She said/He said Who's right? Who's wrong? No one!

[WVduckchick]

Good luck! I've tried getting Sebright eggs shipped and never got one to hatch... :/

Have OEGB's though... at least for now... nasty little predator trying to pick them all off... really getting sick of this...

Hit the quote before I read on, but I hope you get that coon! I recently trapped 2 that were getting into my duck pen. Didn't bother the ducks, just ate their food, but I got rid of them! I keep a trap set outside the fence, but haven't had any more come around.

I lost two of my bantams today.  Something spooked them to fly out of the garden and go for deep cover.  Two came back, two disappeared.  They are about 10 ounces, the size of a robin, so they could be prey to a rabbit.  

Sad thing it was my black with copper head cockerel and my OEGB pullet that went missing.

I hope they find their way back eventually.

 

[RIR-YELLOWLEGS]

Good luck! I've tried getting Sebright eggs shipped and never got one to hatch... :/


Have OEGB's though... at least for now... nasty little predator trying to pick them all off... really getting sick of this...

I lost two of my bantams today.  Something spooked them to fly out of the garden and go for deep cover.  Two came back, two disappeared.  They are about 10 ounces, the size of a robin, so they could be prey to a rabbit.  

Sad thing it was my black with copper head cockerel and my OEGB pullet that went missing.

im so sorry to hear about ya missing bantams.something has been spooking my RIRS lately I only have one hen laying eggs got it yesterday morning out of the nestbox put it on pinic table as i was cleaning the pen heard my roo scream quark and look up to see a hawk fly down to grab my egg from the pinic table dang my egg???that was a first -sorry about ya bantams

 

[WalnutHill]

I spotted the bantams. They were never tame, but they are spooked so bad that they duck into deep cover when I approach. Now that they've found their way home, maybe they will roost close by tonight.

Too bad they were not home last night, I dug the potatoes and there were hundreds of worms squirming around where the birds were supposed to be working.

 

[scflock]

Oh no!

Well that just sucks.  Out of curiosity, do you use medicated feed?

Oh that really sucks! Hope those two littluns pull through for you.

I'd place my bet on digestive system issues.  Of the hundreds I hatched this year, a few exhibited "failure to thrive", where the symptoms were often as you described.  They hatched the same size and looked good, but as the days went on they fell dramatically behind in weight gain and size.  I did autopsies on two and found gut twists near the navel that had obstructed the intestine.  Once they began eating, it hurt, so they quit.  Nothing you can do about that.

Lost the other 2 overnight, so down to 8, but the remaining 8 are fat and healthy. Yes, Friday, I feed medicated for the first 6 weeks.
Walnut, thanks for that post. That sounds like it could very well be the issue. They were just a little smaller than the others at first, but never grew. They were tiny compared to the healthy ones after 5 days. I helped them drink last night, and they would drink like they were thirsty, but a minute later they would try to regurgitate. Just very listless. They were gone this morning. I am very happy to have 8 healthy ones, though, and will be moving them to the outside brooder today. Hopefully the next batch will fare better


Now everyone stop hugging me

 

[silkiecuddles]

I'm glad you found them!

If I were a chicken, hundreds of worms would sound delicious. But I'm not a chicken, so they sound disgusting.

 

[silkiecuddles]

Ah come on, SC. Everyone needs a hug occasionally!

 

[scflock]

It's a coon... just found tracks... **** thing fell in the rat trap bucket eating the peanut butter and left prints from the oil...

It never hit at the same times... sometimes at night, sometimes late morning after it was light out... don't have cams... and knew it wasn't a feathered prey animal as it pulls the birds out through an enclosed cage...

Catch it and kill it. They are too smart, too dangerous. Their hands allow them to do things other predators can't. I agree with the other posters, I've walked out to find headless silkies. If you don't have a trap, buy one. It will keep coming back, and those critters are smart

 

[scflock]

Raccoon made me think of this Kevin Hart monologue. Too funny!!!

 

[dan26552]

Ah come on, SC. Everyone needs a hug occasionally!

Only I'm allowed to hug him

 

[scflock]

Only I'm allowed to hug him 

BR!!!