Mama Heating Pad in the Brooder (Picture Heavy) - UPDATE

[Blooie]

@BarredCometLaced - they look ready to take on the world! It's a great start for these little critters,isn't it? I'm always happy when someone takes that leap away from the "accepted" and are pleased with the results!

 

[Mims]

A little update on my chicks. All are happy and thriving, except one tiny Silkie. I ordered 2, and the grey one is growing as fast as the other 29 chicks. This one, though, just isn't thriving.

It had pasty butt for over a week when I first got them. It cries a lot of its waking hours. It eats fine, drinks fine, and stands it's ground with the other chicks. It just won't grow.

Tonight it had pasty butt again. We moved it to a brooder and put it in my daughter's room, and added the other Silkie for company. Not happy. It cries and cried while I was remaking the MHP. I got the pad in there, and folded it over a frame. No dice. It kept crying, wouldn't go near the cave. I remembered the feather duster my daughter bought to play with, and stuck it under the pad/cave. Silkie (whom my daughter named Banana Bus....!!!) worked back into the feathers and has been blissfully silent ever since.

We put the other Silkie back with the rest for tonight. It was very unhappy being separated.

I know it's a no no, but I'm getting a 2 week old Wyandotte tomorrow from a friend, to keep this one company. It is always getting stepped on, and I couldn't take it any more.

Bad pic of Silkie compared to its buddies. Same age.

And his tiny little butt sticking out from the feather duster.

Thank God for all of you who have come up with all of these innovative ideas to make our little chicks lives happier. I appreciate all of you.

Let's hope we can get this little guy (or girl) growing.

 

[azygous]

I suppose I should give you all an update on my MPH reared chicks, too. They're doing well at eight weeks, but all is not hunky-dory.

Two of them are crowing. Yep. No doubt. Boys. As in the masculine gender.

And this is after I took great pains to select breeds that are easily sexed. MPC really, really screwed up. One of the SC Marans and the Cream Legbar are not going to be laying eggs.

This is Sage, a strapping boy. He can barely squeeze through the pen portals, he's now carrying such a wide load. Look at those shoulders.

And Strawberry. He crowed right under my nose yesterday morning, as if to really rub it in. He's not as big as Sage, and loses all their skirmishes.

If you're into the math, that 50% of my chicks ending up being roos, not counting the two that died which were most probably girls. I must have really been bad to be punished like this.

 

[lazy gardener]

Was that 50% roos from MPC? If so, I'd be calling them on their promise of correct sexing percentage. It's especially pathetic, given that those breeds should be sexable from visual inspection alone, don't even require vent sexing.

 

[Blooie]

Was that 50% roos from MPC? If so, I'd be calling them on their promise of correct sexing percentage. It's especially pathetic, given that those breeds should be sexable from visual inspection alone, don't even require vent sexing.

I'll second that!! Totally unacceptable. They did better sexing my Easter Eggers and Buff Orpingtons than they did with your chicks that are much more easily sexed! I'm sorry, my friend.

 

[bruceha2000]

I have NO idea what this is, can't even find anything similar on the web but it was in the house and just caught my eye as a perfect "no mods needed" MHP frame. I THINK it is some sort of "stick into a frame" rack. Thought maybe for a dryer since some have shelves that can hold stuff while the drum turns and hot air is injected but not OUR dryer.

It happens to be 4" high at the front, 14" wide and 17" from the vertical parts to the back. I suppose for more room, the back could be elevated on a 2" high block:

 

[Blooie]

What a FIND!!

 

[Mims]

azygous - please contact them, that sucks! I have a lot of roos to get rid of at some point, but mine are the result of "packing peanuts" and straight run chicks.

 

[azygous]

Was that 50% roos from MPC? If so, I'd be calling them on their promise of correct sexing percentage. It's especially pathetic, given that those breeds should be sexable from visual inspection alone, don't even require vent sexing.

Well, I'm given to hyperbole. Shoot me. The proper percentage is 33% if you go by all half dozen chicks in my MPC order and assume the two that died were both girls. I'm sure the Legbar that failed to thrive, and there's that strike against MPC, too, was female since her wing feathers came in very quickly, unlike Strawberry's, who had wing stubs for well over a week before feathers emerged, pointing to him being male early on, which did make me suspicious at the time. I'm sure he could have been wing-sexed pretty accurately at the hatchery to confirm he wasn't a pullet, if he was ambiguous.

So, not knowing for sure what sex the deceased BCM was, let's say it was male too, out of sheer viciousness on my part, but being male would explain his drive to commit chick suicide, that takes the possible percentage of roos in my order back up to 50%. And I'm sticking to that figure! Darn-nit all!

I did contact them by e-mail, and I'll be following it up with a phone call if I don't receive a reply.

Thanks for the sympathy and emotional support. Godess knows I needed it.

 

[bruceha2000]

Well, I'm given to hyperbole. Shoot me. The proper percentage is 33% if you go by all half dozen chicks in my MPC order and assume the two that died were both girls. I'm sure the Legbar that failed to thrive, and there's that strike against MPC, too, was female since her wing feathers came in very quickly, unlike Strawberry's, who had wing stubs for well over a week before feathers emerged, pointing to him being male early on, which did make me suspicious at the time. I'm sure he could have been wing-sexed pretty accurately at the hatchery to confirm he wasn't a pullet, if he was ambiguous.

So, not knowing for sure what sex the deceased BCM was, let's say it was male too, out of sheer viciousness on my part, but being male would explain his drive to commit chick suicide, that takes the possible percentage of roos in my order back up to 50%. And I'm sticking to that figure! Darn-nit all!

I did contact them by e-mail, and I'll be following it up with a phone call if I don't receive a reply.

Thanks for the sympathy and emotional support. Godess knows I needed it.

I presume they, like other hatcheries, guarantee 90% accuracy? I think if they do worse than that they should be required to take the cockerels back at their expense. Not everyone is going to raise them for food and many, by city code, are not allowed to have roosters.