Kentucky people

[shelleyd2008]

I know you too well, you'll see something you have to have!! ladrifter was wanting some black cochins, maybe he'll take it? I didn't say I wouldn't take it, I just don't have any birds you'd like

How is the feathering on your chick's feet? The ones I got last week were okay, but the ones I got today??

OMG, they look like they have socks on!! I can't believe how much feathering they have on their feet! The two little silkies I have aren't very good, my 'possibly breeder' quality whites have more feathering on their feet, but Cris loves his fluffies!! They are pretty cute. I told him last night that the 2 in the brooder from his girls have their mama's butts.

 

[Mojo Chick'n]

Quote:
This one has a lot of feathering on it. Can't even see the middle toe at all.

Maybe if it's a girl I'll keep it around just for comedy effect in the yard.

They had so many chicks in the bin that I looked at heads, not feet, and figured I had grabbed another australorp. Didn't even notice the feet til I had it home for awhile

 

[estpr13]

I have posted this question on egg laying behaviors but thought I'd post it here as well.

I have a NH broody hen who has hatched at least 3 chicks so far and is still sitting tight. Yesterday I noticed that she had a very small comb compared to all the other hens.

My question(s) is: is this a characteristic of a broody? (having a smaller comb from more estrogen)/
or could it be from a result of not eating much for the last three weeks?(depletion of fatty reserves)/
or could this just be the way she has always been?

Could those of you who have broody hens do a check just to see and compare?

I will take a picture and compare it to another pic I take in about 6 to 8 weeks to see if it gets larger just to rule out option # 2.

 

[Mojo Chick'n]

Quote:
Just read this and it's too late tonight, but I can check tomorrow. I'll check Miss Piggy, cause the other broody is a pea comb anyway (Brahma girl).

Miss Piggy, I think, is a red sexlink hen - she's not RIR or New Hampshire (I have a NH Redhen that went broody and hatched some eggs, though.)

 

[estpr13]

Thanks Mojo, I don't think anyone else really cares... I must have requested something really weird because I only have one response besides yours and it was that the comb got lighter but not smaller. Which is okay but was her's smaller than all others of her breed? Oh well...

I went to check on my broody and she was on the floor (deep litter) with two of the babies and there were three other babies still on the nest. One was apparently dead but not rigor morticed yet just cold, unmoving, not breathing. So I took the two shivering and cheeping chicks from the nest and put them on the floor with broody and she took them in.

I collected fresh eggs and put them in my shirt pocket. Then started to collected the other 9 eggs that she had been setting on as well as the "dead chick" I ended up sitting on the floor talking on the phone for about 15 minutes with it laying on my leg. Then when the call was over I ended up wallowing it around while collecting the 9 eggs, and when I started back upstairs the chick moved. I think I squeezed it between my palm and an egg. But it was a definate jerk.

I put the eggs away, dipped its beak in water and it swallowed. So I put it inside my shirt on my tummy until it started to move every now and then. (I was watching TV.) When it seemed to get better I took it back down and put it under the broody. I hope it continues to improve, it was still very weak.

Shelleyd is correct again in that you shouldn't give up on newly hatched chicks that appear dead without rigor mortice.

All five of the hatched chicks were black. Two were all black and three had white tummies and wingtips. The black and whites are probably pure JGs. The "dead chick" is all black with a tint of red on its head fuzz.

I put food down in front of the broody and water a little farther away after giving her a drink. She seemed to be thankful for the food and water but didn't budge from where she was sitting. She tried to intice the chicks to eat by doing the rooster thing of picking up pieces and making the food sound and dropping the piece of food. But so far the chicks were not interested yet.

I had 15 of 16 of the Dark Cornish to hatch. At least two of them had not fully absorbed their yokes. perhaps three. The one that was the worst is still alive but very weak and is the only Dark Cornish still in the bator.

I had put most of the Dark Cornish chicks into a brooder and found one had died from some unknown cause. And it was one of the bigger ones. It was stiff as a board, and I had checked on them only a few hours prior. The rest are doing fine.

I only had 8 of the 11 Silkies to hatch. They are much smaller so most of them are still in the bator as well.

I will wait another day or two on the remaining 4 eggs to see if I get a late hatch or two. I've not had much luck on late hatches tho...

 

[FrChuckW]

I checked my broody and her comb has gone pale sitting on the eggs, and her sister is also going broody now with her it seems as her comb has also lightened up. Aside from slight color pattern differences the only way I could tell who was who was the differences in their combs. One had a smaller one than the other.

 

[Ol'FashionHen]

My broody hen's comb is pale too, and my silkie decided to sit yesturday.... for serious this time (she's been practicing for a couple of weeks but as soon as I would open the door she would bolt out with the rest of the gang) so hopefully it won't become too contagious cause I just started to sell eggs

 

[Mojo Chick'n]

Checked Miss Piggy - comb is pale, but didn't get smaller than it was before (I had pics of her before). Since she is "one of a kind" around here, I can't compare her to other girls of her same breed.

Not much help, am I ?

BUT - Estpr13 - you mentioned the caponizing thing - just read all there was on here (which aint much, but it peaked my interest).
If I can get those leftover chicks for less than 46 cents each for 110 of them, I could do pretty well in the food thing around the farm with those if I could learn to caponize the boys. This would also solve my aversion to the Cornish Cross and allow a more sustainable farm food production.

I've had those 5 Cornish X chicks for less than two weeks - already I had to seperate them from the layer chicks cause they were getting picked bloody because they are too stupid and big to move out of everyone's way when the others want to eat or drink. Their tails were the first to go. When I tried to put Blukote on them, they shook and wiggled, so I now am sporting lovely Bluekote splatter tattoos on both hands.

Hmmm, I'm wondering if I got good at it if there's much of a market around here for "capons on the wing - grow your own big a$$ chicken for Sunday dinner"

I'm also wondering if Eli knows of any of the Amish who might do this and could show me how (I love books and could work it out, but a visual thing would be fantastic).

Heck, I've done dentistry on myself (I even sewed up a stab wound on my own leg once - I also have an aversion to doctors and dentists

) I could do chicken surgery!!

I need to look on ebay and see if I can find me one of those kits....

eta - found none on ebay, but I found some retail - cheapest was about 34 bucks plus ship - not too bad, really, on prices.

I wonder if the County Extension Office would have info on caponizing.....

 

[estpr13]

Mojo Chick'n :

Checked Miss Piggy - comb is pale, but didn't get smaller than it was before (I had pics of her before). Since she is "one of a kind" around here, I can't compare her to other girls of her same breed.

Not much help, am I ?

BUT - Estpr13 - you mentioned the caponizing thing - just read all there was on here (which aint much, but it peaked my interest).
If I can get those leftover chicks for less than 46 cents each for 110 of them, I could do pretty well in the food thing around the farm with those if I could learn to caponize the boys. This would also solve my aversion to the Cornish Cross and allow a more sustainable farm food production.

I've had those 5 Cornish X chicks for less than two weeks - already I had to seperate them from the layer chicks cause they were getting picked bloody because they are too stupid and big to move out of everyone's way when the others want to eat or drink. Their tails were the first to go. When I tried to put Blukote on them, they shook and wiggled, so I now am sporting lovely Bluekote splatter tattoos on both hands.

Hmmm, I'm wondering if I got good at it if there's much of a market around here for "capons on the wing - grow your own big a$$ chicken for Sunday dinner"

I'm also wondering if Eli knows of any of the Amish who might do this and could show me how (I love books and could work it out, but a visual thing would be fantastic).

Heck, I've done dentistry on myself (I even sewed up a stab wound on my own leg once - I also have an aversion to doctors and dentists

) I could do chicken surgery!!

I need to look on ebay and see if I can find me one of those kits....

eta - found none on ebay, but I found some retail - cheapest was about 34 bucks plus ship - not too bad, really, on prices.

I wonder if the County Extension Office would have info on caponizing.....

Oh nooo.... Sorry Mojo it seems that I have set you off again.

Did you see the post by the Chineese guy who is a capon trained person? The guy uses his bare feet to hold down the chick and then cuts the chick sticks in tweasers pulls out the testes and it appears to sew a stich then toss the bird away all in about 5 seconds.

Had I tried it without seeing that vidieo and just following the instructions from my capon kit then it would have been a major operation taking about 3 minutes of carefully tormenting the bird into exhaustion. Unintentionally of course, but still I would have tried to make everything just so and the poor bird would have been paniced the whole time. The way he was doing it, he was finished before the bird knew what was happening.

If you haven't seen the vidio let me know an I will go looking for it.

I use to work with a guy who's wife is a Phillippino nurse. She use to make money to put herself through nursing school by sewing up wounded cocks at cock fights. (in the Phillippines) A lot of people really liked her and paid good bucks to get their chickens cared for by her. Chicken surgery.

Hum... perhaps I should deleat that last paragraph. I can see it now... woman arrested at cock fight treating wounded birds.

 

[estpr13]

Howdy Ol'fashionhen. Sorry I didn't acknowledge you, and thanks for the input on your broody.

I was just supprised by how much smaller the comb was on my broody than on the other two New Hampshire hens who have not gone broody or any of the other hens who have never gone broody.

Thanks too to FrChuckW for your input.