***OKIES in the BYC III ***

[NanaKat]

@NanaKat I saw a cow in an unmistakeable stance of labor from the car while on a road trip the other day. I started wondering how your calving season is going. Last you posted you had 20. Are you expecting any more?

That labor stance is definitely unmistakeable!
Ours will do a walk about for most of the day before they get their balloon then the real business begins. The I'm up, no, I'm down routine starts. Usually a calf is born within an hour of seeing feet. Most of ours are born while mom is down on her side.

We are now at 23 with another 22 due before June 30. Ten of those are first time Moms that were held for breeding for calves due beginning April 1...so the weather is warmer and there is plenty of green grass. We wait to put our heifers with a bull until they are 18 to 20 months old because we want the moms to have good growth themselves before calving. This also means fewer calving problems.
We move the first-timer to the lot by the barn when she shows signs she is ready and we are prepared to assist when needed. We also keep an eye on the baby to make sure it gets that first milk from the inexperienced mother. Fortunately we have not had many issues over the years.
Serious cases like a malposition birth we load up to the vet. We are getting too old to pull them ourselves.

 

[NanaKat]

Oh wow Ansel is going to be a Gpa!!!!  Fierce she gets that from Ansel definately!!!!

So far, Annie has three chicks with four more eggs that she won't let me candle. Two chicks are black and one is yellow....so far.
I hatched two Bantam Delaware that are yellow at hatch and two black Serama chicks in the incubator. If Annie will accept them, I'm going to let her raise them....in exchange for her eggs that may not hatch.

30 plus chicks in the hatcher so far....a couple of broody hens will get some babies tomorrow.

 

[NanaKat]

All is quiet in the bonus room now...but...
This morning I toe punched and moved 35 healthy active Wyandotte, Serama, Cochin, and bantam Delaware chicks from the hatcher trays to a temporary brooding box outfitted with a pint jar of Nutridrench treated water, a small feed tray and a nice warming light. After checking to make sure all was well with the chicks...no chirping to notify me that they were too warm or too cool I was satisfied with the set up.
Then we went out for lunch and a stop by the grocery on the way home. I took the meat purchases to the freezer in the bonus room where the incubating/hatching/brooding occurs.
As I approached the door, the unison chorus of panicked chirps made me bolt across the room! Somehow the water had drained out of the pint feeder and every chick was soaked to the skin shivering with chill and fear. Three chicks had died.
I grabbed the brooder tub and moved it to the floor by an empty already warmed incubator. With a roll of paper towels, I began drying off chicks as fast as I could, I put them in the incubator to continue to dry and begin warming them up.
Then I tossed the bedding, cleaned the tub and noticed an uneven bottom in the tub that I had not noticed earlier....the reason for the water leak. I set up a new tub as a new brooder.
Using a hair dryer on a small group of chicks at a time, each was dried, fluffed with a soft toothbrush and given a drop of Nutridrench and placed in the new brooder under the warming light.
So for now, the chicks have settled into a snoozing carpet of fuzziness.
Yes, I did get the meat in the freezer.

 

[ladykat138]

I'm still not sure how to post on here. I've got a question, the hens we got a few weeks ago aren't using the roost we put in there coop. They just stand. Should I leave it in or take it out since they don't use it?

 

[NanaKat]

I'm still not sure how to post on here. I've got a question, the hens we got a few weeks ago aren't using the roost we put in there coop. They just stand. Should I leave it in or take it out since they don't use it?

Are they standing at night? Or is this during the day?

What is the roost made of? Birds like wood surfaces...2x4...smooth limbs...a shelf

How high is it off the ground? Heavies don't fly up high, neither will young birds. 18", 24", up to four feet....a stair step roost works for many breeds.

How wide is the surface where they would roost? A 4" wide surface gives birds a comfortable surface for settling down for sleeping and for covering their feet with their feathers in winter.

Re-evaluate your roost. Adjust the height to suit them.

 

[Elbert Garrett]

Silkie Peeps at 24 days......

 

[Fallenone05]

Are they standing at night? Or is this during the day?

What is the roost made of? Birds like wood surfaces...2x4...smooth limbs...a shelf

How high is it off the ground? Heavies don't fly up high, neither will young birds. 18", 24", up to four feet....a stair step roost works for many breeds.

How wide is the surface where they would roost? A 4" wide surface gives birds a comfortable surface for settling down for sleeping and for covering their feet with their feathers in winter.

Re-evaluate your roost. Adjust the height to suit them.

What about if ours stand on their roost? Like I stepped out last night to lock the coop door and they were all spaced out and standing up. Were they warm?

It hit 81 here so I'm wondering if that was the case.

 

[Kassaundra]

First day of spring needs pictures. Sorry no chickens though, pics of my wisteria, and daffodils, and a wandering bee.

 

[GeeGi]

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Its a beautiful day in Oklahoma.

I just had to say Hi today./img/smilies/frow.gif

Yea! Someone in Oklahoma! I'm in Slaughterville where are you located?

 

[1OkChickenlady]

Yea! Someone in Oklahoma! I'm in Slaughterville where are you located?

Eakly, OK.