Hatching with 2 broodies

[ItalyChickie]

Awwww the baby and the mom are precious!!!

I hope to have some family pics today too (have been peeking in on Bonnie since 5.30 am - she thinks I've gone crazy to stalk her like that, and all seems well and I often see a few chicks out at a time, I'll wait a bit longer when the sun is in that area so it's not so dark).

It's funny you should ask about the tip on the beak, I had actually researched it with my last ones because it was very obvious on one of the chicks, and others were pecking at it - I think it's the egg tooth that they use to zip, it should disappear in a day or two.

Yay for Dot's egg and no broo-ha-ha! (love the term, can I borrow it?) Somehow I think the two might be related.. Dot's hormones back to normal or something like that?

The chicks you see close up in the photos are Cochins (standard size), should be blue-black-splash, though I see mostly black. Those little furry footed penguins just melt my heart! The blonde ones are buff Orpingtons, and there should be some other colored Orps as well, pretty sure there is a lavender or two somewhere, will see if I can capture them today. The Orps and Cochins look pretty much the same, the only difference is foot feathering.

 

[Teila]

Hey there Team

I posted this one in Emergencies and popping it in here for your thoughts also .......

Dusty is a 15 month old Bantam Langshan who has not laid an egg for 2-3 months due to a hard molt which she appears to have finished; nicely feathered up again.

3 days ago she started squatting again and I thought an egg may be on the way soon. I commented earlier today how red her comb was in comparison to her broody friend. She has a beautiful shine and appears healthy.

Today she was running around the garden quite happily with everyone else, eating and drinking and then all of a sudden, she started looking not 'right'; walking slowly; her poop is a little runny but not too bad, right colour, no blood. She went into the run and ignored everyone else. She hid under the nest box for a while and then stood in the run 'growling'. She was pecking the ground around her but not moving much. She was standing, not laying down, but looked sleepy. As mentioned, she was eating and drinking OK and while she did not come out from under the nest box when I called her for treats, she still took a meal worm from my hand and ate it.

She is not broody and is sort of acting 'spooked' but everyone else is fine and not spooked. She has gone off to bed now but she was still 'growling'.

They were all wormed on 05/05/2014.

I can't really pinpoint anything else but knowing how quickly chickens can go downhill, I am getting onto this one early.

Any thoughts?

 

[ItalyChickie]

I really wish I could help Teila, but no ideas whatsoever! Is it possible that she was indeed spooked by something that others didn't see..? Or ate something that didn't agree with her? Those are the only things that come to mind for the all of a sudden change, I would think with anything else it would be more gradual, but I know next to nothing about identifying what ails them, unfortunately.

Hope she is all better in the morning!

 

[threequarter]

Well molly finally got them hatched. All five were fertile, one was runty and didn't make it, and one was dead in the egg two days after the rest hatched. Not the best results, but I'm happy they had some success. I now have another hen sitting on eleven, I didn't know they were there until I noticed the hen missing this week. Hopefully I'll get at least 60% survival on these. I'm up to my ears in eggs, the wife is at her mom's bumming two more cartons as we've run out again.

 

[ItalyChickie]

I finally have a headcount! We have 7 Orps - 4 buff, 2 blue, and 1 lavender, and 6 penguins... I mean Cochins, all of which have black and blue and yellow fuzz in different degrees (not sure if that means some are blue, or if they are all black... happy to wait and see!)

Warning - cuteness overload below.

Group shot - I actually got everyone in this shot! (it was really hot over here today, which is a good thing or I never would have managed to catch them all not under her)



Bonnie says: "Are you all under there yet???"



A few close ups:

 

[Teila]

Aaaaw IC .. cuteness overload is right! They are adorable

Congratulations!

I am pleased to say, that while definitely not 100% Dusty seems improved.

She was up and about in the run this morning and was scratching the ground and preening which she was not doing yesterday.

Her appetite appears OK and she had some FF and household scraps for breakfast washed down with some water (ACV included).

While not as solid as normal, her overnight poops were improved on yesterday. She still seems a little 'tentative' in her movements and not as feisty as she normally is.

As mentioned, I am not positive that she is back to normal and sadly could not watch her for as long as I would have liked due to work; but luckily now I work from home, I will be able to keep an eye on her throughout the day.

I still need to check her vent and will be interested to see how she goes on the supervised free range this afternoon.

Maybe she is working up towards that first post-molt egg or as you suggested she ate something in the garden yesterday that did not quite agree or she may have seen something that the others did not.

I will keep you posted with updates.

 

[ShelbyCoral]

So Im back broodies! I see a ton of pictures!! FLUFFY BUTTS! My chick with the wry neck fell into the pen (we had her up high in a box but she managed to jump out!) overnight! Did not expect that to happen. She didnt like to be alone. She was great looking in the morning though! Her neck is fine and she sleeps and walks great! She needed to be dropped xD! My twin chick egg is still growing....

 

[ZoeS95423]

I have a black bantam Cochin who is noe sitting on 8 guinea eggs and 2 chicken eggs. She has been trying to hatch for awhile noe and decided to let her.
I have a question though, my nest boxes are about 3 foot off the ground. When the babies hatch will they get hurt jumping out?
My boyfriend who has had broodies hatch eggs tells me no. Because that's how hr has always done it and has never lost a baby, and as a child I always remember having the chickens hatch them out in a nest box about the same height off the floor.
Should I take any extra precautions? Like put some extra shavings down or something for their fall?

 

[Teila]

I have a black bantam Cochin who is noe sitting on 8 guinea eggs and 2 chicken eggs. She has been trying to hatch for awhile noe and decided to let her.
I have a question though, my nest boxes are about 3 foot off the ground. When the babies hatch will they get hurt jumping out?
My boyfriend who has had broodies hatch eggs tells me no. Because that's how hr has always done it and has never lost a baby, and as a child I always remember having the chickens hatch them out in a nest box about the same height off the floor.
Should I take any extra precautions? Like put some extra shavings down or something for their fall?

Hi Zoe

I had similar concerns to yourself with my second hatch who, while not 3 ft off the ground, still had a ramp to negotiate to the ground and platform it was attached to to drop off. Hubby constructed a free standing 'shelf' which we positioned on the underside of the ramp so if they fell off the platform or ramp it was onto the shelf and then another small drop to the ground if so inclined. I put some straw down as a precaution and soft landing also. The shelf worked wonders!

Good luck with your hatch and please share some pictures with us

It does not take them long to work out the ramp. This picture gives a bit of an idea of what I mean:

 

[Teila]

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