Pea Eggs Scheduled to Hatch?

[new 2 pfowl]

Such cuties!

 

[Wisher1000]

Okay guys, I need your help! I have one pea chick and a cracked pea egg. I know NOTHING about raising pea chicks and am begging for guidance. The chick and egg (and 4 chicken eggs) are under a BO hen and she has done an excellent job so far. I tried to raise two poults in the spring and lost them at about four weeks old. I have no idea what the problem was so I am terrified about the peas. Should I separate the pea from the hen and raise it in a brooder? Should I build a wire bottom cage? Clean out a room in the coop and leave them with the hen? HELP?! The cracked egg does not have an obvious pip. It has long cracks in several directions. There is no sound coming from inside, even when I tap on it. Right now, the hen is in a nest box off the main coop. I have closeed it off so she can't get out that way but can get into the feed area of the coop. She is still sitting on the unhatched pea egg and four chicken eggs. The due date on the pea eggs is this coming Wednesday, the chicken eggs should be hatching any day. I bought 30% gamefowl starter and 18% chick starter to mix, but what is the ratio I need to use? What meds, vitamins, wormers should I get right away? FBC?

 

[Wisher1000]

I am going out to clean and disinfect my brooder box but I will be back shortly to read your response(s). Please respond......

 

[frenchblackcopper]

1 Peachick will not do good by iteslf,,plain and simple.It will need company,,,even a baby chick is better than nothing if thats all you have.You can gently break away part of the eggshell making sure to break pieces away going towards the top of the egg.You should easily be able to then look inside the hole you made and watch the inner membrane that encases the new peachick for any movement. Newborn peachicks needs no meds or vitamins or wormers.Only if the peachick is weak or acting lathargic do you need to be concerned about giving any medications,,wormings are done much later and only necessary if the chick is allowed direct ground contact (none of my peachicks see's dirt until the first killing frost,all mine are on wire in in large brooders off the ground) I wouldn't mess with using the 18% but start on the 30%.To properly mix your own rations I use ths guide http://www.lionsgrip.com/protein.html too much protein for too long is not good and 30% is 8% higher than I use,,you should seek out medicated feed,,22% gamebird feed is perfct for peas for the first 3 months.

 

[Yoda]

The pea will be fine heck Minxfox raised one lonely very happy peachick. I was way proud of her! It is now the tamest bird in her pen. I say buy some medicated chick starter put the little guy in the brooder and raise him. Game and turkey starters do not cantain the med for coccidia, they contain blackworm preventatives, thus medicated for them. Your pea will not be on the ground to be exposed to blackhead until later. When the chicken chicks hatch throw them in with your pea, they will be fine and your pea will learn to eat and drink from the baby chicks.
To see if the cracked pea egg is ok candle it with a flashlight, if it is clear it is a dud. If there is any moisture around the crack the egg is a dud. You should see black shadows moving about that is the chick. You can keep the chick inside a brooder for a couple weeks, while there get a wire dog crate/cage and build a wire floor in it using 1x2 lumber and some quarter inch mesh. There the pea can stay for a month or 2 then it goes into the coop/shed/barn whatever you have.

 

[frenchblackcopper]

You would need 8 equal amounts of 30% feed mixed well with 4 equal-same sized amounts -parts of your 18% feed to arrive at a 22% protein ration.Raising a lone peachick is possible if your closeby several times each day,but if the peachick is by itself I've seen them chirp-cheep non stop to the point of exhaustion,pacing back and forth,,panting,,but you put in another kind of fowl so they have company,the lonliness disappears. Stressing baby peas brings on pasty butt,,and that can really set the chick back fast and it can die if not treated early enough.

 

[Wisher1000]

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I have cleaned and sprayed the brooder down with bleach, rinsed it well, and I am waiting for it to dry. I am off to buy 2x2s and 1/4 inch hardware cloth I will candle the other egg when I get back. I was wondering if I should leave the pea with the hen until something else hatches. I have guinea eggs in the bator and I will bring the unhatched pea egg inside and put it in the bator. What is the perfect humidity for the pea egg?

 

[Wisher1000]

I pulled the second egg, the one with the cracks in it, to put in the bator in case I needed to help. It smells. I will dispose of it tomorrow afternoon after an eggtopsy. Bummer.

I think I will put the hen, chicken eggs, and pea-chick in the brooder (2' x 4' footprint) until something hatches to be a buddy to the pea-chick. Then I will take the hen and chicks out except for the pea-chick and one chick to be it's buddy. I can then raise them together in the brooder longer since they will not need as much room as soon. I would like to keep them in the brooder for at least three months. Sound okay?

 

[zazouse]

Zazouse,,here is a outside pic update from the same 3 BSSP chicks I uploaded back at post 438,,if you look close the two chicks on the left are already showing rust color in their wing feathers,and the one on the right is still all white on every wing feather.I'm guessing here but sure the two on the left will be hens,,that already have rust color showing,,and the one on the right will be a male BSSP or an all white chick.They are now 3 days old and already a very noticable color change is occuring.They are by far the tamest,most inquisitve,people loving peas I've hatched all summer.Maybe it's because it's only these 3 on the dining room brooder box along with a last hatched Midnight B/S,,? I also know the parents of these chicks was spoiled very rotten at Bigcreekpoultry before they came to Pea Palace in late May.Never have I had an adult peahen voluntarily fly and land on my arm to eat a piece of bread (and this peahen was not hatched here and has only been used to me for maybe 3 months tops).

Thank you Frenchy, i need this today

They are so pretty.

I will not be getting any Cameo babies this year, i am sad

 

[frenchblackcopper]

I think Cameos are EXTINCT!!! I search all of craigslist about every 2 days,,unless I want to pay $75 a chick unsexed from Austin Texas--NOT!! I have 2 Cameo b/s hens that will be 2 years old next summer and no Cameo male to breed them to,,and at Mt Hope here was only 1 group of Camos that sold and they had that race horsey-leggy spalding blood in them,,so I wasn't interested.