Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[BY Bob]

Happy Friday

 

[BY Bob]

I love your chickens photo shots

Thanks!

 

[BY Bob]

A fan was the only thing that made it bearable to sleep the last few nights while I was in the UK.

Welcome back to the land of air conditioning.

Stay cool tax

 

[BY Bob]

It's a mystery. Time will tell.

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Wait! Did someone say mystery?

 

[ManueB]

Others can probably add to this, but this is what I know regarding purchasing baby chicks in the US:

Since large hatcheries incubate eggs separately from the flock and in controlled environments (i.e. different people work the incubators, so they are physically removed from the flock/isolated, and use biosecurity measures), there isn't the cross contamination with chicks hatched in flock/with a broody or with a backyard flock where they aren't kept separate with biosecurity measures. So, chicks shouldn't transmit/carry flock diseases (unless they are genetic OR transmissible through the egg/shell).

The other reason it is really common to buy/ship day old chicks in the US is convenience. Since chicks absorb the remaining yolk just before hatching, they can live a few days with no need for food or water - so we exploit nature (I assume that this happens so that chicks can survive until all are hatched and Momma can take the whole clutch off the nest to search for food and water.). This allows them to be shipped all across the country with minimal issues - sometimes a heating pack is added - especially in colder months, and they add a gel liquid (with electrolytes) for them to peck at, but otherwise, they generally travel fairly well as long as there are no delays in shipping.

Shipping older fowl (pullets, adults) required express shipping and more thoughtful travel arrangements - plus are more likely to also carry diseases with them that chicks would not yet be exposed to so aren't carriers (yet).

Besides, it means that as soon as chicks hatch, they are processed and shipped, so for many large hatcheries, they don't need much for brooders (only if they keep pullets for replacement or for later sale at a significant price bump). Otherwise, the 'extras' (mostly males) get, unfortunately, disposed of.

Yes, this.
@ManueB I was waiting to get inside to my computer to respond, but @bgmathteach beat me to it and covered everything.

The only thing I have to add is that many of the diseases people worry about transmitting to their flocks are not transmitted by the egg. Things like Marek's for example. So as long as the incubating and hatching facility is sterile and separate from any actual chickens, you can be pretty confident those little chicks are disease free.
Of course things like poor genetics or even genetic disorders that come from a narrow gene pool or breeding for traits like over-production of eggs, are not diseases and therefore the chicks can have all of those.

When introducing an adult, you really cannot screen out diseases like Marek's, but you can make sure that things like respiratory illnesses including mycoplasma are not introduced to an existing flock.

Thank you both for the detailed explanations. It makes sense considering it like this, but...
I'll admit that I didn't even think about chicks being shipped directly home ! This just doesn't exist here (and although it's been thoughtfully discussed before on this thread and others, I still strongly disagree with it).

I was thinking mostly about buying chicks from big stores like TSC. Wouldn't that cancel all the sanitary precautions that could have been taken by the hatcheries ? Here, when AI was a concern one of the thing people were told was to avoid AG stores or take complete biosecurity measures coming home. It seems like the perfect place for a virus to spread.

I have not quarantined my chicks for more than a week or two, by the time they are two weeks old my chicks are usually integrated into my flock, at partially….

Mr P I did quarantine, he came from a flock I was not sure of and I was very paranoid.

I tried to quarantine the 3 Azurs I bought last year, but Fluffy broke that quarantine when she ran between my legs into their pen! I figured I was likely safe for any disease but still you never know.

As for getting day olds, it’s a money thing. Day olds are less expensive than POL pullets. One can get 50 day olds for what you can get 10 or 20 POL pullets for depending on breed. And for the more exotic breeds up here like Lavender Orps you might pay up to $50/pullet, if you can find them. At $11/chick the day olds are less expensive.

I did a five weeks quarantine when I bought the four POL pullets but honestly it would not have been effective if there had been a viral disease. I don't see how it's possible to do a proper quarantine free-ranging, and I don't have it in me to lock up chickens in my barn or second chicken shed for five weeks. Even if I had, dander could still have flown through.

As for the price, I think it's not such a good reason because chicks are so much more fragile. Initial cost may be cheap, but add starter food for several months without getting eggs, and the fact that you are not sure they will all survive... and it seems as reasonable economically to pay for an adult pullet that's about to lay.

I don't have butts for tax from today, because it's so hot all the chickens are hiding in deep shade This is Théo's butt from a few days ago.

 

[SimpleJenn]

babies!!!
We woke up this morning to 7 lil puffballs. Morinth has 4 and Samara has 3.





Samara and her 3 wee floofs.

The proud mamas




I'm leaving the last egg until the evening in case it's just lazy. No pip and it had gotten tucked into a blue eggshell somehow so...we will see. I'm so happy with 7 though! And proud of the hens!

 

[BY Bob]

babies!!!
We woke up this morning to 7 lil puffballs. Morinth has 4 and Samara has 3.
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Samara and her 3 wee floofs.
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The proud mamas
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I'm leaving the last egg until the evening in case it's just lazy. No pip and it had gotten tucked into a blue eggshell somehow so...we will see. I'm so happy with 7 though! And proud of the hens!

That's awesome!

 

[RoyalChick]

babies!!!
We woke up this morning to 7 lil puffballs. Morinth has 4 and Samara has 3.
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Samara and her 3 wee floofs.
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The proud mamas
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I'm leaving the last egg until the evening in case it's just lazy. No pip and it had gotten tucked into a blue eggshell somehow so...we will see. I'm so happy with 7 though! And proud of the hens!

Squeeeeeee

 

[Marie2020]

A little funny for Friday

 

[RebeccaBoyd]

The littles are MAD this morning. They are ready to go outside. 1 problem with that little ones. It is downpouring. They have food and fresh water, but they need space and are letting me know it with their protests. Just as soon as the rain lets up I will go get the coop ready. I already got soaked once to go check and yup, coop is partially flooded. Thankfully the creek is not rising and it has been raining hard for over a hour. There is nothing worse then breaking a chickens routine, even chicks. They know by 10 every morning they are supposed to be outside and come in at dark. Don't ask me how they know, but they do. By 10:30, the angry loud screaming started.