D'uccle Thread

[Chirps]

Wow! What pretty chickens!!

Mine are about 6 weeks old and aren't all that pretty yet. Lol

 

[lilcrow]

I am in the middle of a stressful hatch It's day 22 and only 6 of the 17 fertile eggs have hatched. A 7th chick pipped and zipped but didn't make it out. I feel so bad, everything seemed fine on day 18, but now it seems like something is wrong. My humidity has been at 65 - 70% since day 18, it was in the 40's before that. temp has been 99 all along. It just sucks to feel so helpless! To top it all off, one of the 6 I have, has a bad leg. most likely a slipped tendon. I splinted it but I don't know if it will work. On a happy note, here are some pics of the 2 d'uccles I have so far.

Sorry to jump in here, I haven't been here for a long time (raising Cochins), just thought I'd give my thoughts on this topic. First, I thing your temp is just slightly cool, I run mine at 100.5. This could account for the slower hatch. The leg thing is probably spraddle leg. Without seeing it I can't be sure, but if that is the problem you can fix it by using a trimmed band aide to bring the extended leg up to a normal position by hobbling it to the other leg. Many spraddle leg chicks that even have both legs involved can be fixed this way. It is an incubation issue, not genetic. Give your eggs another couple of days, they may still hatch. Try not to open the incubator. What happens when you do this is - any egg that is pipped will immediately loose much need humidity and the membrane will dry to the chick. Even if this happens you can still save some of those chicks. It is very hard on them, but if the issue is your error and not something wrong with the chick i.e. not strong enough, you can VERY CAREFULLY peal those chicks out of the shell. The best way I have found to do this is to peel the shell while leaving the membrane intact. The second that you see any sign of a blood vein in the tissue or worst yet blood on the chick STOP! You can start pealing in a different place but always with this cautious awareness in mind. If there are a fair number of veins that are visible, you're pealing a chick that is not ready to come out of the shell. I alway do this process at the sink with the egg cradled in a warm, wet paper towel. I keep my fingers moist at all times, but not dripping. If you get water into the shell the chick will drowned! Unfortunately when you're first starting, you're going to loose chicks due to your lack of experience. This can't be helped and it's not your fault, you can only do the best you can do for them and you will get better at hatching as you progress.
Best of luck to you and if you need further assistance please feel free to contact me.

 

[FairLeaBantams]

Thanks so much for all the advice guys. it's just a huge bummer. No new chicks today either, I think this is it. I may go another round this year because I am so disappointed. A possible issue is that I may have had too much humidity at the end. I added more water and then it got so humid, I couldn't read the digital info because of all the condensation. Here is a pic of the third D'Uccle chick I got, it's pretty cute! It is standing weird in the picture but is totally normal in reality.

As for "Gimpy", I have added him to the group in his little splint and he is doing okay. He has a tendency to lose balance and stumble backwards, but I think he will get the hang of things.

 

[DuckRaiser]

Someone said there was a D'uccle breeder in Oregon, I am DESPERATE for some D'uccles XD

 

[Chirps]

These are my two little fellas. I've been told they're about 6 weeks old. These are my first chickens and I got them spur of the moment from someone who gave them to some children for Easter presents. Needless to say, they weren't in the best shape when I got my hands on them. I'm not too sure on genders either.

Gah, I am such a noob.

 

[DuckRaiser]

These are my two little fellas. I've been told they're about 6 weeks old. These are my first chickens and I got them spur of the moment from someone who gave them to some children for Easter presents. Needless to say, they weren't in the best shape when I got my hands on them. I'm not too sure on genders either.

Gah, I am such a noob.

(Just a question, do you know of a D'uccle breeder in Oregon?)

 

[Chirps]

Unfortunately, I don't. I've only recently learned of all the D'Uccle breeders here in Arkansas. Have you tried googling it? Or joining local area chicken groups on Facebook?

 

[DuckRaiser]

Unfortunately, I don't. I've only recently learned of all the D'Uccle breeders here in Arkansas. Have you tried googling it? Or joining local area chicken groups on Facebook?

I do not have a facebook, but I guess I will look on google, these are times when I wish I had a big group of people helping me search for D'uccles XD

 

[paris_r]

pure personality here- watch how solicitous my rooster Antoine is! I do have a question about these two. both he and then hen have one unusual trait - they have never had lice or nits/eggs, even when their cagemates have plenty. is it possible that they have a genetic condition that can account for this? also -the hen's tail, I know the lavender gene can cause some feather issues but is her tail good or just acceptable (or even that) for show?

 

[Chirps]

Your chickens are the best Paris! I love your berry picking videos! That looks like so much fun!
How hard is it for you to get them in and out of their kennel?