Question about failure to thrive- non emergency

[thndrdancr]

This is just a question to while away the hours so if there are more important threads, please take care of ill birds and stuff first.

I was just wondering about little chicks that die of stress/broken heart? Do you think tube feeding them would work until they come out of their funk?

The reason I ask is I had a chicken raise my first 3 baby peas. Only thing about that was my pea hens nurture their young for around 7 to 8 months. My chicken was done at about
2 months. I couldn't get her to accept them back no matter what. One literally cried herself to death. The other two Still follow this hen around but at a distance. Do you think if I had tube fed her it would have helped?

I noticed my peachicks get very resentful when chicken moms reject them. Little funny story on Question and Answer.. .. Chicken mom had decided she was done and started sitting on a new clutch of eggs. After a week I found her hiding place and took them away. So she was walking about the yard, when Question grabbed her by her head ruff and swung her in a full circle!!! It was hilarious! He really was telling her straighten her rear up and be a mom!!! After that she acted as if nothing had happened and went back to taking care of them! This was about 2 1/2 months of age.

 

[Garden Peas]

I separated my peas and chickens a few months ago. The chickens don't seem to be losing any sleep over the lost peas.

The peas are still pacing the fence nearest the chicken coop. They miss their chickens very much. And they weren't raised by the chickens either.

As nearly as I can tell, peas are capable of forming a different kind or level of attachment compared to a chicken. But I am not a bird shrink

 

[MinxFox]

I don't know how tube feeding would help? So you mean they were so upset they were not eating? I have never had that problem but I haven't had many peachicks people raised or peahen raised and none have been raised by chickens.

I think some people use chickens to hatch peafowl eggs just because birds are better than an incubator for hatching eggs, but I have read that sometimes chickens do a bad job taking care of peachicks (on the flip side sometimes they do an amazing job raising them). I guess by the time the hen stops caring for them they are so attached to her that it would be hard for you to take them and finish raising them.

I am wondering if you should just take the eggs a few days before they hatch or right after they hatch and raise the peachicks yourself. Deerman liked to collect all of his peahen's eggs, but then at the end of the breeding season he would let his hens sit on their last clutch and hatch out their own peachicks.

I don't know. I would say you should just raise them yourself and only use the chicken to incubate the eggs but not raise the peachicks.

 

[thndrdancr]

I debated over letting the peahen raise them or the chicken hen. They both sat on the eggs. I thought it was easier to control chicken mom as peahen was a bit nonchalant about caring for them. Mother chicken did a great job and I could bring them in at night in pet carrier which I would have been unable to do with peahen, as she was not imprinted. My problem is the peahens wander all over the property and don't roost where they would be protected by my dog. We live edge of town in city limits, thus he must be fenced.
Yea, when chicken mom wouldn't let baby crawl under her to sleep, that's where trouble began. the other two were upset, but not devastated. This baby just didn't care anymore. I tried holding her, singing, etc. But she wouldn't stop crying. Literally stressed herself to death.
I suppose it depends on chicken. Question and Answers momma still hangs with them and now she crawls under them to sleep. I will try to get pics of this in a few days. She still mothers them, but they had to beat her up first!!!!

 

[MinxFox]

Oh I didn't realize your peahens free-range. Well then I definitely understand why you would want to use a chicken instead.

I think it does depend on the chicken. I think some people have had their peachicks killed by the chicken hen that hatched them out or almost killed.

 

[thndrdancr]

Yea mine free range most of the time, except for like now when I have had them shut up in coop. We had temps with high of 8, wind chills of minus 20 below and 40 mph winds. My white came up looking in my patio door shaking so bad I felt for him. He hates being shut in but was ready when temps got like that. I have 4 heat lamps in my coop and he finally went in willingly so I stuffed a pillow in the pop door!
I lost Princess' baby this fall, as the silly girl roosted on my front porch and darned fox came up on porch after her!! She was right in front of the front door too, trusting me to protect her. we don't have the front yard fenced. At least she flew and I didn't lose her as well. I really love her, she is my favorite hen.

 

[casportpony]

Sorry you lost her, and I hate to say this, but she didn't cry herself to death... I bet if you had weighed her you would have seen that she was losing weight daily instead of gaining, so tube feeding probably would have saved her.

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

If any of you want to learn how to tube, I would be more than happy to teach you.

-Kathy

 

[thndrdancr]

I don't know Kathy, what I meant is she lost the will to live when mom would no longer allow her to be her baby and sleep under her, etc. I watch my babies very closely and she wasn't sick, just heartbroken. Cried wailing lil peeps for three days straight. It broke my heart. Tried a foster mom, tried bringing mom back in and she would eat and stop crying til mom pecked her away again, etc.
I have run into to a few over the years, usually chickens who just won't fight to live. But she got herself so stressed.

And then I had a pet hen who was dying of egg binding issues, took her 3 months to go and the gal was at deaths door the whole time. Could barely lift her head but just when I thought she had finally gone, she would crack her eyes open and raise her head. She fought like a tiger to hang on to life.