INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[jonesfamily6]

Add apple cider vinegar to the water and make certain the bird is warm enough as those are the big cures I've seen for pasty butt. You can also trim feathers around the vent.

It's never a mess around her vent anymore! Just in the feathers. It's the weirdest thing. I have researched and researched. Her skin is fine. Never any blocking of vent. It's in the feathers below and sometimes in the tail feathers I assume from when she puts them down and they touch the feathers below. I did acv for a solid three weeks and offered yogurt and pro bios with absolutely NO change. I even changed from rk brand feed to purina. The other chicks poo got thicker and more formed but fancy pants stayed the same. It's frustrating.

Will you post pictures of your Cayuga and it's egg? I'm curious to see! Puppies are adorable. We have a spoiled rotten 9 mth old Dane.

Sorry about the not so good bator results. And only 1/6 from the store making it! That's crazy. We've been fortunate. We have 40/42 chicks doing good. One of those has a bum leg and is alone trying to heal then this Cochin with the crazy bum. Chicken have been a lot of fun here but it's all new so very exciting. I hope you can feel some good from your two leggeds very soon!

 

[ellymayRans]

It's never a mess around her vent anymore! Just in the feathers. It's the weirdest thing. I have researched and researched. Her skin is fine. Never any blocking of vent. It's in the feathers below and sometimes in the tail feathers I assume from when she puts them down and they touch the feathers below. I did acv for a solid three weeks and offered yogurt and pro bios with absolutely NO change. I even changed from rk brand feed to purina. The other chicks poo got thicker and more formed but fancy pants stayed the same. It's frustrating.

Will you post pictures of your Cayuga and it's egg? I'm curious to see! Puppies are adorable. We have a spoiled rotten 9 mth old Dane.

Sorry about the not so good bator results. And only 1/6 from the store making it! That's crazy. We've been fortunate. We have 40/42 chicks doing good. One of those has a bum leg and is alone trying to heal then this Cochin with the crazy bum. Chicken have been a lot of fun here but it's all new so very exciting. I hope you can feel some good from your two leggeds very soon!

I raise bantam Cochins and no it's not the norm. What are the brooder temps? Because it's fully feathered perhaps brooder temps are too warm. That's definitely a top culprit. It may not be "pasty butt" however the stool not being solid to just drop away from the body is basically the same thing.

It's frustrating for sure but I would cut away those fluffy butt feathers. Good luck and Welcome!!

 

[JanetMarie]

Hi everyone! Out in the Danville area, and I took in my dad's 4 hen and his adopted rooster. I let them wander throughout the yard during the day and I am currently trying to hatch eggs. (We have a rough 90% fertility rate!!!) but. Im getting a LOT of early death. Usually by day 5. :-( Im trying to figure out why this happens and what I can do to fix it. :-(

Someone may be able to help if we have more information about how they are taken care of, and posting a picture of their brooder.

Are the early deaths during incubation, or after hatch?

Are you taking care of them, or broody moms?

What are you feeding them?

Is their brooder too hot?

Are they piling on top of each other?

What are their symptoms before they die?

 

[KlioLynne]

Its during incubation. We bought an incubatorfrom tractor supply because these hens don't go broody. They never have. Im going to able to get pictures today off everyone/everything (hopefully!) I feed the chickens cracked corn and a layered pellet feed we found at TS Co, its the same as my dad was feeding them before. Our first batch in the incubator had been contaminated. :-/ 2 of the eggs went bad and contaminated all the others i think, but we didn't know what we were doing or what to look for. This round, I've learned a lot but the shellsreallyporou porous so its hard for me to see when Im candling the eggs. So Im thinking it might be a calcium issue. Its been 27 eggs over the last 2 months and no one hatched. :-( the temp stays at 100° and I keep the humidity around 65%

 

[JanetMarie]

Its during incubation. We bought an incubatorfrom tractor supply because these hens don't go broody. They never have. Im going to able to get pictures today off everyone/everything (hopefully!) I feed the chickens cracked corn and a layered pellet feed we found at TS Co, its the same as my dad was feeding them before. Our first batch in the incubator had been contaminated. :-/ 2 of the eggs went bad and contaminated all the others i think, but we didn't know what we were doing or what to look for. This round, I've learned a lot but the shellsreallyporou porous so its hard for me to see when Im candling the eggs. So Im thinking it might be a calcium issue. Its been 27 eggs over the last 2 months and no one hatched. :-( the temp stays at 100° and I keep the humidity around 65%

It takes a little learning for incubation success. Re-read the instructions that came with the incubator. I have a Little Giant model 9200 with the heating coil that goes around the perimeter. Still air, with a turning tray. The newer models have the heating unit just in the center and when I tried that one, the temperature difference was as much as 5 degrees in different places. Adding a fan may have helped, but I took that one back and exchanged it for the last older model.

You can do everything right, and not have good results if the eggs are not good quality. The parents need a good diet, free range time, eggs before incubation need to be stored properly.

What type of thermometer/hydrometer are you using?

 

[Finnie]

Its during incubation. We bought an incubatorfrom tractor supply because these hens don't go broody. They never have. Im going to able to get pictures today off everyone/everything (hopefully!) I feed the chickens cracked corn and a layered pellet feed we found at TS Co, its the same as my dad was feeding them before. Our first batch in the incubator had been contaminated. :-/ 2 of the eggs went bad and contaminated all the others i think, but we didn't know what we were doing or what to look for. This round, I've learned a lot but the shellsreallyporou porous so its hard for me to see when Im candling the eggs. So Im thinking it might be a calcium issue. Its been 27 eggs over the last 2 months and no one hatched. :-( the temp stays at 100° and I keep the humidity around 65%

65% during incubation will leave too much liquid in the eggs, and the chicks will drown when they try to hatch. But it sounds like yours are not even reaching hatching stage. I have found that my hens who lay porous eggs, never have chicks grow in them. They are either infertiles or early deaths (blood rings).

One suggestion would be to eliminate the cracked corn from their diet. It's basically diluting the layer feed you are giving them, so the net effect is, they are eating less calcium, and less of other nutrients. Cracked corn is more for a snack, say a handful or two per day, for the whole flock. If you improve their diet, that should not only improve their eggshells, but make stronger babies with a better chance of surviving.

(BTW, I incubate with RH in the 20s or 30s, and then crank it up to 65 for lockdown.)

I hope some of this info might be helpful to you. Good luck!

 

[JanetMarie]

65% during incubation will leave too much liquid in the eggs, and the chicks will drown when they try to hatch. But it sounds like yours are not even reaching hatching stage. I have found that my hens who lay porous eggs, never have chicks grow in them. They are either infertiles or early deaths (blood rings).

One suggestion would be to eliminate the cracked corn from their diet. It's basically diluting the layer feed you are giving them, so the net effect is, they are eating less calcium, and less of other nutrients. Cracked corn is more for a snack, say a handful or two per day, for the whole flock. If you improve their diet, that should not only improve their eggshells, but make stronger babies with a better chance of surviving.

(BTW, I incubate with RH in the 20s or 30s, and then crank it up to 65 for lockdown.)

I hope some of this info might be helpful to you. Good luck!

@KlioLynne This is good advice on food. If eggs are porous, you can incubate with higher humidity, just keep an eye on the air sac when candling, and decrease humidity if the air cell stays too small. That's what I did with porous eggs last year received in the mail, and had a successful hatch. What's better though is to change their food, and incubate eggs that are not so porous.

 

[hbrown322]

I put my two hens together last night. And there were no injuries this morning. The fighting did begin shortly after they got up and moving. I had to separate them again as Nugget made Waffles bleed on her comb. It wasn't too bad of a wound and I sprayed her with vetricyn. But I don't want them together all day while I'm at work in case a more serious injury occurs. I'll try again this afternoon!

 

[Nyla]

Anyone in North Western Indiana near Chicago wanting to order from Metzer Farms? I only want 2 White Chinese Female Geese, and I hate for the cost of shipping to be wasted for only 2 goslings.

 

[flyladyrocks]

This is so funny! A must see when you have a broody hen!