Hatch-Along - Setting eggs this weekend (Jan5/6) WHOS WITH ME!

[fisherlady]

Here are updated pics of my chicks. We hatched 8 but only kept 2 for our flock. The EE/OE I kept im now slighty regreting as one is crossbeaked and one came from the same egg color in the batch so she may be a carrier. I wont be able to breed them *SIGH* I was planning on putting them in with my breeding flock with the Marans Rooster to hopefully increase their egg to a darker shade. But here are my 2 super cute chicks along with the 2 new additions, silkie chicks


Group shot

EE/OE Peaches who unfortunately is cross beaked

EE/OE right now called Mask

and the newly added additions 2 silkies
Prim

Bobo

So cute!!

 

[fisherlady]

Does anybody on here give their baby chicks scrambled eggs or mashed up hard boiled eggs?? ANd if you do how old do you start giving them it??

We have given ours scrambled eggs numerous times, I think they were 4 days old the first time, but no real reason they couldn't have it sooner as long as the amount doesn't impair their intake of regular chick food.... though I think the egg is pretty good for protein also.
We mashed it up and spread it out on a saucer, Gracie made a big fuss 'chook, chooking' over it and had the little ones chowing down right away. It didn't last long! They also love minced up canned corn (but make sure it's rinsed first to reduce the salt)
We have given our little ones small amounts of a bunch of things.... the egg and corn are real favorites, ours also like chopped fish, cooked 7 grain cereal with minced peaches, meal worm (when they were little we broke up dried meal worms, now that they are bigger we give them live ones) and today we chopped up lettuce super fine and gave them some. All of these 'treats' are given in small amounts and some have been scattered on the floor in the sand so they could 'find' them.
The big plus to all of the time we've spent fixing their 'treat dish' is that when we walk into the coop they come running out of the nest box to meet us like a hoard of hungry mongels! So cute!

 

[FeyRaine]

Does anybody on here give their baby chicks scrambled eggs or mashed up hard boiled eggs?? ANd if you do how old do you start giving them it??

Actually, some soft cooked egg, chopped into small pieces, w/ a dab of yogurt (active culture) is the FIRST food they get,
then in the 2nd -4th feeding I sprinkle the crumbles on there so they get the idea that the dry crumbles are good food.
If they show a lack of figuring out the crumbles I repeat w/ less egg, more crumbles until they will go eat just crumbles on their own.
If they show any sign of "pasty butt" then more "meals" w/ either just the liquid from the yogurt container drizzled over it, or a dab of the yogurt itself.

I try to stop giving egg after the first 1-3 days, unless I see any sign of lack of eating or other stress then they get some soft cooked egg treat.
For example when I moved huge fully feathered NYDH chicks to the outdoor brooder (w/ heat lamp but not like being indoors) & the night temps made me
a little concerned I took them some soft cooked egg treat just at dusk, they gobbled it up & that way I was totally certain they had a good meal prior to their first cold night.

That is all just me, everyone does things diff. much depends on breed, weather, indoor vs outside etc.
(for example in summer I don't leave egg sitting around more than a few. min.)

 

[TheCosmos]

Photoshoot of my babies now almost 2 weeks old...
4 were shipped eggs.

Black Copper Marans



Blue Birchen Marans


Blue Birchen Marans


Splash Marans (it has a weird beak)


Closeup of weird beak (any comments?)


Blue Copper Marans (I LOVE THIS FAT LITTLE CHICK!)


Splash Marans

 

[Shellz]

Beautiful chicks!!! Here's mine from 2 1/2 weeks ago.




Top one is ? rooster over SG Dorking. Middle one is Cuckoo Marans X SG Dorking. Bottom one is RIR X SG Dorking.

 

[dblea202]

Actually, some soft cooked egg, chopped into small pieces, w/ a dab of yogurt (active culture) is the FIRST food they get,
then in the 2nd -4th feeding I sprinkle the crumbles on there so they get the idea that the dry crumbles are good food.
If they show a lack of figuring out the crumbles I repeat w/ less egg, more crumbles until they will go eat just crumbles on their own.
If they show any sign of "pasty butt" then more "meals" w/ either just the liquid from the yogurt container drizzled over it, or a dab of the yogurt itself.

I try to stop giving egg after the first 1-3 days, unless I see any sign of lack of eating or other stress then they get some soft cooked egg treat.
For example when I moved huge fully feathered NYDH chicks to the outdoor brooder (w/ heat lamp but not like being indoors) & the night temps made me
a little concerned I took them some soft cooked egg treat just at dusk, they gobbled it up & that way I was totally certain they had a good meal prior to their first cold night.

That is all just me, everyone does things diff. much depends on breed, weather, indoor vs outside etc.
(for example in summer I don't leave egg sitting around more than a few. min.)

We have given ours scrambled eggs numerous times, I think they were 4 days old the first time, but no real reason they couldn't have it sooner as long as the amount doesn't impair their intake of regular chick food.... though I think the egg is pretty good for protein also.
We mashed it up and spread it out on a saucer, Gracie made a big fuss 'chook, chooking' over it and had the little ones chowing down right away. It didn't last long! They also love minced up canned corn (but make sure it's rinsed first to reduce the salt)
We have given our little ones small amounts of a bunch of things.... the egg and corn are real favorites, ours also like chopped fish, cooked 7 grain cereal with minced peaches, meal worm (when they were little we broke up dried meal worms, now that they are bigger we give them live ones) and today we chopped up lettuce super fine and gave them some. All of these 'treats' are given in small amounts and some have been scattered on the floor in the sand so they could 'find' them.
The big plus to all of the time we've spent fixing their 'treat dish' is that when we walk into the coop they come running out of the nest box to meet us like a hoard of hungry mongels! So cute!

Thanks for the info! I just wanted to make sure they didn't need to be a certain age to give them some eggs. One of our chicks is still having a little trouble with her splayed legs (hates the bandages lol) and we want to make sure she is getting the nutrition she needs. She is definitely doing a lot better then the first day of her bandages she was barely eating,drinking, or pooping and we were starting to get worried but now we are going on to the 2nd full day of bandages and she is doing so much better she is eating like a pig along with her sister/brother and she is drinking on her own. I think her sibling is SO much happier now that she is doing everything right along with him/her. Once we got Obie(splayed legs) all fixed up and we were so excited she was very active yesterday and then her brother/sister started to get pasty butt!!! These two chicks have definitely given us A LOT to do the past three days lol and it is definitely a good learning experience. Plus since this is our first set of chicks i think we worry about things too easily!


ALso, we set 12 eggs yesterday! Due to hatch March 1st! We can't wait to see what we get this time. We have 5 barred rocks, 2 welsummer, 2 Golden Lakenvelders, 2 Blue Laced Red Wyandottes, and 1 French Black Copper Maran.........and it starts all over again !!!! we said we would only do one or two batches.....we are on our 4th

 

[dblea202]

ughhh why can't we go a day without something else happening???? Our baby with the splayed legs had started throwing her head back and we diddn't really think anything of it and she didn't do it very often...now she is starting to do it more for a longer time. I looked it up and it sounds and looks like wry neck..has anyone had experience with this??

 

[fisherlady]

ughhh why can't we go a day without something else happening???? Our baby with the splayed legs had started throwing her head back and we diddn't really think anything of it and she didn't do it very often...now she is starting to do it more for a longer time. I looked it up and it sounds and looks like wry neck..has anyone had experience with this??

I haven't... maybe PM SilkieSensation, with as much as she's done with hatching she may have. Sorry I couldn't help.

 

[fisherlady]

Photoshoot of my babies now almost 2 weeks old...
4 were shipped eggs.

Black Copper Marans



Blue Birchen Marans


Blue Birchen Marans


Splash Marans (it has a weird beak)


Closeup of weird beak (any comments?)


Blue Copper Marans (I LOVE THIS FAT LITTLE CHICK!)


Splash Marans

So cute! Adore the colors, #3 just looks like 'hey there, you do know I'm in charge, don't you?'

 

[fisherlady]

Beautiful chicks!!! Here's mine from 2 1/2 weeks ago.




Top one is ? rooster over SG Dorking. Middle one is Cuckoo Marans X SG Dorking. Bottom one is RIR X SG Dorking.

Cuties... how old in the pics? they are pretty well feathered already!