***OKIES in the BYC III ***

[Kassaundra]

We finally had a little melting today. Still have 1/2 or more of the yard covered in snow (really ice now) but it is thinner layer of ice then yesterday.

 

[TRUE5]

The toes ended up correcting themselves on the little boy.

He is a live wire in the bator! Of course he has the normal baby chick narcolepsy (cracks me up!) but doing great! The other two finally came out into the world. I have two boys and one girl! Yay! Now to just get that second girl... Rinda I will be giving you a shout for one of your girl chicks sometime soon.

I'm really excited! The last two are still wet and fumbling around but I am optimistic and know they will do great. Happy to have such a beautiful well bred chick to add to my flock! Oh, she's going to be SO spoiled!

I really truly believe it pays off to get your chicks/eggs from breeders instead of hatcheries! Now for my last bunch... We will see how things go with it...

Up for grabs: ****Two Cochin cockerels (only 100% one is a boy) trying to get $10 each (what we gave for them)
****Two baby boy Cream Legbar chicks

Edit was I changed a & to a $ on the dollar amount above. I pushed the wrong button.

 

[bardies]

Question for all you people who raise furry legged chickens... I'm having a terrible time with these Brahma bantam hatchlings. I'm going to boost the vitamins on the breeding pair, because the chicks aren't thriving, and they're all being born with spraddleleg. The poor babies spend almost all their time on their backs.

I've been trying the bandaid brace trick, but because of the fuzziness of the legs, the bandaids aren't sticking. And when they do stick, they stick to the feathers. Is there a better way of handling this?

Although it might not matter, if they don't survive. Poor little babies.

Rinda, what was it you treated your birds with when their babies didn't thrive? I'm considering treating this as a bacterial infection, just in case.

Apologize if this was already answered... I use two band aids- and have the part in the middle be th stickly part with the padded center part of each bandaid go around the little leg, like a leg cuff., then the four sticky ends meet in the middle. It isn't the easiest thing to do, had a pair of safety scissors with me and had to try a couple of times before I got it like I liked. Good luck!

 

[CayuseRanch]

Is there a Newcastle auction this weekend?

 

[bardies]

Quote: Reminds me of what is going on around here lately.... something also about love thine enemies.... grey tabby cat - VERY likely the same one I've chased off of my porch (and away from my cats) over the last year or so.... shows up last weekend with several patches of skin torn off of its back. Well, that changed every thing... I didn't chase it off, and it actually talked to me. My cats are not getting the whole compassion thing, so I think they are a bit mad that I am allowing this cat to stay and eat better food than they do. I wasn't able to catch it, but it was getting around ok. Howver, this morning saw that under the neck where I suspected more bites is now swelling. Went an bought a trap so to catch and take for a vet to look at. Don't know what will become of it, and cant pay for much. But also know I cant let it suffer. I did catch it. As I was putting my winter coat onto the trap to keep it secure and comfortable tonight, it actually talked to me again. This is NOT a cat that has been wild all of its life. Some one once owned it, and now it is only getting kind treatment because it was nearly killed.

I know this is a cat and not a chicken, but I also know that you guys also get my anger and sadness about how this guy has ended up.

 

[bardies]

Quote: Another way to see if it is still alive is to put it in still warm water. It is really easy to see even slight movement in the water. Don't give up on it if it rocks!

 

[lonnyandrinda]

The toes ended up correcting themselves on the little boy. He is a live wire in the bator! Of course he has the normal baby chick narcolepsy (cracks me up!) but doing great! The other two finally came out into the world. I have two boys and one girl! Yay!  Now to just get that second girl... Rinda I will be giving you a shout for one of your girl chicks sometime soon.

I'm really excited! The last two are still wet and fumbling around but I am optimistic and know they will do great. Happy to have such a beautiful well bred chick to add to my flock! Oh, she's going to be SO spoiled!e  I really truly believe it pays off to get your chicks/eggs from breeders instead of hatcheries! Now for my last bunch... We will see how things go with it...


Up for grabs: ****Two Cochin cockerels (only 100% one is a boy) trying to get $10 each (what we gave for them)
                      ****Two baby boy Cream Legbar chicks

Edit was I changed a & to a $ on the dollar amount above. I pushed the wrong button.

yay for a girl! I can save one from Sunday's hatch so she will be the same age as her hatch mates if you'd like.

 

[Tony O]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kyzmette

Question for all you people who raise furry legged chickens... I'm having a terrible time with these Brahma bantam hatchlings. I'm going to boost the vitamins on the breeding pair, because the chicks aren't thriving, and they're all being born with spraddleleg. The poor babies spend almost all their time on their backs.

I've been trying the bandaid brace trick, but because of the fuzziness of the legs, the bandaids aren't sticking. And when they do stick, they stick to the feathers. Is there a better way of handling this?

Although it might not matter, if they don't survive. Poor little babies.

Rinda, what was it you treated your birds with when their babies didn't thrive? I'm considering treating this as a bacterial infection, just in case.

Here's a trick I've been using for a long time. I don't know if I can give a good enough description, but I'll try.

An "on the rocks" drink glass with the rounded inside bottom, or a narrow bottomed tea cup where the chick can't spread its legs works if you catch it early enough. I like to keep one warm, in the bator, before the hatch. As soon as I see a straddle legged chick, it'll go in it for at least a few hours. Usually that's long enough. If not, let it get a drink, and maybe a bite of starter, and back in for a longer time period. Maybe overnight. If their legs can be straightened out, it works for me about 98% of the time by then. They work their leg mussels trying to stand, but can't get their legs up where they were because they can't get a grip on the glass. The trick is to catch the problem fast. The longer they're out of the shell, the longer they need to be kept in the jar/glass/cup, or whatever you find that works.

I hope this helps.

 

[Tony O]

As of right now we are half way through day 21 on my CL eggs. I have one that piped and nothing from the others yet. My nerves are on edge because it's only 5 eggs and I want them to hatch so bad. So Hubby and I are headed to Tulsa. Partly to get me away from checking on the eggs every five seconds and also to run errands. What's the latest any of you have had an egg hatch or just pip?

Usually some will hatch a day or so late. Some hens are longer than others with their hatch time. Some shorter. I have a little banty hen that her eggs always hatch on day 19 or 20. Last week I just had 2 chicks hatch 3 and a half days after the rest of the batch. (day 25) All were set on the same day. I don't usually throw the eggs out for a little less than a week just in case of a suprize like that.

 

[Kyzmette]

@True5 remember that incubating eggs is like baking cookies (baking chookies!), every time the heat drops, it'll take a little longer to bake on the back end. Also, trying to get out of those shells is mighty hard work, and it's not unusual for the chicks to take long periods of rest between short periods of work. If you saw activity and you no longer see any, candle the eggs and look for signs of an internal pip. If the chick is pipped and active, leave it a while longer. If the chick is pipped and hasn't shown signs of activity for a while, you can always assist the hatch, but that's where you have to be really careful. If the chick hasn't internally pipped it likely wouldn't survive even if you assist.