The Imported English Jubilee Orpington Thread

[chixmix]

That's what I thought. The breeder (which I will not name) has some of the most beautify jubilees I have seen. But one of the pics had blue eyes. So I just wanted to see what was expected.

Eye color is no problem though, that's probably the easiest fault to correct.

 

[DCchicken]

Eye color is no problem though, that's probably the easiest fault to correct.

I actually like the blue/gray eyes. But I am biased..I have gray eyes (and probably lots of faults)

 

[Odelia]

Is there an issue with this breeds hardiness? These were shipped chicks and we have lost two of them. This is quite sad and disappointing. They are on medicated chick feed. They have the save-a-chick vitamins and electrolytes in their water. One day they seem fine and the next morning they are dead. This has happened two days in a row now. No other breed seems to be having any issues. Both of the chicks that were lost were on the smaller side. I don't want to lose anymore.

 

[DCchicken]

Is there an issue with this breeds hardiness? These were shipped chicks and we have lost two of them. This is quite sad and disappointing. They are on medicated chick feed. They have the save-a-chick vitamins and electrolytes in their water. One day they seem fine and the next morning they are dead. This has happened two days in a row now. No other breed seems to be having any issues. Both of the chicks that were lost were on the smaller side. I don't want to lose anymore.

I would take them to your state vet's office and see if they will do a necropsy. They should be also be able to test for various diseases that are common for all breeds of chickens. Did you talk to the breeder that sent them to you? They may have a guarantee or at least be able to help you with any health issues.

 

[chixmix]

Is there an issue with this breeds hardiness? These were shipped chicks and we have lost two of them. This is quite sad and disappointing. They are on medicated chick feed. They have the save-a-chick vitamins and electrolytes in their water. One day they seem fine and the next morning they are dead. This has happened two days in a row now. No other breed seems to be having any issues. Both of the chicks that were lost were on the smaller side. I don't want to lose anymore.

So sorry to hear that. It could be a couple reasons really. DC covered one for sure, but sometimes there are just chicks born weak, when we hatch a lot, we can tell right off the bat who is weak and would not bother shipping them, usually one or two every hatch will take a while to hatch out and just not be a strong chick. On the other hand, I have seen a perfectly healthy looking, strong chick just be dead in the morning. My only conclusion there is, probably ate some bedding or some foreign object that blocked them up or something unfortunate like that. We hatch about 50 chicks a week and not all make it unfortunately, very few though honestly. Hopefully whoever you got them from wouldn't send a weak chick that they ought to know wouldn't make it.

 

[DCchicken]

Sorry for your loss but I was focusing on the last part because I did not want you to lose any more of them if they are sick. Start with the basic first like changing the bedding. But I would put paper towels down on top of the litter for a few days. That will prevent them from eating it. Plus it will help you spot any blood in their poop which can be a sign of both coccidiosis and ecoli. If you do spot blood, immediately stop any probiotics and electrolytes. Supplements can have thiamine in them which if they do have coccidiosis will make them worse off.

A good sign that they are ok is if they are eating, drinking, and playing with others. Sick chicks will seek out heat and stare.

But like chixmix said, sometimes chicks hatch late and really are never healthy. I personally don't sell any chicks past what I call the popcorn popping phase of hatching. That's the time during he hatch when they seem to be a chick cracking open en masse. Think popcorn in the microwave. The ones past the popping phase seem to have more problems or didn't develop at the correct temperature. Those runts and late ones become my own personal special flock. But each breeder is different and some will send you every chick that hatches and let you decide what to keep and what to cull.

I hope your chicks stay healthy.

 

[Odelia]

I didn't put them on pine shavings. I bought the wood pellet bedding so that they would not eat it. I put them all in a new clean brooder after losing the first one. I sanitized the feeder and waterer and filled them with fresh food and water. I don't see any blood in their droppings. They seemed normal at night. When I got up in the morning they were gone. I will get rid of the save-a-chick in their water. Thank you for that tip. They were both smaller than the other Jubilee chicks.

 

[HaplessRunner]

I didn't put them on pine shavings. I bought the wood pellet bedding so that they would not eat it. I put them all in a new clean brooder after losing the first one. I sanitized the feeder and waterer and filled them with fresh food and water. I don't see any blood in their droppings. They seemed normal at night. When I got up in the morning they were gone. I will get rid of the save-a-chick in their water. Thank you for that tip. They were both smaller than the other Jubilee chicks.

If they were significantly smaller, they may have come from pullet eggs.

 

[Odelia]

If they were significantly smaller, they may have come from pullet eggs.

As someone who is new to hatching eggs is that bad? Do chicks from pullet eggs die more often? And yes they were noticeably smaller than the other JO's.

 

[HaplessRunner]

As someone who is new to hatching eggs is that bad? Do chicks from pullet eggs die more often? And yes they were noticeably smaller than the other JO's.

Young pullets when they start laying produce their first eggs that are very small. Over time as the pullet's body adapts to laying eggs, the eggs will increase in size to what is normal for the breed. Ordinarily, most folks do not hatch pullet eggs because the smaller eggs will not only produce smaller chicks but these chicks may not have enough body reserves to sustain themselves during the first few days. As such, these chicks may not be as vigorous and thrive as expected.

There are times when you may want to hatch pullet eggs. If you have very few breeders and want to make sure that some of the parents' genetics are passed along should something untoward happen to the parents. Some folks will hatch pullet eggs to check the success of breeding and fertility but you can certainly crack some eggs to determine fertility.

When selling hatching eggs, the seller should definitely advise potential buyers that they are buying pullet eggs. There is greater risk with successful hatching with pullet eggs and the buyer should know and accept the added risk . Jubilee orpingtons are very new and popular right now. So there are many folks out there trying to sell as much as they can to both recover their investment and to make some profits while the market is hot.

I do not know the breeder that you received your chicks from but if you had some chicks that were significantly smaller than others that you received I would certainly wonder why this was the case.