Show off your Peas!

[msmolly]

Okay have to show off my new peachicks. Did not know my India Blues had the recessive Pied gene hidden in there, but I've now got three Pied and 3 India Blues, just hatched yesterday.





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[zazouse]

beautiful

 

[msmolly]

Thanks.
Okay I have a question- maybe you can answer. I just shifted my hen to put more straw under the peeps-( since she in insisting on nesting with them in the outside pen tonight) and was really alarmed at how sharp her Keel(sp?) bone was. She doesn't eat much when nesting- gets off once a day, but I guess I assumed mother nature had a back up fat layer or some thing. Never had the chance to feel her chest during last years peeps, so not sure how concerned I should be. She has water and food and treats available for her and chicks, but shes not having any of it right now-she pretty annoyed with me right now. oops.

 

[WestKnollAmy]

Do you feed her gamebird starter when she is sitting? That should be helping keep the weight on her.

 

[msmolly]

Thanks- I did not. She had regular game bird feed, scratch, chicken starter, woodpecker mix etc.... available to her, but free ranges- so there's no telling what she was eating. Guess I'm wiser now. I have her and the chicks, somewhat closed in, and hoping she'll eat the gamebird starter I have for them- but she's too busy with them. She seems okay- hope so..

 

[zazouse]

Do you feed her gamebird starter when she is sitting? That should be helping keep the weight on her.

I always thought feeding a hen where she sits was a bad idea for the fact that the smell of grain could attract critters at night, i know my ducks will take a rotten egg far away from their hidden nest. just sayen.

IMO she will recover, i have found it normal in my other breed of birds to drop a little weight no matter how much you try to feed them they are producing lot of heat keeping them eggs growing.

 

[WestKnollAmy]

Oh yeah, I always close mine in a pen so food right there is a "have to" but if they free range then yes, that would be a big difference.

 

[Christabelle]

My peachick Pi again. Are all peachicks so "snugly"? I wish I had a sibling for her/him.

 

[msmolly]

They can be raised with chicken chicks, I've found it keeps them close to home later on. They don't want to leave their buddies who can't fly.

 

[Mmmatt13]

Be careful keeping them with chickens, chickens can carry blackhead worms which can kill peas. If you're going to keep them with chickens, I'd suggest dropping a tablet of fish zole in a gallon of water, mix it up, and give that to them. That's what I did (though I don't keep them with chickens, I do have them) and they all made it to 1 year old.