Amy, congrats on the chicks and sorry you have to cull one. Personally my choice of cull method would be to snip the head off with shears quickly. The chicks never feels a thing and is dead instantly. There are some other methods floating around such as putting it in a tub with baking soda and vinegar, but that actually suffocates it to death with carbon dioxide, which the chick can sense and will cause it to panic, plus it hurts, so I'd avoid anything like that.
Edit: Lol we posted at the same time about the baking soda and vinegar method.
Edit: Lol we posted at the same time about the baking soda and vinegar method.
Last edited:
Sorry about the pony. I can't even imagine.
I'm looking forward to seeing them!
e They're here they're here!!! 9 of the tiniest little feathered babies I've ever seen!! Beautiful little quail!!! They popped out like popcorn!! Thank you for all the help and suggestions!!
hang in there little one!
) So I tossed all those and put the thing back where I found it and concluded that she wasn't broody cause none o those eggs showed signs of development. But, I wondered why she was staying away and only showing up periodically. I chalked it up to the fact that even though they were brooded and hatched in the coop, they were never fully excepted by the others and she just didn't want to get pecked at. So tonight I go to collect eggs and fill food and water. As I entered the coop and bent to retrieve eggs I hear chicks cheeping-coming from the other side of the wall. I knew what that meant. So again I let myself in the shed and started moving things again and I found her. Wedged between old window panes and a box of I don't know what was my missing pullet. Peeking out from all directions under her was a bunch of little faces!!!! 
Fluffy, cute, many colored faces of chicks. Of course I reached out toward her and recieved a life threatening peck to my hand! So I had a dilema. What in the heck to do with a mama hen and chicks??? I couldn't leave them in there where who knows what all is thrown about with no access to food and water, where they could possible get hurt. I wasn't about to move her to my fairly full main coop with witchy hens that aren't very accepting. That left the silkie coop with my silkie babies. So I grabbed a metal cage, pulled out the corner nest box (it's not needed atm anyway) and set up cage in there. Bedded it down and went to attempt the retrieval. Let's just say she's a protective momma. I managed to get ahold of momma and lift her up. Of course the minute I pulled her off the nest I was doing a 
. Babies everywhere!!! I had my cat carrier and started pulling 3 at a time up and placing them in the carrier. There was still 5 eggs under her as well with no signs of hatching. On the bottom of the pile was a little black chick that I have to cull. 
His leg is twisted and bent up to the side. Not spraddle leg. Either severely dislocated or severely pulled tendon. There is nothing that I know to do for it. I just haven't pulled myself together to go and do it yet. (I have never had to cull before.) So after all is said and done, counting the gimp legged chick, there was 16, I believe, chicks!!! I candled the 5 remaining eggs. 1 had no development, 3 were early quitters by the way they looked and one was an obvious internal pip and quit. I did eggtopsy it to be sure. So now I have 15/16 unexpected and very lively chicks with momma in with my silkies. All are eating/drinking and chirping their heads off. See? 
Great job finding them and getting them all out! (without losing a limb!) 
I have a broody golden comet. She has not let me near her. I removed about 12-15 eggs one day, but her coop-mates still lay in her nest box. I figured whatever would hatch, would hatch. Yesterday she was off the nest and I got to see what was under her. 46 eggs!! I took all but 14 inside to candle and eventually gave 6 of the furthest developed ones back to her, and marked them all, so she has 20, plus whatever they lay in the next week. I can toss those once the hatching starts lol
