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

[scflock]

I will be back in a few and try and explain some of this for all. Just doesn't  make since to hatch them off and then do not know how to brood them. Class will start soon.

I'm looking forward to this. I have been brooding the same way for years with no issues until now, so I would love to hear how you do it and why

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Heehee Armand will get his own pen, for him and Katherine, if it comes to that, but I'll keep you in mind! He is such a doll. I need to send you the video of him crowing!

LOL. Love the vids!

Walnut that's interesting you do autopsy on the turkey poults. They do them on the peafowl boards too but call them "necropsy", not sure what the difference is?

Necropsy is the proper term for an animal "autopsy".

Stop it! (LOL)



Good question. I never used to use medicated feed. But a friend here swears that chicks need it, even though we're pretty dry. I use it now for the first week or so, and expose the chicks to native soil and litter from the big run after couple of days. When the small bag runs out, I switch to starter/grower.

Will be interested to hear your responses.

That's how I do it. I buy a small bag of the medicated and when it's gone they go on regular starter crumbles. I also use the save a chick in my water for the first couple days.

 

[WalnutHill]

Walnut that's interesting you do autopsy on the turkey poults. They do them on the peafowl boards too but call them "necropsy", not sure what the difference is?

I started typing necropsy, changed to autopsy as so many people are more familiar with that term. Necropsy by definition is autopsy performed on an animal, so it's just semantics.

No matter what stage of life, from dead in shell to dead after a full life, it's a useful tool. I had an old hen who just declined from what I thought was old age. She was around 7 (before I started raising commercially) and it turned out she had ovarian cancer. There was nothing I could have or would have done to extend her life, but I may have ended her life more humanely had I known.

 

[WalnutHill]

Question for anyone willing to answer. I see all the comments on using Medicated feed to the birds. Anyone like to comment on why you should never use medicated feed ?

I have heard that medicated feed can't be used on waterfowl, but I use chick and turkey starters with Amprolium interchangeably with non-medicated for my turkeys and chickens. Only difference is that I do not use Corid (amprolium) in the water if using medicated feed.

Cocci is a real concern here for the first several weeks. Our climate is moist and all my birds do get it, amprolium helps prevent losses while they build resistance.

I do not use any feed or supplement with antibiotics. Those are reserved for the true medical emergencies.

 

[FridayYet]

@scflock

since I didn't sneak it in earlier.....

I went out early this morning and saw Betty was still in her sleep trance, so I replaced the golf ball with little Solo. Stayed in the coop cleaning for probably half an hour and then all of a sudden Betty went totally ballistic. She was flapping, screaming and trying to kill little Solo. Now I'm thinking she kept pecking the other chick's shell as it tried to hatch, exposing tons of membrane so it shrink wrapped.

So Solo is in the house in her little condo. She seems healthy so far, eating, drinking, pooping and constantly cheeping. I wadded up a washcloth under the ecoglow so she can snuggle next to it.

Hope I find some other chicks soon!

 

[AmyLynn2374]

@scflock

since I didn't sneak it in earlier.....

I went out early this morning and saw Betty was still in her sleep trance, so I replaced the golf ball with little Solo. Stayed in the coop cleaning for probably half an hour and then all of a sudden Betty went totally ballistic. She was flapping, screaming and trying to kill little Solo. Now I'm thinking she kept pecking the other chick's shell as it tried to hatch, exposing tons of membrane so it shrink wrapped.

So Solo is in the house in her little condo. She seems healthy so far, eating, drinking, pooping and constantly cheeping. I wadded up a washcloth under the ecoglow so she can snuggle next to it.

Hope I find some other chicks soon!

Oh wow. Guess she's better off with the golf ball, big meanie.

 

[WalnutHill]

Question, Why should we not use wire flooring to brood chicks. Without some kind of covering.

Depending on the size of the chicks and the size of the wire, I've had them get hocks stuck in the wire. I always keep either shelf liner or corrugated paper on the sleeping side of the brooder.

 

[bantam brood 17]

@scflock

since I didn't sneak it in earlier.....

I went out early this morning and saw Betty was still in her sleep trance, so I replaced the golf ball with little Solo. Stayed in the coop cleaning for probably half an hour and then all of a sudden Betty went totally ballistic. She was flapping, screaming and trying to kill little Solo. Now I'm thinking she kept pecking the other chick's shell as it tried to hatch, exposing tons of membrane so it shrink wrapped.

So Solo is in the house in her little condo. She seems healthy so far, eating, drinking, pooping and constantly cheeping. I wadded up a washcloth under the ecoglow so she can snuggle next to it.

Hope I find some other chicks soon!

Hi Friday I had a single chick and I put a feather duster in with her while I was trying to find chicks to buy . She did ok for a week and for reasons unknown she just collapsed and died the day I picked up 2 chicks to keep her company. She was very small and maybe wasn,t meant to be . Fingers crossed for your little 1

 

[dan26552]

It was a nice hat

I see

 

[FridayYet]

Oh wow. Guess she's better off with the golf ball, big meanie.

I think I'm going to dunk her in cool water and put her in a wire cage to try and break her again. Tonight I'll put her in the grow-out box to keep her away from the nest. She's 2 1/2, never been a mom, and she needs to just go back to being a layer!

Hi Friday I had a single chick and I put a feather duster in with her while I was trying to find chicks to buy . She did ok for a week and for reasons unknown she just collapsed and died the day I picked up 2 chicks to keep her company. She was very small and maybe wasn,t meant to be . Fingers crossed for your little 1

Thanks Bantam. I'll pick up a feather duster when we go to the store later. My last one got so old it molted.....