***OKIES in the BYC III ***

[artsyrobin]

she didn't make it, darn! she was a pretty little thing!

5 seramas have hatched, one i put in the bator, he is having a hard time the shell is stuck to his bum, not sure on working it loose or giving him some time? i am guessing the latter?

 

[jcatblum]

Robin sorry you lost her. The shell could be stuck to the one in the bator. I use a warm wash cloth & work it off. Keep a bowl of warm water next to you while you are working on it. I must the other eggs with a spray bottle when I open the hatcher. Not saying it is the correct procedure, just what we do here.

 

[artsyrobin]

ok, off to help the little one- thanks Christina!!

 

[Ksane]

Mitzi how many chicken yards do you have??? We have 4 pens that are large & always have birds of some kind in them & 5 moveable coops that are all empty!!!! I use the portable coops for breading pens & grow out or quaretine.
Poor Taron went back out with her insulated hunting coveralls & gloves on. When she game back in she asked if she could get a face mask for Christmas.

Well everyone I've hatched this year has their own yard or pen so it ends up seeming like a lot. I did just add some up, there's 6 50x50 or bigger yards (but 1 is empty for the Brabanters whose eggs haven't even been LAID yet

) and 12 8x8 or 10x10 roofed pens plus the Spitz's and an Araucana boy each have their pens plus a 10x15 yard. Each yard or pen obviously needs their own coop, too. So that's what gets time consuming. I had built a few 4x8x6' tall coops that I really like. But there's a guy that sells huge dog houses down the road that are really well built so I started buying them if there's only 3 or 4 birds in a yard. I want to put the doghouses on 4x4's. The Orpington yard still needs a 5x10 coop built, I thought we'd have that done this week but don't. They still fit in a 4x4 doghouse with a latched door at night though.
It's kept this year's hatches all incredibly healthy by raising them separate and keeping them that way. My husband looked disappointed when he asked what I wanted for Xmas and I said another 10x10x6 dog kennel lol

 

[mjgigax]

I

Robin, I'd be doing the same you are for the Silkie girl, I hope she makes it through ok.
The Sebrights & Spitzhaubens I got recently all had quite a case of roundworms (probably other kinds that couldn't be seen also). Super super common with birds. I've wormed them twice now with Valbazen and they're plumping up and getting nice red color back. So maybe it's something as simple as worms with your girl. Adults don't usually show many signs but it hits younger ones hard, even common worms like roundworms.
I lost my best colored Mille Fleur hen today.

She was so pretty. I have had 3 girls go down , stop eating, and nothing I did helped! I wormed them with Wazine. maybe it was too rough? How is Valbazen?
Sheesh, I practically get down on my knees and thank God for my Spitz's every night when I lock them up

I love them so much and am so happy to have them. All these guys I've gotten and hatched this year and last mean so much to me. I'm going to make the Brabanters a super special coop and yard! Way super excited about them!
I am starting to really like my La Fleche too. Plus, I already love my Wheaten Ameraucanas. I am sure nothing will replace Cochins at the top of my heart though.

Christina, pea soup sounds soooo good! My husband is the cook in the family, I wish I was more interested in cooking.
Erin, I'm so sorry for your loss. We haven't yet caught the cat that killed 4 of mine in recent months. We lock them all up tight every night. It takes quite awhile to lock up this many birds all in different coops and yards but when I read about losses like yours I remember why I do it. I'm so sorry.
I made bean and Ham soup last week. I added crushed tomato, lemon juice and lots of herbs. So good with a sprinkle of Parmesan.

 

[Kassaundra]

Well everyone I've hatched this year has their own yard or pen so it ends up seeming like a lot. I did just add some up, there's 6 50x50 or bigger yards (but 1 is empty for the Brabanters whose eggs haven't even been LAID yet

) and 12 8x8 or 10x10 roofed pens plus the Spitz's and an Araucana boy each have their pens plus a 10x15 yard. Each yard or pen obviously needs their own coop, too. So that's what gets time consuming. I had built a few 4x8x6' tall coops that I really like. But there's a guy that sells huge dog houses down the road that are really well built so I started buying them if there's only 3 or 4 birds in a yard. I want to put the doghouses on 4x4's. The Orpington yard still needs a 5x10 coop built, I thought we'd have that done this week but don't. They still fit in a 4x4 doghouse with a latched door at night though.
It's kept this year's hatches all incredibly healthy by raising them separate and keeping them that way. My husband looked disappointed when he asked what I wanted for Xmas and I said another 10x10x6 dog kennel lol

I don't envy your water chores for sure, especially this winter.

 

[mjgigax]

I don't envy your water chores for sure, especially this winter.

x2

 

[jcatblum]

Mitzi you poor thing!!!! I say poor thing beciase of the $$$$ you have invested in pens & all that work!!! Oh my!! I always see dog kennels on CL. I have bought a few. Cheapest one was $20. Needed a few repairs had couple bent pieces but we already had the materials. Most of our pens are made at least 50% reclaimed materials... Except the portable ones. Think you should ask for a barn for Christmas, then you could have lots of room for future pens with outside runs of their own. Just explain that it is less work in the long run.

Robin good luck with your chick rescue.

 

[Ksane]

All the pens except for a few have electricity run to them for the cookie in heaters. The yards further off from the house have heavy duty extension cords.
I know-I got a little ahead of myself hatching this year

But they're here now and I love them so what's an old woman to do but feed them and house them?? lol I hope nothing ever happens to my husband, no way I could take care of them all myself.

MJ, Wazine only takes care of roundworms (the spaghetti looking ones you can see). There's quite a few other worms they can have that Wazine doesn't even touch. If anything Wazine is way too mild, not rough in the least. Valbazen kills all the others. It's a bit more of a hassle because you have to individuallly worm each bird and then follow up at least once 10 days later but it works GOOD. These little Sebrights were pooping out piles of dead roundworms after I 1st dewormed them, I was shocked. I'm going to worm them a total of 3 times before I move them in with the cockerel they'll be living with. Then I'll surely have to stay on top of that pen since I know for a fact they had them.

 

[Ksane]

Christina, I just wanted to say that the work I put into the pens and yards is nothing compared to what you put into your gardening! I feel like what you did with your gardening, selling, canning and all that is 10 times the work. I'll spend all day building a coop any day as long as I don't have to stand in the kitchen and can stuff all day :-D