The babies are here!!!!!

[MollyDora]

the yellow thing is the Eco glow 50, it's the infrared alternative to the electric hen.

And we're planning on having the chicks in the house for at least 6 weeks, then we'll see how their feathers are coming in and we will decide then to move some outside with the big hens, which are between 6 months and 2 years...

 

[MollyDora]

so today our chicks from Meyer Hatchery arrived.

and I was wrong, we did not get Dominiques, we got Barred Rocks, we also got 5 Easter Eggers and 5 Black Australorp

we have some losses that worry us. one of the Barred Rocks was dead on arrival and since they are here 2 more have passed.

They are all huddled underneath the eco glow and when we go out there, they come out, drink and check us out.

We are definetly having a cuteness overload.

Is it normal for this many to die or should we be worried??

I think here we have 2 Black australorp and I think 3 easter egger



this little guy is more on the brown side and I think it's an easter egger

 

[SilkiesForEver]

Awwww!!! That many deaths isn't normal, but they're stressed and had a traumatic time, so it's not that bad.
You've definitely got some cuties there!

 

[Quyen Le]

Shipping during winter time, chicks suffer from cold weather and get weaker. Shipping stress and cold weather are main factors.

 

[Agafan]

the yellow thing is the Eco glow 50, it's the infrared alternative to the electric hen.

And we're planning on having the chicks in the house for at least 6 weeks, then we'll see how their feathers are coming in and we will decide then to move some outside with the big hens, which are between 6 months and 2 years...

We too received 16 chicks from Myers today! Obviously one was lagniappe as we'd ordered 15. We got 5 Buff Brahmas, 4 Blk Langshans, 4 Rhode Island Reds, & 3 Blue Laced Red Wyandotts. They are very easy to tell these 4 breeds apart!

They were hatched Mon and arrived safely this morning. So far all our little peeps seem very content under their light in the starter kit my hubby purchased. They all are happily eating, drinking, sleeping! I hD to laugh at the description y'all gave ofthem looking dead when they sleep... scared me too but i could see their tiny chest moving so could tell they were breathing. several had stuck their legs out looking as if they were broken but after observing them awhile I realized this is chick stretching! Phew!
I am however concerned about this pasty butt syndrome. I see a little poop on their backsides since they've eaten..(voraciously I might add!!) ..whereas when they arrived they had very plain clean feathered bottoms. But it is a very tiny amount as if they just didn't wipe the last drop off. Will this increase? What should I do? Wash each ones bottom? Apply Vaseline before/ after or as a preventative to each one? I watched a you tube video on it and those pasty bottoms were the sz of a nickel! Obviously this is our first experience with chicks so I appreciate the advice.
Prior to this Christmas surprise my hubby planned, we'd started out with pullets for our flock (we have 3EasterEggers and 4Golden Comets. BTW one of our Easter Eggers graced us with her first egg today. A beautiful blue! Our 4 golden comets give us 3 eggs a day even in our cold NC mt elevation!
For this first critical week or two they are in our main bathroom. We even pulled up chairs and had our lunch watching them.. LOL...they mesmerize you! I watched them for hours today until I had to tear myself away to go help hubby put a floor in our coop. The rain made it a mess lately so he fixed that problem!
Here's a pic of our 16 new peeps. Yes they are ate up with cute!

 

[MollyDora]

they did not sent us any extra... we will call them today and see what they say.

also I wish mine were all this agil, most of the babies are well running playing eating but some worrie us, are always sleeping and never hang out with the others to eat...

we'll see.

 

[Agafan]

When I called Myers when they arrived to ask a question and they td me they guarantee any losses for the first 48 hours just call them and they'd replace or refund for that chick(s).

 

[MollyDora]

yes we know, we called them the day they arrived and they told us to call back Friday (tomorrow) and give them a final count.

So far we lost one more ( a easter egger, the prettiest one too, so I'm very bummed about that one) also another Barred Rock and Black Orpington seem on the edge.
It's so sad to see these little fluffballs dying.

Not sure if I want to order during this weather again, To loose 6 out of 15 just seems crazy!

Then again, the remaining 9 and doing fantastic. We gave them some baby crickets today and they went wild!! It was too much fun to watch them chase them down.

 

[CluckyCharms]

Great set-ups!! The chicklets have lots of room and adequate heating and cooler areas - very nice.

The ones that aren't eating with the others - did you dip their beaks in the food and water so they know what it is and where to find it? In nature they watch the mother hen and copy her, but they didn't have time to grow up with a mama, so dipping beaks is recommended with chicks that have been incubated or shipped to you. Three of ours caught on right away on their own and just went to town, but I had to hand-dip quite a few beaks in water and feed multiple times until they finally understood "Oh, there's food and water there...okay, got it." They simply don't realize it on their own much of the time.

With regard to the "little dab" of poo on the bottom - that's tricky. Sometimes it just gets caught on their tushy fuzz and falls off easily, but other times that's how pasty butt starts..because you have one little minor dab, but then the next poo clings to that one, and the next poo clings to that one and pretty soon you have a big wad of nasty on their bottoms. I'd wipe off anything you see on their tushy that shouldn't be there. Another way to help prevent pasty butt is giving them warm water, not cold water...it's easier on their bodies. ACV (apple cider vinegar with the mother) in their water - served in a non-metal waterer is also helpful against pasty butt (but I stop giving them ACV after the pasty butt phase stops (some folks give it to them forever which is fine I guess, I just don't).

Good luck and have fun - they are all adorable.

 

[MollyDora]

wow Clucky Charms! Thank you so much for this post.

We dipped dip their beaks several times... we just lost another black orpington (one of the ones I thougth would not make it)

Especially when a lot of the other ones were drinking I got the slurrish ones out, dipped their beaks and sat them next to the others so they could watch and learn.

I feel like bad chicken momma since we lost so many, but hearing all the kudos on our setup I guess and hope it's not our fault. We just washed a few butts off, just to be on the safe side, and put some vaseline on it.