Redinator's First Hatch-Along w Bonus Broody: And Everything Thereafter

[AnneGirlGG]

I'm more po'd that he went after Brutus than me. There's a chance I may have done something to offend him, but Brutus surely didn't deserve it.

Unfortunately for Brutus he's about the same size (standing, not weight) as the standard chickens.

Poor Brutus. I wouldn't have liked that either. I've also got 2 dogs, Maggie and Ruth. They're my babies. Maggie is a good size coonhound mix. But Ruth is maybe 20 pounds. She's just a sweet little pound puppy mix that we adopted in June when she was 11 weeks old. And she and I are inseparable now.

Clyde but my wrist yesterday and left a pinch mark. But I do think in this case, ot was my fault. I was cleaning in the coop and he came over to see what I was doing. I didn't want to get his get worth the poop scraper, so I moved towards him kind of fast to "steer" him gently the other way. I startled him, I think. Right after that, I put the scraper down and picked him up, and he immediately settled in against my chest and fell asleep. I'll have to watch him close, but there's a good chance it was my fault.

Ever have a very early morning where something in the yard just sounds off?

I was woken up a bit after 4am by the sound of crowing. Normally it doesn't bother me, or if it wakes me, I roll over and go back to sleep.

This morning it sounded like one of the boys, Kettle or Andre, just didn't sound normal.

I get my shoes on, grab my phone for the flashlight and head out to the run in the rain with a cold, no less, and I see this!

Buckbeak gave such a stellar performance it knocked little Reese right off her perch

Ok, I'm going to dry my hair and go back to bed and try not to get sicker

Welcome to the big boy world, Buckbeak! And when Reese fell off the perch, oh my goodness I laughed! I needed this with my coffee this morning!

I'm sorry you're still sick. I hope you got some more sleep after getting this absolute gem of a video!

 

[redinator]

Thankfully Kettle hasn't come after me again, but I haven't been outside too much the last few days. . . . for a few hours the other morning but I realized I did too much with this cold I'm fighting and I'm forcing myself to rest.

The older I get the harder colds are to get over . . . especially during the winter.

Clyde sounds like a sweetheart, you might have just spooked him. I don't think he would've settled that easily if it were aggression.

After Buckbeak's debut one of the zombie maker chicks did a baby crow from the brooder at the foot of my bed . . . I don't think I meant to sleep anymore today, lol.

 

[AnneGirlGG]

Thankfully Kettle hasn't come after me again, but I haven't been outside too much the last few days. . . . for a few hours the other morning but I realized I did too much with this cold I'm fighting and I'm forcing myself to rest.

The older I get the harder colds are to get over . . . especially during the winter.

Clyde sounds like a sweetheart, you might have just spooked him. I don't think he would've settled that easily if it were aggression.

After Buckbeak's debut one of the zombie maker chicks did a baby crow from the brooder at the foot of my bed . . . I don't think I meant to sleep anymore today, lol.

Agreed. Almost 2 full weeks and I'm still trying to fully get past the flu. I don't really feel all that bad anymore, but the coughing and congestion just don't want to give up.

Clyde is a good boy. He hasn't shown any aggression since, so I definitely think it was my fault.

How cute, a baby crow! I love those.

 

[redinator]

18 hours of sleep and a 5 hour energy and this is all I managed to get done today.

I put together 3 of these: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Uforic-W...4667?sid=68580b91-04f7-417f-a86f-93c44e210cd3




It only took about 20 mins to assemble each one. The floor is smooth, has drain holes and is easy to remove should it need more than a quick wipe down. Each wall has ventilation and the roof has skylight. If the girls don't like them I might move in . OH! And they fit through the gate of the run without having to disassemble them BIG BONUS!

Now that I have those I can leave the chick hut and pen set up permanently.



I'll be celebrating small victories until I'm fully recovered.

 

[AnneGirlGG]

18 hours of sleep and a 5 hour energy and this is all I managed to get done today.

I put together 3 of these: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Uforic-W...4667?sid=68580b91-04f7-417f-a86f-93c44e210cd3


View attachment 4254293View attachment 4254294View attachment 4254295View attachment 4254296View attachment 4254297

It only took about 20 mins to assemble each one. The floor is smooth, has drain holes and is easy to remove should it need more than a quick wipe down. Each wall has ventilation and the roof has skylight. If the girls don't like them I might move in . OH! And they fit through the gate of the run without having to disassemble them BIG BONUS!

Now that I have those I can leave the chick hut and pen set up permanently.

View attachment 4254304View attachment 4254305

I'll be celebrating small victories until I'm fully recovered.

Those are so cool! I will definitely be watching for that smallest size to come back in stock.

 

[redinator]

Those are so cool! I will definitely be watching for that smallest size to come back in stock.

When I pulled up the link I realized they were sold out. I must've bought them out, lol.

I've learned from experience that things tend to jump in price a few months later.

This dog house was $30-$40 when I bought it back in Feb/March: https://a.co/d/be7l2gg

 

[AnneGirlGG]

When I pulled up the link I realized they were sold out. I must've bought them out, lol.

I've learned from experience that things tend to jump in price a few months later.

This dog house was $30-$40 when I bought it back in Feb/March: https://a.co/d/be7l2gg

Wow! I think the run we have went up too since we bought it.

 

[redinator]

One of the "Zombie Maker" chicks isn't doing well. Initially I thought it might be coccidiosis since the chick got sick after introducing soil from the yard to the brooder. So far, all the other chicks look fine.

The chicks were/are on medicated chick feed for a week before I started bringing in soil to slowly acclimate them to the microbes in the yard.

I moved the sick chick out of the brooder and into the tub so I could get a look at it's poops specifically. It hasn't pooped all day, so now I'm thinking it's constipated. I tried giving it a few drops of olive oil, but it's refusing to swallow.

I ordered a set of feeding tubes and syringes (https://a.co/d/bQEJqHu), unfortunately I don't think they'll get here in time to help this chick

@kattabelly I believe you mentioned having experience with tube feeding. Do you have any videos/threads you can recommend so I'm prepared when the tubes arrive? Any suggestions on getting the chick to eat/drink while I wait? I tried egg yolk and boiled egg, but the chick showed zero interest in either.

 

[kattabelly]

@kattabelly I believe you mentioned having experience with tube feeding. Do you have any videos/threads you can recommend so I'm prepared when the tubes arrive? Any suggestions on getting the chick to eat/drink while I wait? I tried egg yolk and boiled egg, but the chick showed zero interest in either.

I can have a look for one. For new chicks any small, needle-less syringe will do in a pinch, if you're able to get hold of one anywhere? I use the smallest oral syringe my local pharmacy generally has in stock (less than 1ml ideally). You could probably even improvise with some other kind of tubing, although that's maybe a lot to take on when you've never tube fed before.

In the meantime, you could try either dunking its beak in some water with sugar or honey - careful not to get water in its nares (nostrils) - or dripping one or two drops of water at a time onto the side of its beak. Hold the chick's head tilted sideways a bit and drip it onto the crease where the top & bottom beak meet - water should run down that line and into the side of its mouth.

You could also try torpedo feeding. Make a small amount of mash up into a consistency that lets you roll it into a ball - you don't want it too sticky or soft, it should hold its shape when handled. For new chicks you want balls maybe the size of petit pois or a small garden pea (sorry, can't remember if that's what you call those peas in the US). Gently open the chick's beak and drop or push the ball of food in - you want it quite far back if possible but aim to the side. Be careful to avoid the trachea if you can see it: there's a good photo of where to aim and what to avoid in this thread. You'll probably need to hold its beak closed for a second or two, to get it to swallow.

The way I find easiest to open a chick's beak is to wrap it in a cloth or something from the neck down and then hold it in my nondominant hand, with the back of its head against the side of my hand between my thumb and index finger. Grip its beak in between that thumb and finger and very gently exert pressure sideways and slightly diagonally - imagine you're trying to make it look like it has crossbeak. Only do this just enough to open up the beak slightly, and then pinch your thumb and fingetip into that gap and press the beak open further (no sideways pressure now, just open the beak in the direction it should open in). If that's really confusing, I actually have a broody hatching unplanned chicks right now so I can probably do a video in a few hours' time.

Have you seen the chick eating ok before it got sick?

Edit - sorry, wrote that with a newly hatched chick in mind. If it's a few weeks old, a 1ml syringe and slightly bigger balls if torpedo feeding will be fine.

 

[redinator]

I can have a look for one. For new chicks any small, needle-less syringe will do in a pinch, if you're able to get hold of one anywhere? I use the smallest oral syringe my local pharmacy generally has in stock (less than 1ml ideally). You could probably even improvise with some other kind of tubing, although that's maybe a lot to take on when you've never tube fed before.

In the meantime, you could try either dunking its beak in some water with sugar or honey - careful not to get water in its nares (nostrils) - or dripping one or two drops of water at a time onto the side of its beak. Hold the chick's head tilted sideways a bit and drip it onto the crease where the top & bottom beak meet - water should run down that line and into the side of its mouth.

You could also try torpedo feeding. Make a small amount of mash up into a consistency that lets you roll it into a ball - you don't want it too sticky or soft, it should hold its shape when handled. For new chicks you want balls maybe the size of petit pois or a small garden pea (sorry, can't remember if that's what you call those peas in the US). Gently open the chick's beak and drop or push the ball of food in - you want it quite far back if possible but aim to the side. Be careful to avoid the trachea if you can see it: there's a good photo of where to aim and what to avoid in this thread. You'll probably need to hold its beak closed for a second or two, to get it to swallow.

The way I find easiest to open a chick's beak is to wrap it in a cloth or something from the neck down and then hold it in my nondominant hand, with the back of its head against the side of my hand between my thumb and index finger. Grip its beak in between that thumb and finger and very gently exert pressure sideways and slightly diagonally - imagine you're trying to make it look like it has crossbeak. Only do this just enough to open up the beak slightly, and then pinch your thumb and fingetip into that gap and press the beak open further (no sideways pressure now, just open the beak in the direction it should open in). If that's really confusing, I actually have a broody hatching unplanned chicks right now so I can probably do a video in a few hours' time.

Have you seen the chick eating ok before it got sick?

Edit - sorry, wrote that with a newly hatched chick in mind. If it's a few weeks old, a 1ml syringe and slightly bigger balls if torpedo feeding will be fine.

I was able to get the olive oil in it's mouth, but the chick shook its head and flung it out. I tried 3 different times over the course of an hour with the same result. I'll give the honey water a try, or maybe make the mash with a bit of honey and see how that does.

I'm not sure if it's constipated or isn't pooping because it hasn't eaten, but I did feel a bit of a bulge in the belly and the crop is empty. The belly feels like the crop should, if that makes any sense.

That picture was exactly what I was looking for, but I ended up in a 'research rabbit hole' with very little sleep and wasn't getting very far. Thanks!

When I get the tube feeding supplies how do I tell when the tube is far enough, or too far? How much should I feed? The chick is currently 4 weeks old, I got them at 2.5 weeks old.

They were all fine until earlier today . . . well, I guess earlier yesterday at this point . . . I looked in the brooder midday after being in the yard for a few hours and the chick was standing off to the side all puffed up and sad looking.