INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[raisinemright]

Thanks to kabhyper1 for the idea, here are my nesting box's so far. I will add a second layer of boxes on top with a slanted roof.

Added a roost to it also.

 

[Primal Momma]

If there's not a nest nearby, it was probably dropped there by a cat. The chick is as good as gone, sorry. Nothing to do.
If you do find a nest(they can be sneaky) put it back and hope for the best.

There nests nearby but I don't know which one it's from or how to get it back into it... so sad.

 

[kabhyper1]

These two little monsters are hanging out with me today. I figure a nice cold wood floor should kick the broody right out of them. Stinkers were on top of each other in a nest box brooding away. No more chicks right now ladies.

 

[hoosiercheetah]

There nests nearby but I don't know which one it's from or how to get it back into it... so sad.

Indeed. I've tried to save a Lot of baby birds in my time. Unfortunately this is how I know it doesn't work out.

 

[barb s]

Well I can't take it anymore, the chicks have knocked the egg over so the open side is down and I can't see it. And I really need to get the chicks out of there. Since I am here by myself, my plan is to grab a couple of chicks, mist the two pipped eggs shut the lid for a couple minutes and then repeat until chicks are removed then grab the chick that is stuck does this sound ok?

 

[ChickCrazed]

Well I can't take it anymore, the chicks have knocked the egg over so the open side is down and I can't see it. And I really need to get the chicks out of there. Since I am here by myself, my plan is to grab a couple of chicks, mist the two pipped eggs shut the lid for a couple minutes and then repeat until chicks are removed then grab the chick that is stuck does this sound ok?

I would say add as much water as you can as you work to keep the humidity up. I am with you, I would help the chick. I would feel terrible if it died and I could have helped! I am nervous just following your saga today!

 

[kabhyper1]

Barb, I just helped one of mine out. It started as a disaster, but with re-wetting the membrane and pulling back a bit of shell and inner membrane every few hours, she made it. If you do decide to help, dont pull the inner membrane, its full of veins. The veins will recede as the chick absorbs the blood and yolk, but it takes awhile. I accidentally made mine bleed twice helping it. I put some pressure on the bleed with a damp paper towel and she did okay. They are weak if you help them hatch. They dont have the strength built up from hatching when they emerge like a regular chick does, so it takes them longer to do everything. I have mine under a broody, so that may be why she made it. Ive never incubated, so Im not sure in that scenario, how one would do. Good luck! I would say as long as you keep your humidity up, and the chick can breath, if its going to hatch it will. The only help I would give it, would possible helping it to zip around the shell a bit more so it can kick out when its ready. Stay above the air cell line if you do that though. Wrap egg in a damp paper towel, and gently pick just shell above air cell line, along zip line, check for veining in the inner membrane by moistening it with water, If you dont see veins, you can proceed, if you do put it back in incubator and wait another couple hours before trying again.
I would give it a bit more time though before you do that. They can rest for a long time before hatching. Its hard work!

My little stuck nugget...

 

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

Man I sure got rocked by the storms!!! The storm seemed to come out of nowhere (did I miss the predictions or what?!?!?) and went from clear skies to black skies in period of about 10 minutes. It interrupted my deck lattice project with only 3 feet left to do! My type A personality was seriously puckered by that! I got 2.5" of rain last night and am fairly flooded this morning lol! We needed the rain for my poor pasture so I am not really complaining but moderation would be good!!! I introduced some younger babies to my Isbar/Bielefelder coop on Saturday and last night my Isbar roo decided to forgo his usual spot on the roost with his peeps to sleep in the chick pile with the babies! How cute is that! What a cute boy he is!! It was definitely my least drama filled introduction ever, which was nice. They are such docile birds it is amazing and I am excited to have what appears to be a baby-nurturing rooster! My Bielefelders (which are probably pushing 8 lbs already at 12 weeks old) were afraid of the babies and giving them a wide berth. I went out last night to find that one of the new babies, a silkie, had managed to make it through the plastic over the pop door and was cruisen around the run with the Bielefelders! Such a cocky little thing! Hi boys! They are starting to get a lot of bronze saddle and hackle feathers coming in! You can also see my "elegant" wild bird solution in the bottom, a thick plastic car mat from wal-mart (about $2 each) cut into strips and secured over the door. The chickens learn to push through it (that is a chore to teach them!) but the wild birds are too small to do so. This boy will be going to live the life with jchny2000! He is probably the most mellow out of all of them! My neighbor called me this morning and said he saw a baby mink near his barn. He raises tumbler pigeons and has had a whole pen of babies wiped out by the mink last Summer. We are trying to figure out how to handle the situation since they are so hard to catch. Bummer, I never did manage to catch the one in my barn but so far it hasn't been a problem with my chickens. I think he is going to adopt a barn cat or two and see if that will keep them away. That isn't really an option for me with the dogs and the road so close. I am still tackling my many projects but my list is getting smaller which is nice. I am hoping after this next week I can slow down a bit and enjoy the nice weather! A couple more yards of mulch, a bee hive to build and one more run to build and I should be pretty set for a while! I have a few more crops to get in the ground, but a large majority of my planting is done. If only the dang rabbits would stop chewing the tops off my newly planted shrubs!!! I am going to be seriously peeved if they kill them all!! I am going to be trying to figure out how to create chicken wire cages tonight until they get big enough to withstand stupid animals.

I would set a trap down by a river or pond, as mink like water. Mink are no fun to deal with. The things kill for fun frequently. Make sure you got your barn shut up good at night! A mink recently came to my moms house and was sick. She took it inside thinking someone had dropped a ferret off on our porch. It ended up dying later that day and I took it to a fur dealer and he said it was a female mink, but it was out if season so he couldn't buy it from me. I am still making fun if her for that!

 

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

What do I do!!! I just found a baby bird in my newly planted chamomile! Its still mostly pink and the eyes aren't even opening a lot!! Do I move it? I can't just leave it, it will die where it's at. I can't even imagine how it got there as there's no place for a nest even close by. Ahhh help!!

My reply is probably too late, but next time I would bring it inside and nurse it back to health. Lots if fluid. Or take a guess on te best, a generous mother would take t wether it was actually its baby or not. With a bird out of its best it is always a gamble. Don't feel bad

 

[barb s]

Barb, I just helped one of mine out. It started as a disaster, but with re-wetting the membrane and pulling back a bit of shell and inner membrane every few hours, she made it. If you do decide to help, dont pull the inner membrane, its full of veins. The veins will recede as the chick absorbs the blood and yolk, but it takes awhile. I accidentally made mine bleed twice helping it. I put some pressure on the bleed with a damp paper towel and she did okay. They are weak if you help them hatch. They dont have the strength built up from hatching when they emerge like a regular chick does, so it takes them longer to do everything. I have mine under a broody, so that may be why she made it. Ive never incubated, so Im not sure in that scenario, how one would do. Good luck! I would say as long as you keep your humidity up, and the chick can breath, if its going to hatch it will. The only help I would give it, would possible helping it to zip around the shell a bit more so it can kick out when its ready. Stay above the air cell line if you do that though. Wrap egg in a damp paper towel, and gently pick just shell above air cell line, along zip line, check for veining in the inner membrane by moistening it with water, If you dont see veins, you can proceed, if you do put it back in incubator and wait another couple hours before trying again.
I would give it a bit more time though before you do that. They can rest for a long time before hatching. Its hard work!

My little stuck nugget...

Thank you for the info, but I couldn't take it anymore, so I helped her out. She looks like I drowned her. All I did was break away pieces of the shell down along both sides. As soon as I got some broke off she started pushing trying to get out, then after I got down so far she pushed the shell right off.


Here is a picture of her and a picture of a few that I pulled out of the incubator. There was one hatched while I was helping her so she isn't in there alone. They are both taking away to each other. I don't know if I did right by helping or not, but I can't change that now, all I can do is hope that she will survive and that I didn't harm any of the other ones still in there. Thank you every one for your help, it is much appreciated.
By the way Kab, very lovely chick.