Hatching with 2 broodies

[ShelbyCoral]

So one of my chicks is straight... I dont know whats wrong. I Gave her some save-a-chick and she seems happy but still nothing... She is starting to poop more and eat. But I am so confused on what she has. If she starts to put her head back in the next few weeks I'll know its mereks. If not then I don't know, but might take her to the vet...
*sighs* On another note. I hatched out my very first incubator chick 3-4 weeks ago and this is what my chick looks like. Its a Black copper marans x Golden laced polish.

Also the new born chick (the last chick, yellow) that was hatched Tuesday morning. under my last broody along with the the 2ed oldest( brown faced) that hatched during the night before. bit confused on the yellow baby... dont know what it is! We have 3 white silkies, 1 golden laced polish and we only had 2 roosters at the time which was a silver laced polish and a white silkie roo. Any body an expert?

 

[ItalyChickie]

Hello team broody!

Yes, it has been very quiet here....

I have been busy with new chicks, is everyone else ok?

Shelby, I didnt respond to your post because I have no idea on that one. Let us know how its going will you?

On another note I am curious what everyone feeds when they have a mixed flock of newborns, 6 weeks, layers and roos.

I am still doing the ff feed and have switched everyone to chick start and grow. I also cant decide if I want to go organic because it is a lot more money and I have a lot of chickens now! LOL
What do you guys do?????
Thanks
Marie

I know what you mean, those new chicks sure can keep you busy!

My newborns are usually separated until they feather out and grow a bit - in other words, start resembling chickens instead of fluff balls with legs.

Not so much because of the feed, but because all others free range... and while I trust my dogs and cats (and neighborhood crows, etc.) with the chickens, I'm not so sure the same thing would apply with fluff balls. Broody moms generally are quite apprehensive too and don't want to go too far from their luxury apartment... In any case, they do get to go out at around 4-5 weeks, and I feed an all-flock mix (my feed store makes their own, and they say it can be fed from 3-4 weeks up), with oyster shell on the side (plus plenty of snacks, but let's not go there).

If I were to halt free ranging and close the others in their section for any reason, I'd probably let them mix with the newborns and go with chick feed for everyone.

We're doing well. MJ is still sitting. I will candle on day 10 (next wednesday) and remove any clear eggs. I switched to feeding the feed store "meat maker" blend to my flock when the babies arrived. It is basically their starter/grower but comes in the 50lb bag instead of the l little 15lb bag. I ferment it and they get it in the morning with some dry feed on the side in the evening. I have yet to perfect how much to give them to have them switched to FF entirely. My free range flock has been spending a lot of time at home since Dotty was taken, so I think they know something I do not. I also offer oyster shell on the side and have been saving egg shells to crush for them as well. I can not do organic… the cost alone would make my little hobby far too expensive. The feed that they get is all grain, made in the USA and has all kinds of good stuff in it like probiotics, marigold and botanical extracts. I'm happy with it.

Lots of chickens… what is that? I am buried up to my ears in them!

Go MJ! Hope everyone is developing nicely, will wait for wed candling results.

I do the same thing with the feed, haven't figured out the quantities - I swear they're trying to confuse me by eating more on some days, less on others - so it's some FF and some dry for the moment.

Goood morning Team Broody

Wooo hooo, 3 day weekend!

MM, How is Chica doing? Nice jobs on the ‘efficiency apartment’, love it! Cheering for MJ to stick it out and more fuzzy butt pictures for the Team to aaaaw at

Dusty is back to her normal, whingy self lol. HBT, Dusty growls all the time, she does not really make chicken noises, just whinges and growls lol. Beautiful fluffy butt pictures HBT

CC999, aaaaw what cute little piggies! Congratulations

IC, sorry to read that Isabel is not doing so well; any update? Bonnie and bubbies are adorable!
Put me down as a vote for Araucana eggs!

SC, gees, sorry, bit late on this one, I also have no experience and can not offer any helpful advice on your cracked egg. How did you go?

16 Paws, sorry that I can not really answer your query with regards feeding a mixed flock. My two hatches have been separated from the rest of the flock until they were finished on their chick start and I do not have any roosters. Everyone is now on the same FF coarse grain .. and loving it!

Glad to hear your woods broody is doing well MN01; looking forward to hearing the outcome of that one. How exciting to see her coming out of the woods one day soon with bubbies in tow! Will you keep her penned up when they hatch? Predators etc?

No news is good news and that is definitely the case with Bambrook Bantams; no news! Everyone doing well and in a happy little routine. No bubbies, no broodies and yep, NO EGGS!!

Coming up to 4 months now. Dusty is squatting but not much else. I bought a dozen eggs, some of which got boiled and fed to the girls

LuLu is the funniest little Frizzle; she is a nut case! She bounces around the place totally oblivious to any pecking order. Shrugs off any attempts from Cilla and Dusty to put her in her place. Follows me around the garden like a bouncy little puppy. She is just out to have some fun! Love her to bits!

Blondie is growing into a beautiful young lady … I will get some more pictures over the weekend to share with the Blondie Fan Club

Commiserations on Team losses, congratulations on hatches and fingers crossed for those on the count-down

Unfortunately, Isabel did not make it... I keep wondering what else I could have done, and coming up with big fat zero. I even managed to find a farm vet - not really avian, but some knowledge, who said based on symptoms it was probably not a crop but gizzard or something else inside issue... in which case the only thing that could have saved her was surgery... I don't think there is anyone within 2 days' drive from here who will do surgery on a chicken, let alone the potential costs.

I am never getting a grown hen again (the opposite of you, Teila) - all the chicks that grow up here are super healthy, yet I have had issues in 50% of the cases when I bring in grown ones... maybe they already have them but just not yet at a noticeable stage? Or maybe the stress of a new home and flock is too much for some, I don't know. Thankfully, Pallina is doing well and integrated into the flock now. She has the best character - kinda sounds like your LuLu! She also ignores the pecking order and follows people around, a friend of mine who visits often calls her "puppy with feathers" - I think that really fits her.

Here she is, in the process of getting yoghurt all over her face:



Oh, before I forget - on behalf of the Blondie Fan Club I demand lots and lots of Blondie pictures!

Who knows... she might be the one to lay you the first egg in months! (Though still betting on Dusty!)

Thanks for the vote on the Araucana eggs! I guess I'll just have to tell my husband that the team has voted and now I have to get those!

Hmmm somebody is going to have to build a new coop, what with all the new additions...

My teenagers have turned into mini chickens, yet I am still uncertain on the genders of a couple of them! I swear it's those silkie genes... they throw me off, they combs are a purple-y red which seems dark, but not bright, so I don't know...

Here is the one I was certain was a boy, who is getting prettier every day... do you guys remember that teeny little blue chick? well he's blue and red now:



size comparison with grown hen, and one of the iffy white ones in the background... please let that be a girl!



Funny thing is, they are almost the same size as ombretta now (she's a banty), yet still snuggle under her, at night and during the day... I'm pretty certain that she is not touching the ground here:



The one I was certain was a girl is also proving me right... it's those pesky white ones with mulberry-ish combs and blue ears that have me totally baffled!





Some updated bubbies for you as well, making a big mess out of their feed mixed with some yoghurt - they love that stuff!







By the way, not sure how noticeable it is in the photo, but the little buff one right in the food has some funky feathers beginning to grow... the others' all stay flat to the body, and hers seem to have a bit of an outward wave to them... I don't dare hope for a naturally occurring frizzle, but how cool would that be if she was??? (Okay, it's like a 1% chance, I never even heard about frizzled Orps, but still...)



One of the other buffs, no feathers sticking out:



and a group shot with proud momma

Okay, I'll stop flooding this thread with photos now! Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

 

[ItalyChickie]

Somehow missed your post while reading through before, Shelby - sorry! Not sure what you mean by "straight" and why you think Marek's? what's wrong with the chick?

The ones you posted pics of are adorable! I'm no expert, but your yellow baby definitely has silkie in it (furry legs!) - which isn't very helpful since that could be either on mom's or dad's side. Not pure silkie though, since it has yellow legs... so polish x silkie I guess if you had no other breeds at the time, which means some funky hairdo! I can see both black and red in the spots, so hard to guess on which color. Can't wait to see that one feathered out.

 

[missnu01]

So one of my chicks is straight... I dont know whats wrong. I Gave her some save-a-chick and she seems happy but still nothing... She is starting to poop more and eat. But I am so confused on what she has. If she starts to put her head back in the next few weeks I'll know its mereks. If not then I don't know, but might take her to the vet... *sighs* On another note. I hatched out my very first incubator chick 3-4 weeks ago and this is what my chick looks like. Its a Black copper marans x Golden laced polish. Also the new born chick (the last chick, yellow) that was hatched Tuesday morning. under my last broody along with the the 2ed oldest( brown faced) that hatched during the night before. bit confused on the yellow baby... dont know what it is! We have 3 white silkies, 1 golden laced polish and we only had 2 roosters at the time which was a silver laced polish and a white silkie roo. Any body an expert?

I'm not sure on this but I believe mareks doesn't show in really young chicks. Mareks isn't quite as prevalent as the Internet would make it seem, or rather it is as prevalent as most birds have it. But it is just like how most people have been exposed to toxoplasmosis. Does it make some people sick? Yes, but most people are exposed with no symptoms. Just as most chickens have been exposed to mareks but not a whole lot show symptoms. And most of the symptoms of mareks can be caused by a multitude of other things. Like did you know moldy feed can also cause one sided paralysis that seems just like mareks? Starts with usually one leg and then travels and you end sometimes with a bird that can't stop moving it's head, and the mold thing can manifest in a bunch of different ways just like mareks. The problem is when your estate an adult bird they are usually positive for mareks, although it is very possible it wasn't the mareks that may have killed them. It's weird but if you really read read and reread all the studies it is pretty interesting and I just see on here a million posts about my chicken has mareks, my chicken has mareks...and it is possible as most chickens do, but most chickens immune systems use the exposure much like human beings use exposure to strange bacterial diseases like the aforementioned toxoplasmosis. It's the big one I can think of. There's another one that they think some like 80% of Americans suffer from I can't think of the name of it. Anyway... There are lots of things out there that present the same but are not deadly except in rare cases. I experience the mold mareks when I first got chickens. 2 chicks just went wonky on me out of 8 and a broody I bought. I figured mareks because one started limping well keeping one foot balled and walking on top of it, then limping so it could hardly walk, then another started the balled foot thing, and by now I was convinced it was mareks and was ready to watch all my chickens die.. those 2 kept declining, went scissor legged and then lost control of their necks.. like they wanted to look at everything upside down so we culled those 2 and waited. But then I allowed the feeder to run empty and at the very bottom apparently water had gotten in there somehow and there was just caked on mold in the feeder. Black and green angry looking stuff. Never had another chicken fall I'll the way those 2 did. And I've had hundreds since then. So if it was mareks it only affected 2 out of the ton of chickens I've had...but the mold is much more likely. Especially when compared with my reading into mareks.

 

[tommysgirl]

On another note I am curious what everyone feeds when they have a mixed flock of newborns, 6 weeks, layers and roos.

I am still doing the ff feed and have switched everyone to chick start and grow. I also cant decide if I want to go organic because it is a lot more money and I have a lot of chickens now! LOL
What do you guys do?????
Thanks
Marie

I feed Bar Ale. The FF is mostly a GMO free 22% turkey and game bird grower but it also includes a 20% multi use poultry feed. I toss BOSS and Organic scratch into the FF too. They all get eggs shells and/or oyster shell on the side. if you go to your feed's website they may have a chart that will help you to identify what to give your mixed group. Good Luck!

We're doing well. MJ is still sitting. I will candle on day 10 (next wednesday) and remove any clear eggs. I switched to feeding the feed store "meat maker" blend to my flock when the babies arrived. It is basically their starter/grower but comes in the 50lb bag instead of the l little 15lb bag. I ferment it and they get it in the morning with some dry feed on the side in the evening. I have yet to perfect how much to give them to have them switched to FF entirely. My free range flock has been spending a lot of time at home since Dotty was taken, so I think they know something I do not. I also offer oyster shell on the side and have been saving egg shells to crush for them as well. I can not do organic… the cost alone would make my little hobby far too expensive. The feed that they get is all grain, made in the USA and has all kinds of good stuff in it like probiotics, marigold and botanical extracts. I'm happy with it.

Lots of chickens… what is that? I am buried up to my ears in them!

Yay for MJ!!! Beakface...my original super brooder has BBS Ameraucana eggs on day 9 today so she and MJ should be hatching within a day or two of each other

MistyMountain,
Was that you that posted a while back about saddles that protected your ees back and upper wings? Were they called angel wings? Trying to get one for my ee, her upper wings are bare for some reason. I dont know if she is doing it at night or what. I never see anyone pulling her feathers out or the roo being too rough on her.
Marie

The feathers might not grow back until they molt. That's what I found when Buckbeak...who was a rooster's favorite...she also has soft feathers...was bald from her shoulders all down her back. I put a saddle on her with wing protectors and I thought her feathers would grow but she still had horribly sore looking red wing bows until she lost most of her feathers molting last winter. Since I have found out that that is what happens. I need to order two more saddles too.

Unfortunately, Isabel did not make it... I keep wondering what else I could have done, and coming up with big fat zero.

I am sorry that she didn't make it. I have heard that the stress of a move brings down immune systems so that any illness is more likely to materialize. I am not a fan of bringing adult birds in either but I get juvenile culls from a BYC friend...she is my source for Dorkings and Delawares and she is breeding to SOP so I get her culls. They have to be about 6-9 mos old before she decides to cull so I get the benefit of well bred healthy birds but they are older.

Hi everyone else here is the report for Northern California

I have Pips!!! There are only 4 eggs under Theresa 3 Olive Egger crosses that should be Sex Linked....boys will be red barred, girls will be solid red and one white egg,,,I think it is a CA Grey egg so it will be a black sex link.

Beakface had 9 Ameraucana/Easter Egger eggs...chance for both pure and mixed. she only has 5 left two had blood rings and two were clear. She is on day 9.

Gracie Belle has had a drama filled broody experiene...but she has been unaware.

There is a BYC member from whom I bought eggs last spring...Godiva came from those eggs.
Anyway last Friday she had an ebay auction for eggs from a project that she has been working on for years. And that I have wanted for over a year. At that point both Gracie Belle and Julie were broody so I went for it and I won the auction for 10 eggs, figuring I would share them between the two girls.

Well Julie was broody in an unprotected dogloo dog house so I moved her and she broke. Dramatic Event #1

Fortunately there is a BYC member relatively close to me ( I live two hours from any where) who is a master hatcher and he agreed to hatch the extras for me. At this point...last Sunday or Monday I had been told by the seller that I would be receiving 14 eggs! Communication with the seller is good all weekend.

So on Monday Tuesday and Wednesday I anxiously and obsessively check my ebay messages and my email for tracking info. Dramatic Events #2-30.... because no such info is forthcoming. I have the guy who is hatching for me in limbo and myself in limbo not to mention poor Gracie Belle who is lovingly attending to 4 golf balls at this point.

I made the decision Thursday to give GB eggs from my flock if the eggs didn't arrive by yesterday and they didn't so she has 6 eggs now.

I contacted the seller...first asking when I might expect the eggs...nothing

Thursday I contacted her again and asked her to send all eggs directly to the guy who will hatch them

but I had no idea if she got the message re if she got it in time b/c she hasn't communicated with me.

No word today either.

I have seen posts from her on BYC from earlier this week and our previous dealing was totally professional. I just don't understand what could have happened to make her go to radio silence. I so hope she gets the message to send them directly to the hatcher I don't want them to end up here and then have to drive them over. I planned on doing that last week but this coming week I have a chicken yard to cover.


Anyway I am going to run out and see how my pips are progressing.

Have a great weekend! It is supposed to get to 100 today here....bring it on I love summer!!!

 

[tommysgirl]

Theresa has a chick! at around 6:30 it was a pip. At about 8:30 it was nearly totally zipped and by 9:00 it was out. There is another pipped as well but it has not progressed yet.


Oh and I am at a loss regarding the sex of my Del babies I have 4 of them...had 5 but one was killed by something.

. I will post pics at some point but they honestly look nearly identical.

ETA IC your babies are so so so so cute! Thanks for sharing them!

 

[MistyMountain]

Hey all! Just made a quick stop to say hi and catch up. Not much time, but I will let those of you know that were worried about Chica that the swelling has almost entirely gone away. The worst was day one and it has gone down each day since then. If you didn't know it was swollen at some point you would never even know. She never showed any other symptoms, so I stayed on a holding pattern as what to do about her. I am probably 99.9% certain she was pecked or got something in her eye. Whew.

MJ is doing well. She took a long break yesterday when I let her out. Did some scratching, made it to her dust bath appointment at the Under The Shed Day Spa and Dirt Bath, picked another fight with one of the brown leghorns. Good stuff. I am itching to candle those eggs!!

Have a great weekend all!

 

[Teila]

Good morning Team Broody

16 paws, I will make sure I post some LuLu pics also; assuming I can get her to stand still long enough.

IC, definitely some Blondie pictures, she is turning into a beautiful little girl.

Today is the day; I have the phone charging, ready to take 100’s of photos to get maybe 2-3 good ones lol.

SC, beautiful bubbies! I am sorry to read that one of them is sick, I hope she pulls through.

IC, I am also sorry to hear about Isabel

I am sure you did all you could.

Pallina sounds and looks like a real cutie!

Just my humble opinion, but I think your ‘pretty boy’ is a boy. I chuckled at the picture of Ombretta on her feathered bed

The bubbies are just gorgeous. Wow, that would be so cool if she is a natural Frizzle!

TG, congratulations on your bubbie/s and I am sorry to hear that you lost one of your Del’s

MM, thank you for the Chica update, glad to hear she is doing well.

Good luck with the candling; fingers crossed for lots of viable eggs.

Still no news of any note; the ‘Where is our Breakfast Club’ woke me nice and early so once I have had my shower, out I go to spend some time in the garden and hopefully get some nice photos to share.

 

[16 paws]

Teila,
That cartoon cracked me up, thanks for the laugh!
Marie

 

[Farmer Viola]

Hey broodies! I have a question for those experienced with broody hens.

One of my LF black copper Marans has just gone broody, she's just 7 months old and has been laying for 2 months. She's the largest of all the girls, fluffiest butt, but probably not completely full grown yet.... How many eggs can she sit on? is 12 ok or should I do less, like 8? Can take a photo of her if necessary, although she'll look huge and poofed out now!