HELP please! Weak peachicks and 1 has died

[casportpony]

So good to know--too early to tell then. I can't wait to find out what they are. Thank you for the post and the picture.

I have some the same age and I can tell which ones are boys or girls very easily. Maybe someone will post a picture that shows how to tell.

-Kathy

Edited to add:
I can't tell by the coloring, I go by the amount of barring on their back and wings.

 

[zazouse]

Given the way they all died, I would suggest the carpet or something else in the brooder introduced a toxin or parasite. Peas are hard, but not that hard.

We rarely lose peas after the first few days. All of them are on medicated starter. None of our peas really gets grit until they hit the ground and they are getting pellet food before they hit the ground. I think your problem lies elsewhere. I don't think it necessarily hurt them but we are HUGE proponents of no food but chick starter or layer pellets until three or four months. They may get a freshly cut watermelon or cantaloupe but that is it. NO scratch or other foods. I don't want any possible contamination, worms or parasites. The wife and daughter frequently violate this rule with well scrambled eggs. Our theory is why introduce possible issues during the critical age?

I believe the chick starter has grit in it already but I do not have a bag here to read for sure, I just read it on a bag of started along time ago so figured all chick starter has it or should anyhow after all it is grain that they are getting in starter just ground up is all..

PS what is wrong with scrambled eggs? I have fed them to all my birds for years, that is what my chickens are here for so everyone can enjoy the perfect food.

 

[amsunshine]

Good point. I have felt like a powerless imbecile with this whole thing, because I don't know what went wrong, and they died. Being a novice really sucks when things like this happen.

 

[zazouse]

Good point. I have felt like a powerless imbecile with this whole thing, because I don't know what went wrong, and they died. Being a novice really sucks when things like this happen.

I been there too my friend it does suck

but ya know what them hens lay into their teens so there is always next year and looks like ya got a couple raised up pretty good size in the photo

 

[amsunshine]

Aw, thanks Zazouse you are the best! I had no idea they could lay into their teens. There is next year. And you know what? With the other hen I did a little experiment. On Day 8 I put 3 chicken eggs underneath her. Two ended up being infertile, but 1 did hatch and I have a nice pullet out of it now. She goes into the barn at night, and during the day she goes and finds her Mama and siblings and they spend the day all together roaming around. I saw the first night of the day I let them all out of the barn, and it got dusk. The chicken chick couldn't decide to go back in the barn for the night, or roost with Mama and siblings up in the trees. She chose the barn. She's still a chicken. So, well, next year. It'll be a long wait.

Do you just let your peahens stay outside and have their babies? With this one who had two babies, we let her sit outside till hatch day. Then we brought the chicks inside the barn, and Mama followed. We didn't want to lose any to predators. That brood has been free-range now for about 2 weeks.

 

[AugeredIn]

I believe the chick starter has grit in it already but I do not have a bag here to read for sure, I just read it on a bag of started along time ago so figured all chick starter has it or should anyhow after all it is grain that they are getting in starter just ground up is all..

PS what is wrong with scrambled eggs? I have fed them to all my birds for years, that is what my chickens are here for so everyone can enjoy the perfect food.

You are correct about the chick starter and most of the pelletized foods. Grit is included.

There is nothing wrong with feeding WELL cooked eggs back to the birds. It is a fantastic protein source. My point is more that nothing besides starter is required. We all talk about the things that we give our birds. Most of us may know what is safe. A new person will take that information and extrapolate to many other unsafe items. I like to take for new owners to start with nothing else and then work into what is safe and when.

 

[zazouse]

We all talk about the things that we give our birds. Most of us may know what is safe. A new person will take that information and extrapolate to many other unsafe items. I like to take for new owners to start with nothing else and then work into what is safe and when.

Very true and one thing folks need to watch for is feeding treats with to much sodium as birds can not eliminate it like we can and it can be deadly, I thought feeding mine low salt cheese nips way back would be ok till I saw how much sodium was still in them, so I just leave things with salt out of their treat list well except real cheese once in a while.

 

[casportpony]

About the grit in the crumbles, what would it be labeled as? Not that I doubt either of you, I'm just curious and want to see if it's in the crumbles I feed.

-Kathy

 

[AugeredIn]

Kathy on our bags it indicates that no additional calcium or grit is required. I will take a picture of the bag and labels tomorrow.

 

[AugeredIn]

By the way Kathy it is the policy of Nutrena, FRM and a couple of other "big" companies that their layer pellets and crumbles require no grit for digestion. They vary on whether you should provide free choice calcium.