fuzzi's Chicken Journal

[fuzzi]

There's a bit of drama in the coop. I think adding a brooder, and the presence of chicks has the flock a little stirred up...plus some of the big chicks are doing a bit of sparring already.

There's an auction on June 8th. I might take 2 or 3 of the cockerels, to ease the pressure some.

 

[fuzzi]

Went out about 5. Tamar appears to be showing her two chicks where food is and encouraging them. That's a good sign, she was stuck on brooding egg behavior this morning.

I added a chick waterer with a nipple that I ordered through Amaz0n. I picked up each chick and tapped their beak on the nipple. I saw them smack and swallow. Good.

I didn't have a second chick feeder but I spilled a little feed on the bottom of a rubber tub. Rahab showed her chicks where it was and they're hopping up on their own.

I think she's going to be a good momma, like Martha.

 

[fuzzi]

Good Momma Tamar!

As I was filling the five gallon feeders this morning Rahab squawked at me, possibly to remind me that her brood needed some food, too.

I also dropped a small handful of chopped grapes and cheese shreds in her brooder, and was rewarded by seeing one of Rahab's chicks running towards the back with a shred of cheese in its beak!

I sent an email to the owner of the local poultry auction, to see if they're having an auction on June 22nd. They've posted that the next auction is June 8th, but I wanted to let Martha's bunch get closer to 12 weeks if possible.

Anyone still think blue band is a pullet?

 

[1muttsfan]

We feed our adult chickens a wide variety of foods, including our leftovers. However, complicated to digest, nutritionally unbalanced foods like cheese may not be a great early food for chicks. Their digestive tracts are not really ready for much of a challenge. Even things like grapes, high in sugar, or scratch, high in calories, may be better in a few weeks when they are bigger and tougher. Eating high calorie, sugar and fat foods can unbalance their diet at their tender age.

 

[fuzzi]

We feed our adult chickens a wide variety of foods, including our leftovers. However, complicated to digest, nutritionally unbalanced foods like cheese may not be a great early food for chicks. Their digestive tracts are not really ready for much of a challenge. Even things like grapes, high in sugar, or scratch, high in calories, may be better in a few weeks when they are bigger and tougher. Eating high calorie, sugar and fat foods can unbalance their diet at their tender age.

Appreciate that input. I haven't been feeding them a lot of scraps, but I will keep it in mind.

 

[Winderdear]

Tamar and her little ones are adorable! A mama hen and her chicks is just the sweetest thing. I’m so glad she’s doing well with them!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

They all look great!

I lean toward blue band being a boy, but I'm not very good at the guessing game.

They are all at a good age now, so you may want to repost in the Breed/Gender forum and have those folks give their input.

 

[fuzzi]

One of Rahab's chicks is not right. It just sits there. I picked it up easily, and it kept opening and closing its mouth as if it was peeping, no sound. No pasty butt. It wouldn't drink when I dipped its beak in water, wouldn't eat any mush when I smeared it on its beak.

I made some vitamin B and E solution, and every time the chick opened its beak I used a syringe to put a drop in its mouth. It started swallowing and I got quite a bit in. I put it under Rahab who was warming her other chicks.

 

[Winderdear]

One of Rahab's chicks is not right. It just sits there. I picked it up easily, and it kept opening and closing its mouth as if it was peeping, no sound. No pasty butt. It wouldn't drink when I dipped its beak in water, wouldn't eat any mush when I smeared it on its beak.

I made some vitamin B and E solution, and every time the chick opened its beak I used a syringe to put a drop in its mouth. It started swallowing and I got quite a bit in. I put it under Rahab who was warming her other chicks.

Oh no! I hope her chick gets better soon!

I don’t know if there’s any science to back this, but I used the slurry in the video below on my day old chicks last year when they arrived and looked like they needed some extra nutrition. It didn’t do them any harm at least, and they all perked up quickly. I did not have the homeopathic flower remedy she mentions, but she said that was optional. The recipe contains raw egg yolk, electrolyte powder and weak green tea.

I can’t seem to timestamp it, but the recipe was at 3:14.

 

[fuzzi]

Chick didn't make it. I found it in the back of the brooder, buried in straw.

I wish I could have done more.