Dixie Chicks

[BriardChickens]

No raccoons here. Either skunk or fox. I am sure it would have been the fox tho...

I am sad..

Beer, everything is gone. Head, body, etc. Not even a trace of blood.

 

[Ravynscroft]

No raccoons here. Either skunk or fox. I am sure it would have been the fox tho...

I am sad..

Beer, everything is gone. Head, body, etc. Not even a trace of blood.

I am so very sad for you...

 

[Alaskan]

Quote: So...

my expensive shipped Marans eggs were supposed to hatch tomorrow... I had one chick start peeping yesterday, and it hatched today... so what did I do? From this morning (in spurts between other things) I cracked a hole in EVERY SINGLE one of those eggs.

yep, me = giant meddler extreme, I am am SUPER tired of fully formed chicks that are dead.....

anyway... several of the eggs, I cracked open, and could see that there was a live chick, but that there was free fluid sloshing around inside the membranes. (I opened a large enough hole so that my finger easily fit in, and with a damp finger touched all of the membrane to make it moist and transparent so that I could see the blood vessels as well as see the baby better).

So.... I picked a spot on the membrane that was empty of blood vessels, or only had super tiny ones, and made a hole with a toothpick, and drained fluid... I took little bits of paper towel, and rolled it thin, and stuck it into the hole I made to suck out the fluid.... I rolled the eggs back and forth upside down to get the fluid out of the hole that I made....

took forever... some still have pretty strong veins... so I was stuck with making tiny holes and lots of work....

finally by this evening I got most of them so that their noses are out of the membrane so that they ca breathe.... There are a couple that I simply could not find the blasted beak... so I just tried my best to get as much fluid out as possible, and hope for the best... (too many veins to do much prodding)

Anyway, I feel good about it, they clearly would have died if I hadn't done something.. and maybe a few will live....

And YES, I added NO WATER!!!!!!! during incubation...

stupid eggs.

Point being... Ravy, just be careful, go slowly, but if you think they are going to die... it doesn't hurt to peek...

Remember that if you aren't at the air cell, they will bleed... moisten the membrane so that you can see where the blood vessels are, and avoid those spots..... if it does start to bleed, a dry piece of paper towel pressed to the bleeding spot (or just your finger, depending on the location of the bleed), will stop or at least slow the bleeding. Also, I have had some chicks and ducklings loose what looked to me like WAY too much blood, and they still managed to live to grow up.

Nothing wrong with looking inside the egg... however, never help them out of the egg.... you need them to work the muscles to dry up the blood vessels and close up the umbilical hole.

 

[Ravynscroft]

@Alaskan has anyone told you lately how super sweet and thoughtful you are?? Well, I am now. Thank you for taking the time to post that, especially after a long, hard, frustrating day for you.

I almost hate to show you this pic, but I gotta. Remember the first pullet eggs from Happy, my BCM?

They popped out like popcorn... although, they are only half Marans, roo was Lav Orp...

 

[Alaskan]

@Alaskan has anyone told you lately how super sweet and thoughtful you are?? Well, I am now. Thank you for taking the time to post that, especially after a long, hard, frustrating day for you.

I almost hate to show you this pic, but I gotta. Remember the first pullet eggs from Happy, my BCM?



They popped out like popcorn... although, they are only half Marans, roo was Lav Orp...

Yep, crosses are always better.

My Olive Egger almost always hatches out before the Marans... Marans suck

One of my Marans (from my own eggs, so not shipped) just hatched with TOTALLY fused toes. As in the two nails are welded together. I had only mild issues with cutting apart the last chick that hatched with toes together.. because it was only the webbing that held them together.....

anyway... After showing it to spouse (who used to surgerize rats) I have decided to go ahead and cut it apart tomorrow.... I am just hoping that flour and duct tape will be good enough to stop bleeding... but I guess that pinching it should do the trick too....

 

[Ravynscroft]

Yep, crosses are always better. My Olive Egger almost always hatches out before the Marans... Marans suck One of my Marans (from my own eggs, so not shipped) just hatched with TOTALLY fused toes. As in the two nails are welded together. I had only mild issues with cutting apart the last chick that hatched with toes together.. because it was only the webbing that held them together..... anyway... After showing it to spouse (who used to surgerize rats) I have decided to go ahead and cut it apart tomorrow.... I am just hoping that flour and duct tape will be good enough to stop bleeding... but I guess that pinching it should do the trick too....

What the flock is up with that?!?!? Wow, I am so sorry you have that on top of the hard hatches... Wish I could send you a line of mine... I have a roo and a pullets from 2 different breeders and not enough pens, lol... Were the eggs you worked on today from ladycat? Oh, want to try something with yours? I heard about someone else doing it and they said it upped their hatch rates with the very dark Marans... because the brown coating is so thick on those eggs, it seems to inhibit water loss and oxygen exchange, so they lightly sanded a few lines from end to end... not the whole surface, but just some strips... idk, but it might be worth a shot??

 

[Ravynscroft]

Found it, @Alaskan

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/hatching-dark-eggs

 

[Alaskan]

OH, I also killed the cross beaked chick from an olive egg...that I had decided was so pretty I would keep it... the beak looked perfect when I decided to keep it... by today the beak was HORRID...

I had a very sharp knife... so that part wasn't too bad, but after it was fully dead, I just tossed the parts (head and body) down the hill.... after which I realized that that was STUPID to continue to use my hill side as a refuse dump i.e. predator attractant .... since my poultry are right at the top of the hill (along with my house)...... whatever...


Did I mention that "welded toe chick" is part of the LAST pure bred Marans that I will have this year.... since my rooster died...


Did I mention that my favorite, and the kid's favorite Muscovy duck, Kuhflecken (named after a German chocolate bar that is spots of milk chocolate and spots of white chocolate) has disappeared? We can't find her anywhere... and YES we did not have her wings trimmed..... but the last time that she flew off on us was mid summer of last year....... whatever.... I have had a bent backed Dominique running all over free (I am hoping a predator eats her, so that I do not have to do the deed, also, I did have her in the vegetable garden with the other reject chickens, but she -and only that one- keeps getting out, so I let her stay out) and nothing has eaten or hurt the Dominique.... but Kuhflecken, our favorite Muscovy duck... a great broody and mom... GONE.

Also.... the blasted toyo stove in the garage apartment is busted... a new one is 1,500!!!!!!!!!!! I think I just found a used one for $100, but the Toyo Man is super back-logged, so I am not sure when he will be able to fix it for me and install it for me

AND, the renter of the creek property, that I kicked out, called me today and went on and on about how I hadn't given her 30 days notice.. I explained that she HAD had 30 days notice, twice over, and if you leave the property for 50 days, without telling me, and without paying rent... DUDE.... that means you clearly don't live there any more. She tried to say that her husband was in jail.... I told her, I had had renters in jail before, and they CALLED me, and told me that they were in jail, and so would be late with rent... yada yada yada..... He didn't call, she didn't call.... it is not my job to track them down, she is OUT! By the time I finished, I am pretty sure that she is not going to take me to court... I think it helped that I said I had pictures of how the utility meeter had been removed from the building, and that kind of vandalism TOTALLY and CLEARLY results in immediate eviction... Whatever

There was more... now I can't remember... I do remember my baby-sister's excitement of the day..... one of her horses almost bled out.... a gushing faucet of blood from the leg, near the hoof.... she pinched it closed with her hand.... .... anyway, $300 vet visit later, and the horse should be fine..


NOW I remember the other upset... so, all of my kids are homeschooled... .... I unfortunately 1. CAVED and decided to sell my soul (I let the kids be enrolled in Homeschool through the Alaskan public school system) and 2. Alaska, though they used to, if you were in public school, not do standardized testing until 3rd grade, have now started testing in FIRST grade.

I guess it is pride... but I am VERY upset about the testing of my 1st grader....

The state says, to get their money, my first grader must have 4 classes .... now I am VERY strongly of the "Much better late than early" school philosophy... but I asked, before letting the kids be signed up... if they were OK with the 1st grader having NO math or English... they said that was OK.....

So, here is testing season, and they call us up, and say that the first grader needs to be tested on ENGLISH READING!!!! I said "WHAT??? You KNOW the child has been taught ZERO English!" Anyway, they said nope, test him on English.

So, He got a bad grade, of course, they said he was at Kindergarten level... which I should be thriled about, Kindergarten level for zero instruction, is good... don't you think? But it still bugs the socks off of me.

Then, the "contact teacher" that my kids have to be connected to, since we are homeschooling though the public school... sends the family an email, about how the score was to be expected since "English wasn't a focus" NOT A FOCUS????? I specifically try to make sure that my kids read ZERO English until 3rd grade... until third grade they are supposed to only do German... the ONLY child (of the older 4) that still doesn't read well, is the one that tried to read English earlier... it totally messed him up (kid #3). Kid #4 reads great. I FOCUS on them NOT reading English! (screaming sound)

No, kid #5 only reads maybe 30 words in Chinese, and reads German slowly and not as well as he should.... but dude, I THINK THAT IS GREAT!!!!!!!


-OK..... I clearly have issues with testing, I am SO GLAD I don't let me kids go to regular school, it would drive me crazy.

 

[Alaskan]

Found it, @Alaskan

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/hatching-dark-eggs

thanks... I will do that for the hatch that is currently incubating (not pure Marans... but in Marans eggs)

 

[Ravynscroft]

Holy crap!!! You're right, reality sucks bigtime!
And for some reason it tends to keep on kicking you once it starts... :/

Wow... all I can say...

Oh, and...