New babies :o)

[HandsOffMyHens]

We have four new Easter Eggers ,two austra white and a barred rock; all ordered from Meyers. The barred rock and one easter egger are supposed to be males as we had to cull our roo. He turned into a mean little bugger and wasn't even nice to the hens. He chased them away from the food and when he tried to climb on them they pretty much cleaned his clock for him. He was a little guy and they are standards. He probably weighed a whole pound and had a Napolean complex like you wouldn't believe. So glad he is gone. The hens have been much happier and calmer.Can't wait for these cute little fluff balls to mature.

 

[AmoPullam]

I think that chicks are the cutest of all God's creation.

 

[DustyDawgy]

Hi! I remember when I got my chicks. They were so cute! Good Luck with your little guys and girls!

 

[HandsOffMyHens]

Aw. Two of the chicks got too far from the others and the heat. I think they got a chill or maybe they were weak or injured during shipping. We found them lying limp away from the other chicks and they felt very cold. Our brooding pen was likely far too big for day old chicks. I haven't raised any brand new chicks before. Both are still breathing for now.
We put them all back in the smaller shipping box they came in, except the two limp babies. I put them under my shirt and held them until they felt a little warmer. I put some hot water in a small plastic bottle and slid that inside a sock. I placed it in the shipping container and set a small heating pad over the top. The chicks all snuggled up to the hot water bottle and one of the two limp babies (one of my EEs!) came around and seemed a little stronger. The austra white is sleeping very deeply snuggled up to the heat but at least she is breathing. Hopefully they will bounce back in the morning. We aren't too optimistic about the austra white. She was standing away from the others with her eyes shut when we opened the box and wasn't lively at all. Ugh. Now I remember why I prefer to just let the mommas raise the chicks.

 

[HandsOffMyHens]

The little austra white didn't make it through the night. The EE chick is warm and standing on her feet but she still stands in a squatting position with her eyes closed. She didn't show any interest in the food or water like the other chicks so we just dipped our fingers in the water and let her swallow the drops at the tip. We did the same thing with a little egg yolk to try to get some nutrients in her. I'm not sure how effective it will be in the long run but all we can do is try.

 

[DustyDawgy]

I hope that your chicks will get better! I don't think that it was your fault, the coldness thing, as I raised 4 chicks in a 6ft by 3ft container, but it was in my room. The chicks were 3-4 days old when we got them, and there were no fatalities.

 

[HandsOffMyHens]

We lost the EE as well others seem okay right now though.

 

[HandsOffMyHens]

Two other easter eggers died about 24 hours apart. They are running around fine during the day then seem to go to sleep a bit earlier than the others and in the morning we find another dead chick. I'm so frustrated and disheartened by this. They were all vaccinated. We did see round worms in the poop but I doubt that is what is killing them. Meyers suggested D Earth for the worms. I'm not buying hatchery chicks ever again. Ill stick with buying local pullets and adults and letting our girls hatch their own. So aggravated beyond words right now.

 

[realsis]

Im so very sorry for your losses. Do you think the chick's are weakened from the shipping or do you think it could have been something else like coccidosis. Signs of cocci are chick's get puffed up (ruffled feathers) they become letherhic and very sleepy. Will sit with eyes closed. Bloody poo may or may NOT be present with cocci depending on the strain. You mentioned they were vaccinated. Was that for coccidosis too? I'm sorry you had such a awful expirence with the hatchery. Will they replace your lost chicks? I've never ordered from a hatchery myself I usually order from breeders. By Gods grace I've always had great luck with the chick's from breeders. Maybe it was just that particular hatchery? Did you make them aware of your losses? Again I'm very sorry. I would think they would replace them for you but I'm not sure. So sorry things went so badly. .

 

[clairegareth]

Quick question please I am currently incubati.g my first batch,,,when they are old enough after the brooder do they gotta be kept seperate from our other hens and up until what age thanks