NY chicken lover!!!!

[Karin J.]

Good morning, all. I need your help. We lost 2 chicks yesterday morning. No idea how. They were in a brooder pen with thier mama the night before, and come morning they were not. No signs of distress. No blood, feathers, mama loooks fine. This is odd, because I hadn't held them in 2 weeks because thier mama went C-R-A-Z-Y... hissing & scratching& flying up at my face. So, I don't think anything got in. I know they could squeeze out, but didn't think they would go far. My best guess is they snuck out while Mama was sleeping and something got them. OK, I don't think any of you will have an answer for this but I promised my daughter I'd ask... as she was sobbing herself to sleep last night I tried to console her saying all my BYC friends had lost a chicken or two at some time and we were lucky to still have 12 blah, blah, blah. she said, "Can you ask for advice on that site?". I told her I could. She said, "Could you please ask how to make me feel better when my heart is broken and all I can think about is those two helpless babies?" So, I'm asking. This is the hardest part of having pets. My daughter is nine, and overly sensitive. Any suggestions? By the way, the Mother hen (oddly enough) doesn't seem bothered at all that her chicks are gone.

Karin


p.s. I do realise that I should have had them more secure. Am not asking advice on safety. will definately do things differently next time around.

 

[jerseygirl1]

You know, I don't know myself, but my chicks are now at about two weeks old, and have started flying out fo the brooder just this morning. Could they have 'flown the coop'? Is that possible? How old were they? I am so sorry, and your poor little girl,,,,,,,,,,,how heartbreaking. When hens are asleep, you could walk right up to them and they would never know it. So, it is possible something got them and mommy hen just was so sound asleep just didn't realize it.

 

[rcentner]

I am sorry for the loss of your 2 chicks...if that's the case. I assumed you looked all over for them. I would guess that they would be makin all sorts of noise if they were just lost.
I was surprised when I had my 1st chicks that they could squeeze through the chicken wire, it almost seems impossible that they were ever that small! My broody hen did a terrible job protecting her chicks. She always put herself 1st.
I have heard of rodents eating chicks and wonder if they snuck in at night and took them away. I don't remember what it was, but I read a post on here once that talked about an animal that will stash chicks and this person found one or 2 hidden by this predator. look everywhere and maybe you will find one, but if not, I am sorry. I have lost birds and it seems we always learn something about what we could have done to better protect them when we do.
I hope you don't have to deal with another loss anytime soon.

 

[rancher hicks]

Karin J. :

Good morning, all. I need your help. We lost 2 chicks yesterday morning. No idea how. They were in a brooder pen with thier mama the night before, and come morning they were not. No signs of distress. No blood, feathers, mama loooks fine. This is odd, because I hadn't held them in 2 weeks because thier mama went C-R-A-Z-Y... hissing & scratching& flying up at my face. So, I don't think anything got in. I know they could squeeze out, but didn't think they would go far. My best guess is they snuck out while Mama was sleeping and something got them. OK, I don't think any of you will have an answer for this but I promised my daughter I'd ask... as she was sobbing herself to sleep last night I tried to console her saying all my BYC friends had lost a chicken or two at some time and we were lucky to still have 12 blah, blah, blah. she said, "Can you ask for advice on that site?". I told her I could. She said, "Could you please ask how to make me feel better when my heart is broken and all I can think about is those two helpless babies?" So, I'm asking. This is the hardest part of having pets. My daughter is nine, and overly sensitive. Any suggestions? By the way, the Mother hen (oddly enough) doesn't seem bothered at all that her chicks are gone.

Karin


p.s. I do realise that I should have had them more secure. Am not asking advice on safety. will definately do things differently next time around.

I've got 3 broodies in the coop and they have been hatching since last friday. the thing is the chicks have been getting out of the nest and the momma's havent' cuz they got more eggs to hatch. So we've been scooping them up and putting them in a brooder. Leaving mom to continue to hatch.
Got anothe whose chick got out and was screaming. She's in a box set up for her to brood, but the chicks got through the wire front.

Your chicks may be around hiding.

I had one yesterday that was in the middle of the yard and I was sure a crow would swoop down and get it.​

 

[Omani]

to your family. We all feel terrible for you and your daughter. Everyone here has been through it. My best advice to your daughter is to help out with any other chickens ( or other animals) you have. Keeping the mind busy will easy the heart ache for a while. But there should be one rule: no one is allowed to be sad or cry around those animals. I'm sure she doesn't want to make them sad, too.Tell her that the mamma hen doesn't have time to be bothered by the two missing chicks because she has so many others to take care of, and she can't do that if she's sad all the time. So we need to be brave for the sake of the others. Only time and another hatch with cure a broken heart.
Take care.

 

[thetajmahalcoop]

I am so sorry for your loss!

it sucks losing chickens/chicks!

This morning, while I was trying to sleep in, the guineas woke me up with their "alarm" screaming, sure enough, we had caught our 3rd fox of the spring in a leg trap. He died eating the rotten carcass of my dear turkey hen that one of the other foxes killed a few weeks ago! GROSS! I am sooooo glad we have had our chickens fenced in the last few weeks otherwise I would have lost more chickens this morning before he found the rotten carcass! I lost a cornish cross poult today and told DH to put it where the leg trap is so we can keep killing these darn foxes!

I went to the coop this afternoon to check on the broodies and found my first guinea baby!!!!!! I am sooooo excited, was starting to give up hope that any of them would hatch out! Philbee also emailed me today and said the guinea eggs I gave him hatched out today today, they took 28 days he said. HOOORAY!

I've been using the broodies in the coop as a "dryer" for a day after they hatch out babies, then giving them to my bantam mommy on the porch for a few days so she can teach them how to eat and drink, then transferring them to the bathtub brooder with everyone else. This has been working out great for me so far.

Hope everyone else is doing well....can someone PLEASE tell me where in Batavia the auction was at????? PLEASE????????

Night Night
amy

 

[rancher hicks]

Quote:
Well, I've got him with some EE's that lay nice green and blue eggs and one wheaten ameraucana pullet that lays a minty green/blue egg (she's also from chicken stalker)mind you she has white/brown legs and isn't considered up to standard. Fair warning! lol If you're interested lemme know, be glad to help out. Umm, I was wrong on the lockdown date, thank god for calendars, tomorrow is lockdown!

But at least the hatcher is up to temp and humidity!

ETA-the eggs in my avatar are what the girls are laying.

What's that about white brown legs?.

 

[Sachasmom]

Are they slate colored? I'd have to go look at the standard to see what color the Wheaton's are supposed to have?

 

[trilyn]

Quote:
Yes, you guys, the wheaton ameraucana is not up to the standard. She has whitish brown legs-not slate colored, but lays a minty/blue green egg. The only thing wrong with this bird is her leg color. Otherwise, if you look at her from the legs up she looks like a regular old wheaten ameraucana. This is why chicken stalker culled them from her breeding flock, she didn't want to pass on the leg color. But, I also said that in my first post about this, never was trying to mislead anyone!

Just to be absolutely clear, the Lavender Ameraucana Roo and the EE's, and the not to standard wheaten pullet, are obviously a cross and would not be showable. But if you're looking for cute chicks that will eventually lay a colored egg-what color is anyone's guess(I'm thinking in the blue/green range myself). At least that's what the hens are laying, these would make a nice addition-but right now I'm just hoping they hatch!

This is a picture of the wheaten pullet's identical "twin". The wheaten I'm talking about looks exactly like this one.

 

[trilyn]

Quote:
Well, I've got him with some EE's that lay nice green and blue eggs and one wheaten ameraucana pullet that lays a minty green/blue egg (she's also from chicken stalker)mind you she has white/brown legs and isn't considered up to standard. Fair warning! lol If you're interested lemme know, be glad to help out. Umm, I was wrong on the lockdown date, thank god for calendars, tomorrow is lockdown!

But at least the hatcher is up to temp and humidity!

ETA-the eggs in my avatar are what the girls are laying.

What's that about white brown legs?.

Tim, she's not up to the standard. That's why I mentioned that, trying to be completely honest here!