Raising Baby Chick-Along

[WVduckchick]

Agree here - check wood chip type - make sure they are pine, not cedar. What type of chicks are you hatching?
So sorry you are experiencing this!
Sadly, the primary reason chicks die in the brooder is dehydration. I know you're at the "I've tried everything and am seriously at my wits end" point, but give yourself some time to step back and evaluate everything, and more than likely the solution will come to you. We've all had catastrophic failures when incubating and brooding chicks, and somewhere between "I'm quitting the chicken business altogether" and "Can I just learn something not the hard way???!!!" a solution usually presents itself. Reevaluate your process, read some good brooding articles, have a glass of wine (or beverage of your choice , and start again tomorrow.

 

[Jessimom]

Hi all,

So, I had a Salmon Favorelle listless, on the floor of the coop, not really moving around. I suspected a stuck egg. I took her inside, put her in a sink of warm water, and kept her in there for almost an hour - she was asleep and enjoying it. I dried her off, and the whole time, she was straining to lay that egg (or at least puckering up her back end). I got a glove and some Vaseline and stuck my finger in her vent and I felt an egg right there, about at my first knuckle. I put Vaseline in the whole vent area, inside and out. I put her in my shower, with a box and some towels. She was immobile. I left. I got a message about 5 hours later that she had laid an egg. I was suspecting a HUGE egg. It wasn't. It was an average egg, the same size she usually lays. A bunch of green diarrhea came out after it.

So, was it a stuck egg? If so, why was it stuck? While she was inside, I gave her electrolites and some nutra drench. I put her back out in the coop. She is still quiet, but the Favorelles have always been super mellow. It's hard to tell.

 

[NorthTexasWink]

I've yet to figure why sometimes eggs get stuck for seemingly no reason. Had that happen to me more than once. I've culled hens for repeatedly having this issue.

 

[orrpeople]

Those little chicks that were in the brooder at the beginning of this thread are getting "all growed up!" Here's some Silver East Frisian Gull pics.

 

[NorthTexasWink]

Nice birds! That's what they do, grow up to become big healthy productive beauties.

 

[WVduckchick]

Those little chicks that were in the brooder at the beginning of this thread are getting "all growed up!" Here's some Silver East Frisian Gull pics.
View attachment 1088898 View attachment 1088899

Stunning!

 

[orrpeople]

Hi all,

So, I had a Salmon Favorelle listless, on the floor of the coop, not really moving around. I suspected a stuck egg. I took her inside, put her in a sink of warm water, and kept her in there for almost an hour - she was asleep and enjoying it. I dried her off, and the whole time, she was straining to lay that egg (or at least puckering up her back end). I got a glove and some Vaseline and stuck my finger in her vent and I felt an egg right there, about at my first knuckle. I put Vaseline in the whole vent area, inside and out. I put her in my shower, with a box and some towels. She was immobile. I left. I got a message about 5 hours later that she had laid an egg. I was suspecting a HUGE egg. It wasn't. It was an average egg, the same size she usually lays. A bunch of green diarrhea came out after it.

So, was it a stuck egg? If so, why was it stuck? While she was inside, I gave her electrolites and some nutra drench. I put her back out in the coop. She is still quiet, but the Favorelles have always been super mellow. It's hard to tell.

It's so good you wer able to catch it and help her out! I had one that the egg broke inside her, but miraculously was able to purge it all and after a week or so, started laying normally again. It hasn't happened since. Hoping your girl's incident was just a fluke too!

 

[orrpeople]

Skip'

s new babies. Guessing the blues are Toby's and all the rest are Bruce's!

 

[Tashaf]

Agree here - check wood chip type - make sure they are pine, not cedar. What type of chicks are you hatching?
So sorry you are experiencing this!
Sadly, the primary reason chicks die in the brooder is dehydration. I know you're at the "I've tried everything and am seriously at my wits end" point, but give yourself some time to step back and evaluate everything, and more than likely the solution will come to you. We've all had catastrophic failures when incubating and brooding chicks, and somewhere between "I'm quitting the chicken business altogether" and "Can I just learn something not the hard way???!!!" a solution usually presents itself. Reevaluate your process, read some good brooding articles, have a glass of wine (or beverage of your choice , and start again tomorrow.

Yes, large pine shavings but they're like bigger than an inch or two. So, they're large enough to not eat. They've always got clean water and food. The brooder is open on one end and the other end has the light. Plenty of space. What else can I be doing? I've lost hundreds in the last few months just buying chicks and eggs to try and have some survive....

 

[Tashaf]

Silkies, polish, and BLRW lately.