high. I normally don't increase the humidity for turkeys at all when they are due to hatch. I've had some hatch with chicken chicks but they seem to do much better at a lower humidity rate.

 

[Dani4Hedgies]

Danz so will the turkeys drown during the 3 day lock down humidity up to 50% for the chicks to hatch? Or will they be ok?

 

[HEChicken]

@Dani4Hedgies , Hechicken mentioned the hatching time for turkeys. I do have one thing to add though. Turkeys need lower humidity to hatch. They drown in the egg if it is too high. I normally don't increase the humidity for turkeys at all when they are due to hatch. I've had some hatch with chicken chicks but they seem to do much better at a lower humidity rate.

Funny you mention that. I have always hatched turkeys exactly the same as chicken chicks and never had an issue. Years ago that used to mean incubating at 45% and raising to 65% at hatch. I honestly never had any issues with turkeys hatching at that humidity so a lot may depend on individual incubator and environment.

Having said that, one time I set a batch of eggs and totally forgot about them. I woke one morning to hear peeping. I had never increased humidity or turned off the turner, yet a bunch of chicks had hatched just fine anyway. I figured if they can hatch at the lower humidity, why bother raising it? Since then I haven't raised humidity at hatch time for either chicks or turkeys. I incubate and hatch at 45% and get close to 100% hatch rates from my own eggs. The only thing I do in preparation for hatch is to turn off the turner, and put a towel under the eggs. The latter is because the floor of my incubator is slick enough that occasionally a newly hatched baby will get splay legged. Giving them a towel allows them to get a purchase while they are learning to walk and I haven't had any further splay legged issues since I started doing that.

 

[Trish44]

I'm sorry chicklover about your hen, it's hard to lose special ones.

I ended up hatching 9 little Silverudd's Blue (Isbars), which I think for shipped eggs is pretty good. Oh & Danz all of the chicks are now on their feet walking around. The two that were flipping have stopped so whatever their problem was resolved itself. I was really beginning to wonder if the last one, a splash, was going to be able to walk. I put all of the chicks in the brooder last night before going to bed & it was still laying on it's back. I looked in on them a few minutes ago & they're all walking now. I do have the special formula in the water for these. I have always heard anyway that Isbars need extra vitamins for awhile so they have them in the waterer. I have a mixture of black, blue, & splash in my group of now 13 so I should be able hopefully to get a nice breeding group from them. I found out also that Silverudd, who developed the breed was a monk & he died before finishing his project with them. He never got to the barring part, thus the name Isbars, so that's why they have been re-named after him. Also, I guess he intended them to be blue, but as with any blue genetics you get all 3 varieties. That's just some interesting info I found & had to share.

 

[Dani4Hedgies]

Trish,
That's awesome what a great hatch way to go!!!#

 

[Dani4Hedgies]

Omg I just saw the funniest thing ever in my coop, Henning my Hen Turkey was in her perferred egg laying spot when I happened to look closer and under her almost completely covered but for her bright orange red brown tail is my year old Easter Egger named Phoenix. Now I don't know if Henning just had to lay an egg right now and didn't care that Phoenix was there if she thought Phoenix was cold or thought she was a baby turkey but OMG was it funny to see. And when I raised Henning wing to check on Phoenix, Phoenix acted like a chick and peeked up at me through her wing and then Henning closed it back around her.