Hatching with 2 broodies

[lizgarf]

Yay, Tommy's Girl!! Such a beautiful picture! (and yes, I've also heard head spots are for roos, but you're used to getting those anyway.

)

Teila, I hope you're able to see improvement with Britney! Is it possible she just misses Cilla? My hens have definitely been more subdued since we lost Stella and the others went broody.

 

[tommysgirl]

Yay, Tommy's Girl!! Such a beautiful picture! (and yes, I've also heard head spots are for roos, but you're used to getting those anyway.

)

Teila, I hope you're able to see improvement with Britney! Is it possible she just misses Cilla? My hens have definitely been more subdued since we lost Stella and the others went broody.

Thanks Liz LOL! With the recent FDA decision that it was OK to ship American chicken to China for processing I have decided to bite the bullet and grow my own meat birds too. I read on a website that a Barred mom and a non barred dad will throw all black girls. The egg mama this chick came from is cuckoo and the daddy is a Delaware so he has a Colombian pattern.

that it hold true here.

Teila: I ma pulling for Britney too...she needs to make a come back like her name sake!

 

[Pooman]

Wow so many chicks, its awesome...

Here is Dot the Darkhorse, I dont think she has been off the nest for a couple of days, she has been fenced of down the end of the coop now as well and food / greens untouched. She has been sitting for almost 5 days now.

And maybe the next broody in another box i setup, GO Trixy lol

 

[Teila]

Hello Team Broody!

I am going to apologise in advance that this is probably going to turn into another novella but I have a lot of catching up to do … Team Broody has been busy over the last day or so! Apologies also if I am a bit out of order and not up-to-date but I am typing as I read threads.

Nice to meet you Carrie!
Yippee another Bantam Mumma!
I am celebrating my first and wonderfully successful broody-hatch, actually just first hatch of any sort, so I am not speaking from experience but totally agree with Liz that everything I have read says to leave the eggs well alone at this stage .. easier said than done, I know! I pretty much left it up to Cilla and did not even candle so was very excited to get 5 from 5.

Fingers crossed for a successful hatch for you in a couple of days and of course, more bubby pictures for Team Broody to oooh and aaah at … lol.

CONGRATULATIONS tommysgirl .. wonderful news. I went to bed with 3 chicks and 2 eggs and woke up to 5 chicks! I so hope you have more bubbies when you wake up. Love the pictures, thank you for sharing .. wooo hooo more Team Broody bubbies!

Hello again Pooman! Two broodies? Good stuff!! Fingers crossed for you also! That is a nice sized set-up you have there.

Thank you all for your best wishes for Britney. I don’t think she is missing Cilla and she still has Dusty for company. When I left this morning she was not very good at all, tail right down, no appetite and diarrhoea, lethargic and basically I did not hold out hope for when I got home. She was so weak she did not even try to jump onto her roost last night and slept on the straw on the floor. I started the antibiotics last night and saw her drink some when I put it in the coop and again twice this morning before I left for work. It was a very emotional bus ride home, excited to see how my bubbies were going but also bracing myself for the worse .. that is how bad she looked. Hubby beat me home and had already let everyone out for a free-range. To my surprise Britney was outside with Dusty, pecking at the dirt. Her tail was still a little drooped and she was not as enthusiastic as she normally is but she has definitely perked up and even took some cheese as a treat … tonight she is back on the roost. I still have no idea what ails her but it looks like the antibiotics may be working .. excuse the grossness, but she even pooped her first reasonably solid poop for a couple of days. I will keep up the antibiotics but I am more hopeful than I have been for a week!!
I have ruled out worms and she does not have any nasal discharge or signs of a chill (our weather has been a bit too warm for that I think) .. could be egg yolk peritonitis? No idea! Ah well, as long as the antibiotics keep working and she gets better I will be over the moon!

Cilla & Co still doing well .. another little scratch and hunt in the garden this afternoon – so cute! Being Silkies they are actually getting fluffier .. tee hee.

I was chatting to a colleague at work today about chickens (funny that! Lol) and she has a relative who has been breeding Silkies for 30 years … she is going to ask her if she would mind helping me with sexing them if I send some photos, she might also be able to assist with ideas on what colours they might become.

I can’t tell you guys and gals how much I love having you to chat to and the support we have been able to give each other has been very special!

Team Broody Rocks!! Bring on the bubby pictures!!

 

[tommysgirl]

The SPW that had a pip yesterday is now a Chick!!!

Also did a little genetics research and I think my black chick is a girl. A boy purebred CA Grey would be quite light. This chick is like coal. Plus since this is a Grey (cuckoo) covered by a Silver (Delaware) The chicks should be sex linked with the boys showing barring at hatch and the girls being solid black like this one. Also looked at a pic of the bio mom of that chick and she had a creamy head dot. So maybe it is just my hopeful heart but I think we have a new little girl at our place.

Picking up two two Dorking Pullets today good chicken day round here!

 

[lizgarf]

Wow, new chicks and pullets all on the same day! What kind of set-up do you have, TG?
For some reason, I can't just be content with my 2 likely-female adorable babies and my 4 currently eggless hens, and I'm thinking of adding some more. The local urban farming store just got in an order of sexed chicks. I'm thinking of sneaking one or two in with the broodies - do you think that would work? They're such good moms, but I don't want to disrupt family harmony.
I've also considered following up on some craigslist ads for laying hens, but I don't want to cause any more stress in the coop, or risk damage to the babies. What do y'all think? I don't really need more than 6 chickens, and more than 8 would be a problem. It's not like new chicks are going to give me eggs any time soon! It's also more than likely that someone will go broody again in the spring, and I could just wait until then . . . but . . .

Teila, I'm glad to hear Britney may be on the mend. That sounds like a serious situation - she's lucky to have you so on top of things.

TG, I thought that the way barring showed itself in chicks was the head spot. Did you learn something else? My info is not necessarily any good, but that was my understanding from what I read.

 

[Teila]

Good morning Team Broody!

Congratulations TG
I gotta say, you gals are keen .. adding babies and pullets! I am being kept on my toes at the moment with babies and poor Britney.

I am at a loss! Any ideas?? I am going to take the plunge and post this in the Emergencies/Sick thread as well ...

Britney, Bantam Leghorn, no idea how old as she was a rush purchase from the produce store when Cilla lost her friend Whitney to a Staph infection; 6 months or so ago :-(

Anyway, Britney has laid one egg since September 19th, it was very small and perfectly round. She seemed healthy and happy, eating well, a poopy bottom for a few weeks that needed washing weekly but she does have lots of butt fluff. Last Saturday, let everyone out as normal, she seemed OK ... mid morning she starts getting lethargic and her tail is drooping. She was moving around a little but appeared to be straining. I let her go until Sunday and as she had not improved, I was thinking she may be egg bound, so I gave her a warm bath for 20 minutes; no change. Couldn't really feel anything that would indicate a stuck egg.
Even though I give them Apple Cider Vinegar with every change of water, I wondered if it could be worms; no evidence in her poop though. PS. Dusty is fine. So Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday I was sprinkling crushed garlic on their food and disolving powdered garlic in their water. No improvement, still going downhill. Thursday I rolled out the big guns and started them on Tetracylcline. I saw her drink some Thursday night and Friday morning. Thursday night she appeared too weak to jump to her roost and slept on the straw. Friday morning I left for work, thinking the worse would happen while I was at work. Get home last night and Joel has let them out for a free range, she is in the garden with Dusty, having a peck around, still a bit lethargic but her tail was not so drooped and she even had some cheese at treat-time! Last night she jumped back up on her roost at bed time.

I got up this morning expecting to see even more improvement and she is back to looking poorly!

Last night she did her first reasonably solid poop for a week, even though it was very small. This morning, the poops under her roost were runny (sorry about the grossness)

I was hoping before she went to bed last night I would see her drink the fresh antibiotic but she went straight to her roost. I can only guess that she drank more this morning when she got up.

So to sum it up:
* No real eggs since September 19, but seemed healthy
* Diarrhoea
* Lethargy
* Her comb has always hung over (big) but it is a very dark red, not bright red like Dusty's
* Loss of appetite

* No obvious discharges
* No breathing difficulties
* Only real signs of straining were on the original Saturday and Sunday

If it was not for the diarrhoea I would say she was sulking/broody except she is not 'nesting'?

Any ideas? I am at a loss. Maybe she perked up because she got a good dose of the antibiotic but hasn't had enough?

 

[lizgarf]

I wish I could offer some help, Teila! I know nothing about chicken ailments. Is there a local vet you could try?
I made myself stay home and not go check out the cute new chicks at the farm store. My little family is doing so well, I really shouldn't mess with fate. I'm sure someone will start laying again soon, or in any case, sooner than a new chick would! I must be careful to not succumb to the lures of chicken math . . .

 

[Teila]

I wish I could offer some help, Teila! I know nothing about chicken ailments. Is there a local vet you could try?
I made myself stay home and not go check out the cute new chicks at the farm store. My little family is doing so well, I really shouldn't mess with fate. I'm sure someone will start laying again soon, or in any case, sooner than a new chick would! I must be careful to not succumb to the lures of chicken math . . .

Thank you Liz
Well done .. good demonstration of self-restraint ... lol

I had a chat to the owner of my local produce store and he is thinking Coccidiosis (stomach bug) and recommends continuation of the antibiotics and maybe some honey-water to perk her up.

 

[coops gone crazy]

Teila- can you try probiotics mixed in yogurt and some scrambled egg? Have you checked for an impacted crop or felt her abdomen to see if it is uncomfortable- like a egg yolk peritonitis?

So- day 20 and I checked on them upon getting home from my 24hr shift this morning. Helen was off nest (think she heard me giving the other chickens scraps and got up but not sure). When I opened the hatch she started to peck at the last 3 remaining eggs! I shooed her a bit and got them some layer pellets and she started eating (they had cleaned up the last of it sometime yesterday- she must have been eating more then she has been). Had to leave all day. Just got home. She is sitting out on the coop floor. Really- day 20 and you quit! Nobody likes a quitter!!! Only hope is the silkie (who hasn't been sitting in the nest for over a week now except at night) was sitting on the eggs when I got home and they were warm. No idea how long they may have sat though. Maybe they aren't good and she knows it. I will try to candle when it gets dark maybe. Hate to move them though- and really it is not going to improve anything,......maybe just help me know what to expect. Sigh. Thinking I will try this again with my wyandott next time she is broody. Helen the handicap is not the best option I think. Ah well.