Consolidated Kansas

[chicken danz]

As Karen, Pikeman and I have been discussing recently those sussex just seem to have extra weak systems. I would have done the same thing, Water, electrolytes, sugar and maybe some vitamins if it pulled through another day. By the way Trish, That is Dr. Danz not nurse Danz!!

It was probably due to shipping stress. Watch your other chicks because about day 5 is when the pasty butt usually shows up. Keep those little bottoms clean!
I got the bottom boards on the new building while ago and came back in to find some drawings to see where the boards go at the top. I was going to install some more boards so I could hang my perches but figured I'd better wait or DH would be angry. I hate waiting! I should be out working on the poultry trailer but all the equipment is sitting out for the new building. I would much rather just do my own projects than wait on him on something we are doing together.
Pikeman I built a chicken tractor that shape. The problem with an A frame is it limits your roosting space. I have an A frame tractor I use for a handful of birds now and then. I have my silkies in one right now. I guess it is ok if you don't have a lot of birds or you do it on a larger scale. Thats JMO though. I have a lot more birds than most of your backyard hobbiest have.

 

[pikeman94]

Here is a pic of my current coop.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/gallery/image/view/album/6033323/id/5076093/sort/display_order

Hawkeye or anyone else let me know your thoughts.

 

[Trish44]

Danz, Oh I'm sorry Dr. Danz, lol! Yeah, the poor little thing just didn't thrive, however the rest seem OK & Shana's she said are fine so far. I will keep my eye on those little fuzzy butts & watch for any pasty butt for sure. I didn't realize that was when that shows up usually, I don't keep track of those kinds of things, I just deal with it whenever I have to. I told Shana it seems like if you're going to lose a chick it's going to be in the first week usually, at least that's how it's been for me in the past. These were hatched around Sunday or Monday because that's when they were shipped, so actually they probably are about 6 days old at this point or thereabouts.

I have another chick peeping in the shell in my Brinsea, so hopefully it will start pipping soon, nothing yet from the other eggs in there. I took the 3 little ones that hatched yesterday out to the brooder so they could have more room & company. I checked on them awhile ago & they seem to be doing OK. It's chilly out today, so I made sure the heat lamp was as low as I could get it for today.

I'm hoping to get my GQF regulated enough to transfer the eggs from the hovabator today. I just am not fond of that incubator for incubating, it's just too hard to keep the humidity regulated. Some people love them, but I don't. I like it for hatching only & that's what I plan to use it for now.

Is there anything I need to know special about hatching turkeys, does anybody know? The first batch of Royal Palm eggs I put in are due to hatch in a week. I hope I have a good hatch from these. The ones I drove up north of Wichita to get don't seem to be doing all that great, nothing like the ones I got in the mail, go figure. Maybe next time I'll just have more shipped if I need more, they started developing right away & have done great so far. The ones I drove for an hour to pick up don't look that great, of course it's early on, but I just don't think some of them are fertile.

 

[chicken danz]

Trish I don't think there is anything better than a GQF for hatching or incubating. If you want to control the humidity. Be sure not to have a humidity pad in the water bin. Only fill the bin about 1/3 full. You have vents on the sides of the bator that have plugs in them. You can remove a couple of those plugs to bring in more air and remove some humidity. If you got one with the electronic controls on it with the digital readout remember that humidity is being read from the top where the water sits so it will be slightly higher than it is on the lower shelves. Use those plastic trays when you get them because they have openings so air can circulate around your egg. Give it a chance and you will absolutely love it.

 

[Kansaseq]

Pikeman, what did you use for the mesh? Nice tractor!

 

[shotah]

OK, it's been suggested that we change our forum name to a more soap-opera theme.

Here are my suggestions:
Chickens Of Our Lives
As the Rooster Crows
As the Chicken Clucks
Jersey Giant Shore
General Coop-ital
All My Chickens
The Crowers and the Cluckers
One Egg To Lay

Make of them what you will . . .and if nothing else, get a chuckle!

 

[pikeman94]

Pikeman, what did you use for the mesh? Nice tractor!

I got it at Lowe's or Home Depot. It is a plastic chicken mesh that is supposed to be predator proof.

 

[Trish44]

shotah, I like it! My personal fav is Chickens of our Lives! How appropriate is that?

Danz, I was just checking on the GQF & it is reading 51% humidity on the digital readout & my little sper scientific therm/hygrometer is reading 48 on the 2nd shelf. I had to use the paper egg trays that came with the incubator just temporarily until my plastic ones get here Tues. then I will switch them over. I just wanted to get the eggs in there because I don't trust that hovabator for incubating, it's just all over the place with humidity. I emptied out my Brinsea & put the 4 remaining eggs due to hatch in the hovabator. Two more of the blue wheaten Ameraucanas are peeping in the shell, I wish they would get with it & quit taunting me from in there, lol. I looked back at my purchase history on eBay & I had bought 8 eggs, so if the other two hatch that will be 5 of 8 that made it to hatch, not too bad for coming all the way from California. There were two that died in the shell for some unknown reason & one that just didn't develop. I still consider that pretty good for making such a long trip. Now if my shipped turkey eggs will hatch in a week I'll be happy for now. The Welsummer eggs have 2 more weeks to go yet before they're due, so we'll see how they do. I think the real secret to preserving hatching eggs when shipping is the packing. These Ameraucana eggs were wrapped individually in bubble wrap & then they were all sitting in a box of foam peanuts. I think they had a pretty good cushion in there & it took me awhile to unwrap them all & dig them out of the peanuts.

Well I got hold of my son in OKC & he's going to go down in the morning & be there when my DH comes over the finish line, so at least he won't feel so abandoned. He will take him back to the hotel to shower & then they probably will go out for lunch. I'm glad he is able to go down there.

 

[Ivywoods]

Not sure what happened here, but some of the water in my waterer for my littlest chicks spilled into the tub with them. Their bedding was soaked. Fortunately, they were all fine, and I have now put them out in the bigger brooder out in the shop.

I had two chicks left in the hatcher. Both had to be helped out of the shell because they were stuck. One was up and running around okay, but still with a lot of crap stuck to him. He is now in the brooder I just cleaned and dried, but the other poor little chick was just laying there in a dried, sticky mess. It was like he had glue all over him that had dried. I figured the only way I was going to save him was to give him a good soak and a bathe it off of him. He seems pretty strong and healthy, but we will see if he can get his equilibrium after being stuck for so long. He was peeping wildly, but when I would turn him over on his back in the warm water he would settle down like he liked it. He is now back in the hatcher to dry. I'll see how he is tonight. If he can't get up on his feet at all, I'm not sure how I will remedy that. Hopefully he will. He seems like a little fighter.

 

[chicken danz]

Nice job Pikeman. I like all the openings you incorporated into the coop. It also looks tall enough the girls would have some room.
Trish I like to keep humidity about 40% to incubate. That seems to be about the magic number. Mine jumps up to the 50-55% range when I first add water but then it lowers after a while. That is in my electronic read out unit. My others only read 35 -40 % when I add water but the vents are bigger on them. I actually have much better hatches in the one with the digital readout.
As far as hatching turkeys, they are pretty tricky. You need to really pour on the humidity to hatch them the last day or two. I think I will mist the shells on this new batch when we get that far. My first hatch was kind of a bomb because I was trying to hatch them like I would a chicken egg. Everyone I talk to claims the best they get on turkeys is about 50%. I sure would like to improve the odds on that myself. The second hatch did a little better but not much. Of course I had several eggs that weren't fertile too. I only lost one developed chick when we got down to hatching.