Pipd's Peeps!

[Soon2BChixMom]

Yes, it has three height settings. It's really difficult to adjust, though, compared to other models of heat plates. I really love heat plates for brooding chicks, but to be honest I'd probably go with Premier1's version rather than another Brinsea if I were to get another, as it has a much better method of adjustment on its legs.

I've been working on getting through the chick sexing methods for my experiment page this morning, so no good pictures. I grabbed a few shots with my cell phone while I was up there, but they're truly awful because it was still darkish in there and that camera is lousy when it has to use flash. I wouldn't share them at all, but the subjects are cute enough to make up for the bad picture quality.

Having breakfast. Of course, Trois is moving.

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Little Six is finally up and around. Not sure why they were waiting in line like this for the EcoGlow.

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This one's really bad quality, but I couldn't resist Quatre's face on the right.

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I think they're going to graduate to shavings today and the cardboard wall will come down, so more (better) pictures are to come.

Waiting in line .... learning how waiting for the nest box goes?

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Chick down!

Haha, I know! She looks like someone shouted 'timber' and down she went!

Waiting in line .... learning how waiting for the nest box goes?

Does that mean they're definitely pullets? 'Cause I'm okay with that logic!





Some better pictures! While working on the chick sexing experiment, namely the 'vinegar test', the babies made an absolute mess of things, so I decided, what the heck, they may as well graduate to shavings now! It's SO much easier to get pictures of them now!

So, at first, they weren't sure what to do. Then, no surprise here, Trois was the first onto the shavings because she saw the camera and went for it.

Quatre also checked it out. I don't think either of them approved of this change at first...

Then Trois pecked at a shaving, and somehow it got stuck to her chest. Panic ensues...

After that settled down, I left them for a few minutes, until I heard loud peeping and checked on them again. Near as I can tell, they were terrified by the change and needed some reassurance, so I sat with them again.

Before long, this was happening--Trois started it, of course!

Already working on getting shavings everywhere...

...Including on our siblings.

They seem okay with the change now. They were so busy scratching away!

Then, more peeping in distress happened. Apparently, they were having so much fun that they lost track of time and started getting cold. And my arm is warm. I showed them the EcoGlow again after this and they seem to remember where it is now.

I also took some videos, but those always take forever to upload, so stay tuned for those at some point!

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

Oh, I know nothing of chicks and their behavior, but wouldn't that be cool if they could narrow it down like that?
"There they go lining up - Pullets!"

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

I am going to get chicks someday. What is your brooder set up?

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Oh, I know nothing of chicks and their behavior, but wouldn't that be cool if they could narrow it down like that?
"There they go lining up - Pullets!"

That'd be great! I do wish there was a easier way of knowing, though. You find all kinds of old wives' tales and such on the topic, but I've tested a few batches of chicks with a lot of them and so far no dice.

I am going to get chicks someday. What is your brooder set up?

I use a small tarp and one of those fences for small pets to construct my brooder, and either duct tape or zip ties so that the tarp is held up and there's about a foot of tarp as a wall on all sides. Cheap, adjustable in shape, and easy to expand if needed. And when the babies have moved out, then I just fold up the tarp and carry it outside to dump the shavings, and then hose it off and put it up for next time. Here is the current brooder:

 

[Leahs Mom]

I have the Premier plate and definitely very easy to adjust height. I'll never use light again!!!! But I do use mine with a rheostat so I can adjust temperature. Mine at the "out of the box" temp is too hot.

@pipdzipdnreadytogo
Will you have any fertile eggs from the dorkings?

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

That'd be great! I do wish there was a easier way of knowing, though. You find all kinds of old wives' tales and such on the topic, but I've tested a few batches of chicks with a lot of them and so far no dice.





I use a small tarp and one of those fences for small pets to construct my brooder, and either duct tape or zip ties so that the tarp is held up and there's about a foot of tarp as a wall on all sides. Cheap, adjustable in shape, and easy to expand if needed. And when the babies have moved out, then I just fold up the tarp and carry it outside to dump the shavings, and then hose it off and put it up for next time. Here is the current brooder:

View attachment 1285906

Nice set up!

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

I have the Premier plate and definitely very easy to adjust height. I'll never use light again!!!! But I do use mine with a rheostat so I can adjust temperature. Mine at the "out of the box" temp is too hot.

@pipdzipdnreadytogo
Will you have any fertile eggs from the dorkings?

That is an advantage of the EcoGlow. I have two of them and neither are too hot right out of the box. But the legs on them are such a pain in the butt!

I definitely agree on NEVER using a light again, though! Not only are the heat plates a much better and safer option for chicks, but they are healthier as well! Chicks feather out faster and wean off of heat sooner without the issue of learning the day-night cycle. Not to mention the imbalance of intraoccular pressure causing eye enlargement and corneal flattening, plus thinning of the retinal nerve fiber layer, thinning of the layer of rods and cones, and other various eye damage leading to vision loss that 24 hours of constant light causes on these birds! Err, not to go all soapbox on y'all.

I do intend to hatch from my Dorkings around the beginning of May. I don't have a Silver Gray rooster, though, so I was going to cross my Silver Gray girls to my Red boy, Darwin, in the hopes that the resulting chicks are autosexing at hatch. Until then, though, they're in with my Silkie boys, so I guess the only thing that would hatch from them would be 'Dorkies'.


EDIT: Oh yes, on the videos. My phone died, so I will have to upload them later once it's charged.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Finally got the videos uploaded! There are two at normal speed, and then three slow motion ones. Here's the first one, when they were first getting used to the shavings. They like to follow my hands around, so I was curious what would happen if I buried my hand under the shavings.

This one, I was trying to get a video of them scratching, but instead I got a little bit of scratching, a little bit of pecking, and then a little chickie bowling at the end.

And then, some slow motion of them eating and running. The little 'woo? woo?' sounds throughout these are slow motion peeps!

This one's kind of grainy, but Quatre's enthusiasm makes it worth watching.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Oh yes, and some gems that I missed yesterday when I was uploading pictures. Okay, I kinda was messing with them a lot, but the results were worth it, right?

Look at Trois's face here! She's like, "What the heck?"

THIS took a lot of work to pull off! They are in numerical order here! Not sure how I forgot it!

And this is kind of an outtake of the above picture, but also quite cute. Look at Deux and Trois!!