D'uccle Thread

[sawade]

He looks more developed than any of my almost 5 week olds, including the one I'm pretty confident is a cockerel.



Last year my (large fowl) lavender orpington was very similar. She (or actually he, as it eventually turned out) just never grew, feathered in appropriately but lagged so far behind in size. At around 4 weeks she started getting lethargic and I got really worried. She was eating and drinking and not being bullied the whole time and was never ill. I think she just had failure to thrive. I read that as long as they aren't being bullied the only thing you can do with such chicks is to possibly supplement their vitamins or protein. I fed her a bit of hard boiled egg yolk and meal worms (only like three of the smallest size as she was very small) every day, and within a week she had improved and eventually grew to be a giiiiant rooster.

He isn't being bullied that I have seen. I have 22 total chicks in the brooder this year. He is slow, but does eat and drink. What worries me is he may get pushed over and will flop on the ground until I pick him up and put him back on his feet. I have been giving egg yolk, yogurt and vitamins since he cane home 2 weeks ago his lack of improvement worries me.

 

[sawade]

Here are some better pictures of our little guy.

I have turkey poults, barred Plymouth Rock, EE pullets, and red shoulder yokohamas in with our mille fluer d'uccles. We're thinking about putting the bantams in their own brooder?

 

[Chrysolinsbirds]

Here are some better pictures of our little guy.

I have turkey poults, barred Plymouth Rock, EE pullets, and red shoulder yokohamas in with our mille fluer d'uccles. We're thinking about putting the bantams in their own brooder?

I usually brood them separate after the first day or so, had too many get trampled or slept on by bigger fluffy buts =/ Good luck =)

 

[misfitmorgan]

Moved the Porcelain chicks to a new brooder away from the bigger birds last night....i got up for work today and 2 dead and 3 are near dead. The waterer was tilted just enough to flood the small brooder and soak the chicks not sure if the two that died just got ot cold or drowned either way i am not a happy hatcher.

 

[paris_r]

He isn't being bullied that I have seen. I have 22 total chicks in the brooder this year. He is slow, but does eat and drink. What worries me is he may get pushed over and will flop on the ground until I pick him up and put him back on his feet. I have been giving egg yolk, yogurt and vitamins since he cane home 2 weeks ago his lack of improvement worries me.

my experience is that both orpingtons and d'uccles are highly susceptible to Marek's disease, which means vaccination has little effect on survivability. by proxy i am breeding for resistance, since only the survivors are breeding. orps will get the tumors more and at a later age but my d'uccles are more prone to the weakness/waisting form. i have nearly year old d'uccles that are now showing symptoms, i have decided not to allow anything under a year old to breed to help weed out those genetically susceptible.

 

[scflock]

I hatched 6 of 8 of my mille fleur/black mottled chicks this weekend, and one of my 3 adult hens went broody on the same hatch day. I'm wondering if there is a chance that she will adopt the 3 week olds when she hatches her clutch. I'm keeping any hens, because I need a few more layers. I would love to have the mama raise them, but I don't know if the difference in age will make her ignore them. My plan was to brood them, then keep them in a smaller pen until they were big enough to be integrated, but now I'm hoping to maybe sneak them to the new mommy. I just don't want to distract her attention from her chicks. I may take the new ones to the pen this weekend and see if my hen that brooded the first clutch last year has any interest

 

[chickenman5024]

If they are that old I don't think she will take them she might try to kill them that is my experience

 

[sawade]

my experience is that both orpingtons and d'uccles are highly susceptible to Marek's disease, which means vaccination has little effect on survivability. by proxy i am breeding for resistance, since only the survivors are breeding. orps will get the tumors more and at a later age but my d'uccles are more prone to the weakness/waisting form. i have nearly year old d'uccles that are now showing symptoms, i have decided not to allow anything under a year old to breed to help weed out those genetically susceptible.

Oh that is good to know, thank you. If he continues like this should I put him down? I don't want him to suffer.

 

[misfitmorgan]

I hatched 6 of 8 of my mille fleur/black mottled chicks this weekend, and one of my 3 adult hens went broody on the same hatch day. I'm wondering if there is a chance that she will adopt the 3 week olds when she hatches her clutch. I'm keeping any hens, because I need a few more layers. I would love to have the mama raise them, but I don't know if the difference in age will make her ignore them. My plan was to brood them, then keep them in a smaller pen until they were big enough to be integrated, but now I'm hoping to maybe sneak them to the new mommy. I just don't want to distract her attention from her chicks. I may take the new ones to the pen this weekend and see if my hen that brooded the first clutch last year has any interest

You might try leting her sit for a few days and then slidding the chicks under her at night..she still may try to kill them though.

 

[paris_r]

Oh that is good to know, thank you. If he continues like this should I put him down? I don't want him to suffer.

that is a hard call, i have two silkies right now that are 'rolling' (their neck/head is curling under-like they are trying to groom their bellies and they then fall foward-it only gets worse if they are stressed, if they relax they will stand stooped but be able to eat/drink)-- and silkies are usually resistant (dont know if it is significant but every one of the 4 silkies that have had symptoms were black), i had one roller last year that got better and was fine-so a mild temporary neurologic symptom. i dont have him anymore but i know they can have relapses. if he does have it and get better the probability of relapse is high, the question is is it mareks? there are other things that can cause that problem, and weaker chicks are shyer and cause some of the issues by hiding. if you could isolate it and offer it food/water without the others it may get better and catch up.