Hatching with 2 broodies

[MistyMountain]

Aww IC, Love the pics!!!

Teila, Happy to hear that things are looking up for Dusty. I, too, am a nervous wreck over my favorite chicken, Chica. Two days ago I noticed Chica had a swollen eye. No drainage, no runny nose, no coughing, no sneezing. Her eye is clear, just swollen around it. She is laying and ranging with the flock normally. I am really freaked out about disease, I told myself when I started with chickens that I would not give antibiotics or allow one sick chicken to infect the whole flock. Well, that is hard to think about when it is my FAVORITE chicken! I am standing on the edge right now… just watching closely for any of the additional symptoms listed above. I feel like it is a fine line between disease and injury and I am leaning toward (or hoping at least) she just got pecked in the eye. I think the swelling has gone down. Please keep your fingers crossed for her!!

In happier news, I jumped in and set 10 eggs under MJ. 6 EE, 2 NH, 2 Leghorn-- all mixed with Willie Roo SLW. No clue how fertile these eggs are or how good of a momma MJ will be. I set them yesterday on 6/1… soooo when do they hatch? Was yesterday day one or is today day one? I got my hammer out and tossed together a little "efficiency apartment" for hatching and the first few days. Remember that super nice brooder/grow out coop my husband built me? What was that for again?

The "Efficiency Apartment" (before hen, food, or water was added)

 

[halfbakedtulip]

I am so very sad to read of everyone's losses Having chickens seems seriously heartbreaking. I was at an aquaintances farm the other day and their dog ate a chick...right there in front of us. I was so shaken by it. They were like "oh he doesn't like babies, he eats the duck ones too" I was like "WHAT? and you still let him hang out with them?"

Then again if you could have seen the state of their coops

I came home and said to DH, OMG I am a chicken snob LOL

@Teila I am glad to hear Dusty is feeling better! I was really interested to hear what happened because of the growling. Dot and Voodoo were both growling one day (not at each other) and since then I have heard Dot a couple times. It is freaky!

We have 3 beautiful fluffy butts! 2 silkies and one Milles fleur/silkie mix. I know because her skin is black and she has 5 toes

Now as long as what they say holds true then she will be a girl! and @tommysgirl she has freckles on her head too! Although it is hard to see in pics. I wonder if she will keep them when she feathers? She is the same mix as yours...White silkie dad, Milles fleur Mom!

On to photos!

Fluffy butts!





Chipmunk


Silkie 1


And silkie 2



I am still concerned about the ramp. There was a jump off the coop as we have it attached on the underside. Hubby "fixed" it but I swear its steeper now lol. Right now I have wire across the box. When should I take it down for Mom to take them outside? How soon did all your Mommas take their little ones out?

 

[chickencrazy999]

Heya Guys,
Beautiful pics of bubbles everyone and I am ever so sorry to hear about everyone's losses .
We'll on a good note everyone is doing okay accept Milly has got early symptoms of Micro plasma so my uncle has taken her to treat her with antibiotics so I am hoping she will be okay this illness is contagious so I hope no one else has it
Mama hens and baby's are doing great and guess what Maddys eggs from Muppet and Maddy #1 eggs from who got taken by the fox hatched all three of them and also WE HAVE BABY GUINEA PIGS! Maisy my beautiful piggie gave birth to five little baby's yesterday three boys and two girls they are so cute
Hope all is well with everyone
Ella

 

[ShelbyCoral]

Look at that mama! She so proud of herself! My silkie is about to hatch 3 eggs... well... i hopes 3 eggs. The one is the twin egg. ill be there to help it. Hope all is well with everyone!

 

[16 paws]

Aww IC, Love the pics!!!

Teila, Happy to hear that things are looking up for Dusty. I, too, am a nervous wreck over my favorite chicken, Chica. Two days ago I noticed Chica had a swollen eye. No drainage, no runny nose, no coughing, no sneezing. Her eye is clear, just swollen around it. She is laying and ranging with the flock normally. I am really freaked out about disease, I told myself when I started with chickens that I would not give antibiotics or allow one sick chicken to infect the whole flock. Well, that is hard to think about when it is my FAVORITE chicken! I am standing on the edge right now… just watching closely for any of the additional symptoms listed above. I feel like it is a fine line between disease and injury and I am leaning toward (or hoping at least) she just got pecked in the eye. I think the swelling has gone down. Please keep your fingers crossed for her!!

In happier news, I jumped in and set 10 eggs under MJ. 6 EE, 2 NH, 2 Leghorn-- all mixed with Willie Roo SLW. No clue how fertile these eggs are or how good of a momma MJ will be. I set them yesterday on 6/1… soooo when do they hatch? Was yesterday day one or is today day one? I got my hammer out and tossed together a little "efficiency apartment" for hatching and the first few days. Remember that super nice brooder/grow out coop my husband built me? What was that for again?

The "Efficiency Apartment" (before hen, food, or water was added)

Hi MistyMountain,
I love your apartment, looks like you and your hubby have skills! What did you use to build that?
Nice looking eggs too, good luck on your hatch. I still have one broody on 10 eggs. I wrote it down on the calender this time to keep track of the days. I will have to check and see what day we are on.
I really do not need anymore chickens after this.

If you set them in the morning I would be ready on day June 21.
Take care now,
Marie

 

[ItalyChickie]

Hey Team Broody ... a Dusty update

She appears to be back to her happy, bossy little self

Free range went well and she joined everyone else for afternoon tea and treats. About the only thing not quite 'right' this afternoon was me following her everywhere saying "Come on Dusty-girl, do a poop for mum" ... as we do

Then racing off for the reading glasses for poop inspection purposes. I am relieved to say, poop is back to normal also.

I am leaning towards 'something she ate not agreeing with her'; she is not nicknamed Dusty-Dustbin for no reason

So relieved to hear it Teila!!! And yep, I confess, I totally do the follow them around to see the poop thing when I see any strange symptoms too.

Aww IC, Love the pics!!!

Teila, Happy to hear that things are looking up for Dusty. I, too, am a nervous wreck over my favorite chicken, Chica. Two days ago I noticed Chica had a swollen eye. No drainage, no runny nose, no coughing, no sneezing. Her eye is clear, just swollen around it. She is laying and ranging with the flock normally. I am really freaked out about disease, I told myself when I started with chickens that I would not give antibiotics or allow one sick chicken to infect the whole flock. Well, that is hard to think about when it is my FAVORITE chicken! I am standing on the edge right now… just watching closely for any of the additional symptoms listed above. I feel like it is a fine line between disease and injury and I am leaning toward (or hoping at least) she just got pecked in the eye. I think the swelling has gone down. Please keep your fingers crossed for her!!

In happier news, I jumped in and set 10 eggs under MJ. 6 EE, 2 NH, 2 Leghorn-- all mixed with Willie Roo SLW. No clue how fertile these eggs are or how good of a momma MJ will be. I set them yesterday on 6/1… soooo when do they hatch? Was yesterday day one or is today day one? I got my hammer out and tossed together a little "efficiency apartment" for hatching and the first few days. Remember that super nice brooder/grow out coop my husband built me? What was that for again?

The "Efficiency Apartment" (before hen, food, or water was added)

Fingers crossed for Chica! It does sound like an injury though... I had a really awful experience with the very first chicks I had bought when starting with chickens (in fact, never bought chicks again, nor plan to), and if that is anything to go by, you can most definitely see other signs of illness along with the eye swelling... weakness, bubbling/discharge from the eyes and nostrils, not eating, weird poop, just about everything. If she is acting normal and poop is normal, my money is on the pecked in the eye scenario.

Re the 21 days, I finally figured it out - if you set eggs on a Sunday, they hatch on Sunday 3 weeks later, give or take a few hours, so if it was in the am, you might see some Saturday evening. (For my latest, I had set the eggs in the bator on Friday evening, 9 pm, the first one hatched 3 weeks later on Friday afternoon at 3 pm, the majority Friday evening, and the very last one at around 6 am on Saturday morning.) The whole day counting thing is too confusing for me! Just remembering the day of the week is easier.

The efficiency apartment is perfect for its purpose, I think! So is the super nice brooder your husband built staying unused then?

I am so very sad to read of everyone's losses Having chickens seems seriously heartbreaking. I was at an aquaintances farm the other day and their dog ate a chick...right there in front of us. I was so shaken by it. They were like "oh he doesn't like babies, he eats the duck ones too" I was like "WHAT? and you still let him hang out with them?"

Then again if you could have seen the state of their coops

I came home and said to DH, OMG I am a chicken snob LOL

@Teila I am glad to hear Dusty is feeling better! I was really interested to hear what happened because of the growling. Dot and Voodoo were both growling one day (not at each other) and since then I have heard Dot a couple times. It is freaky!

We have 3 beautiful fluffy butts! 2 silkies and one Milles fleur/silkie mix. I know because her skin is black and she has 5 toes

Now as long as what they say holds true then she will be a girl! and @tommysgirl she has freckles on her head too! Although it is hard to see in pics. I wonder if she will keep them when she feathers? She is the same mix as yours...White silkie dad, Milles fleur Mom!

On to photos!

Fluffy butts!





Chipmunk


Silkie 1


And silkie 2



I am still concerned about the ramp. There was a jump off the coop as we have it attached on the underside. Hubby "fixed" it but I swear its steeper now lol. Right now I have wire across the box. When should I take it down for Mom to take them outside? How soon did all your Mommas take their little ones out?

Whoa!!! The dog ATE a chick in front of the owners and they didn't care???

Ok, I think that's the new low... mine get yelled at for looking at them the wrong way... not that they do. In fact, they are my chick protectors.

Your fluffy butts are adorable!!!

I don't know about the ramp... mine are on ground level, and my broodies take them out pretty much the day after they're born - though I expect they would wait longer if it was more difficult, they are separated in the kindergarten area and feel safe there. I hear most broodies wait a few days, and I have seen my 3-4 day olds jump up on rocks, branches, and broodies with no problems whatsoever... Others can probably give you better advice, I think I'm the only one who lets them go outside the day they're born.

Heya Guys,
Beautiful pics of bubbles everyone and I am ever so sorry to hear about everyone's losses

.
We'll on a good note everyone is doing okay accept Milly has got early symptoms of Micro plasma so my uncle has taken her to treat her with antibiotics so I am hoping she will be okay this illness is contagious so I hope no one else has it

Mama hens and baby's are doing great and guess what Maddys eggs from Muppet and Maddy #1 eggs from who got taken by the fox hatched all three of them and also WE HAVE BABY GUINEA PIGS! Maisy my beautiful piggie gave birth to five little baby's yesterday three boys and two girls they are so cute
Hope all is well with everyone
Ella

Oh those baby guineas are too cute!!!

Yay on the eggs hatching! Can't wait to see baby pics!

Sorry for the ignorant question... what are the symptoms of micro plasma? I just never know how to diagnose, most of the time it's all so confusing it could be any one of 100 diseases (and often turns out to be nothing because I freak out at the slightest sign)... just wish we had a chicken vet nearby...

Fingers crossed for Milly and hope nobody else has it!

Speaking of sick chickens... Isabel is wasting away, she is skin and bones and will not eat by herself... the only reason she is still hanging on is probably because I have been syringe feeding her. I just don't know what else to do... except resorting to wide spectrum antibiotics, but in her weakened state it might do more harm than good. To be honest, I'm almost resigned now to the fact that she won't make it, though it's so sad.

Everything else is well. Bonnie is a fantastic mom (some pics below), the bubbies are all looking well, and the teenagers (first batch of chicks) are turning into mini chickens. Still have some doubts on the gender of 2 of them, though thoroughly convinced on one roo and 3 hens... hopefully the ones I'm doubting are also hens! Ombretta is still mothering them, at 6+ weeks! And sleeping with them in a pile in the big coop. They are too cute, must remember to post some pics. In the meantime, here are some of Bonnie the supermom and her clutch:

 

[MistyMountain]

Heya Guys,
Beautiful pics of bubbles everyone and I am ever so sorry to hear about everyone's losses

.
We'll on a good note everyone is doing okay accept Milly has got early symptoms of Micro plasma so my uncle has taken her to treat her with antibiotics so I am hoping she will be okay this illness is contagious so I hope no one else has it

Mama hens and baby's are doing great and guess what Maddys eggs from Muppet and Maddy #1 eggs from who got taken by the fox hatched all three of them and also WE HAVE BABY GUINEA PIGS! Maisy my beautiful piggie gave birth to five little baby's yesterday three boys and two girls they are so cute
Hope all is well with everyone
Ella

How cute are those little piggies!!!

Hi MistyMountain,
I love your apartment, looks like you and your hubby have skills! What did you use to build that?
Nice looking eggs too, good luck on your hatch. I still have one broody on 10 eggs. I wrote it down on the calender this time to keep track of the days. I will have to check and see what day we are on.
I really do not need anymore chickens after this.

If you set them in the morning I would be ready on day June 21.
Take care now,
Marie

Well, I used some old balusters that I guess came from building the deck on this house. They were in the rafters in the barn and my DH was going to burn them-- we are replacing the railing and they will not be of use anymore. I tossed in some scrap wood, some plastic fence and zip ties, and an old crate door that was leaning up against a fence near the barn. The old owners left all kinds of treasures around here, both trash and usable!!

So relieved to hear it Teila!!! And yep, I confess, I totally do the follow them around to see the poop thing when I see any strange symptoms too.

Fingers crossed for Chica! It does sound like an injury though... I had a really awful experience with the very first chicks I had bought when starting with chickens (in fact, never bought chicks again, nor plan to), and if that is anything to go by, you can most definitely see other signs of illness along with the eye swelling... weakness, bubbling/discharge from the eyes and nostrils, not eating, weird poop, just about everything. If she is acting normal and poop is normal, my money is on the pecked in the eye scenario.

Re the 21 days, I finally figured it out - if you set eggs on a Sunday, they hatch on Sunday 3 weeks later, give or take a few hours, so if it was in the am, you might see some Saturday evening. (For my latest, I had set the eggs in the bator on Friday evening, 9 pm, the first one hatched 3 weeks later on Friday afternoon at 3 pm, the majority Friday evening, and the very last one at around 6 am on Saturday morning.) The whole day counting thing is too confusing for me! Just remembering the day of the week is easier.

The efficiency apartment is perfect for its purpose, I think! So is the super nice brooder your husband built staying unused then?



Whoa!!! The dog ATE a chick in front of the owners and they didn't care???

Ok, I think that's the new low... mine get yelled at for looking at them the wrong way... not that they do. In fact, they are my chick protectors.

Your fluffy butts are adorable!!!

I don't know about the ramp... mine are on ground level, and my broodies take them out pretty much the day after they're born - though I expect they would wait longer if it was more difficult, they are separated in the kindergarten area and feel safe there. I hear most broodies wait a few days, and I have seen my 3-4 day olds jump up on rocks, branches, and broodies with no problems whatsoever... Others can probably give you better advice, I think I'm the only one who lets them go outside the day they're born.


Oh those baby guineas are too cute!!!

Yay on the eggs hatching! Can't wait to see baby pics!

Sorry for the ignorant question... what are the symptoms of micro plasma? I just never know how to diagnose, most of the time it's all so confusing it could be any one of 100 diseases (and often turns out to be nothing because I freak out at the slightest sign)... just wish we had a chicken vet nearby...

Fingers crossed for Milly and hope nobody else has it!

Speaking of sick chickens... Isabel is wasting away, she is skin and bones and will not eat by herself... the only reason she is still hanging on is probably because I have been syringe feeding her. I just don't know what else to do... except resorting to wide spectrum antibiotics, but in her weakened state it might do more harm than good. To be honest, I'm almost resigned now to the fact that she won't make it, though it's so sad.

Everything else is well. Bonnie is a fantastic mom (some pics below), the bubbies are all looking well, and the teenagers (first batch of chicks) are turning into mini chickens. Still have some doubts on the gender of 2 of them, though thoroughly convinced on one roo and 3 hens... hopefully the ones I'm doubting are also hens! Ombretta is still mothering them, at 6+ weeks! And sleeping with them in a pile in the big coop. They are too cute, must remember to post some pics. In the meantime, here are some of Bonnie the supermom and her clutch:

It seems like Chica's swelling is still going down. Still no other symptoms. She is still her stinky old self--- stinky because this girl is a grass eater. Has been since she was a chick. It freaked me out at first, thinking she had sour crop or something like it. Nah, she just eats a lot of grass. And it stinks. Stinks like… forgive me, cow snot. If you have ever smelled that, you know what I mean. Yick.

About that fancy five-star resort of a brooder coop…. those craaaaaazy youngsters have taken up residency there. I think MJ would loose it if 18 teenagers were bouncing off her back every two seconds!! Ugh. Those boys, especially, are NAUGHTY!

 

[ItalyChickie]

That's great that Chica's swelling has gone down! Praying the just pecked theory proves right!
And I think you have just explained my smelly-coop-in-spring mystery... I did not realize that eating grass = cow snot smell. There are a few of them that just gorge on the fresh grass, especially in the spring/early summer! So I guess I can stop freaking out about that now. Thanks!

I am picturing 18 teenagers in the five star resort together with the broody... um. Yeah. I think that might even make her rethink that whole motherhood idea...

Speaking of broodies, I'm still undecided what to do with the twins... I'm up to my ears in chicks at the moment, so not necessarily looking to hatch more, but I do feel bad for them... plus, have found someone with Araucana eggs, and I really would love some blue or green eggs next year... Or I could just try with a few of ours so they both have a chance of raising 3-4 chicks, but not too many.... hmmm. I think this needs a vote. Team Broody, thoughts?

 

[MistyMountain]

That's great that Chica's swelling has gone down! Praying the just pecked theory proves right!
And I think you have just explained my smelly-coop-in-spring mystery... I did not realize that eating grass = cow snot smell. There are a few of them that just gorge on the fresh grass, especially in the spring/early summer! So I guess I can stop freaking out about that now. Thanks!

I am picturing 18 teenagers in the five star resort together with the broody... um. Yeah. I think that might even make her rethink that whole motherhood idea...

Speaking of broodies, I'm still undecided what to do with the twins... I'm up to my ears in chicks at the moment, so not necessarily looking to hatch more, but I do feel bad for them... plus, have found someone with Araucana eggs, and I really would love some blue or green eggs next year... Or I could just try with a few of ours so they both have a chance of raising 3-4 chicks, but not too many.... hmmm. I think this needs a vote. Team Broody, thoughts?

Don't quote me as an expert or Doc on that, but it is what I have observed with Chica, and in all aspects (minus the slightly swollen area around her right eye) she is healthy and "normal". I freaked out when she was younger, around 9 weeks. She had TERRIBLE breath. I did some searching and while a lot hinted toward sour crop and such with a smell, I knew she didn't have that problem. She is now 43 weeks, still alive and kickin' and back to having funky breath with all the grass. I watch her sometimes. She chomps away, much like a cow. Would make sense that she has cow breath snot smell, huh?

I vote GO ARAUCANA!!

That said, though I free range, going from one 50lb bag of feed for 3-1/2 weeks to one bag a little over a week is a bit scary. It's those rowdy youngsters I tell ya! I am chickened out!

 

[ShelbyCoral]

Okay so I have an egg that cracked under my broody. The chick is undeveloped as in the yolk sack is not full absorbed and she is not chirping yet. But she is still alive and doing okay. The egg is hAlf Crack open, like there is no top on it. I put her in our bator. And I'm keep her moist. Is there anything I can do for her? Will it live?