The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[brandislee]

Hello - I haven't posted in a while but have been reading. I've got kind of an emergency and could use a little help from some of you experienced chick starters.....

I hatched a little Tolbount Polish chick on Saturday so its 5 days old. It was given to me at a Show a few weeks ago. Here is what I've been doing:

It is in a rubbermaid brooder with a heat emitter - temp is fine, paper towels on floor.

The other chick in with it is totally normal and energetic (about a week older but has been in the same brooder) I've used this set-up to hatch about 50 chicks this year

They are fed a chick starter/grower

I keep vitamins/electrolytes in their water with a tiny bit of ACV

They are on paper towels for bedding.

The chick is not really eating. I saw it peck at the food when the other chick was eating but only twice and I don't think it got any food.

I have dipped its beak in the water a few times.

I am wondering if it is possible to hand-feed chicks like you do baby birds? I've raised a couple of parrots in the past - hand fed with a syringe and the Kaytee Exotic hand feeding formula. I have some of this on hand and wondered if I could give it to this chick?

Chick is just sitting under heat lamp kind of huddled down - it can walk but doesn't move much unless I make it. It peeps every once in a while. Just seems very weak and not wanting to eat/drink.

There was a tiny little piece of poop on its butt this morning which I removed but I have not seen any pasty butt type stuff.

Please respond if you have any suggestions or know if I can syringe feed this baby. I was so thrilled that the egg hatched and I don't want to lose this little one. Our local veterinarians have no clue about chickens other than basic feeding info and other common issues.

I know some of you all are very experienced chick raisers and am hoping for some advice that will save this little fellow....

Thanks so very much!
Angela MacLean
www.naturallyequine.org
[email protected]

I've never been able to save a chick like this... I know that sucks, especially if it's a special chick. If they're acting like this it's usually a sign something is internally wrong and there's nothing you can do about it.

But I have a question- I've never thought about this because once chicks have gotten like this in the past they've always died before I had to think about doing anything about it, but last week one of my broiler chicks was all huddled down and unresponsive in the morning and held on most of the day. When you need to cull chicks, what do you do? Do you cut their necks like an adult, or do you use another method?

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Quote: x2 I can't save them either.

 

[armorfirelady]

Quote: No nothing. Just what I have found via Google. Its the first time I have seen grains for sale near me. I was just curious if it would be something beneficial for the hens. We have no feed mills in my area so finding grains for feeding is hard for me. Its at least an hour but probably longer away for me to find a feed mill.

 

[atmaclean]

I personally would cull the chick. However I understand why you would not. If I try to save chicks I fill the crop. You need to get a catheter into the crop and actually feel it in there before adding food. They aspirate into the lungs too easy if you do not. It sounds like you might have waited to long. It might be beyond learning to eat on its own and you will have to feed it for days before it will. If you have a syringe you can inject saline under the skin to give fluids. In the back by the neck is the best place. Some chicks have a fail to thrive proponent. You might get this chick threw days and days and it will still expire. Saving a chick is sometimes not worth all the health issues you deal with later in its life if it does make it too. It is a hard decision. I am sorry you are going threw this.

Thanks Delisha...

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I did go ahead and feed it some of the Kaytee Exact handfeeding formula with an eyedropper and it seems to have perked up a bit. It WAS eating with the other chick before I noticed it not thriving this morning. I had seen it eat the chick feed. I did not use any tubing/catheter but I can certainly try to find something around here to use or run to the drugstore for some.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]If it is getting the fluid from the hand feeding formula, should I still inject the lactated ringers under the skin? If so, how much? I have no problem doing it as I've done it with my dogs/cats before. I'm assuming it is the same method???[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Thank you so much. I understand what you are saying about the prognosis. I certainly don't intend to breed this bird, just wanted to have one for a pet to enjoy looking at. Kind of like my 3 silkies pullets They are just so enjoyable to watch and interact with.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Angela[/FONT]

 

[camilleathome]

I thought it was just me. I have a heck of a time incubating duck eggs. Yet the ducks do well at it. I plan on putting some Pekin/Runner mix eggs under a LF hen when one goes broody. Keep one drake and keep the girls for eggs. The rest of the mutt duck drakes will be dinner.

here is a pic of last years runners at 2 or 3 days old.









ok a few pics. Off to make the almighty dollar. BBL

Awww I really hope some of my duck eggs do end up being runners. Their so cute!!

 

[aoxa]

I never used a term..I waited for the cheeping(internal pip) from the chicks or if I seen my first external pip, and than added water..than I waited till they all hatched.

Interesting

Do you call it lockdown now exclusively?

 

[stonykill]

Ugh, you're killin' me here... I had just resolved to NOT get ducks this year (I was planning to get some Pekins TODAY from Runnings) because I really don't have room for them. I have room for them as adults, but I don't have a brooder open right now. You're really hurting my resolve right now! It's not too late for me to change my mind, the ducklings show up at the store around 9... I actually was second guessing the hatchery ducklings because 1) I don't like to buy from hatcheries (other than straight run broilers), and 2) I've heard shipping is super hard on ducklings, and they ship the babies all the way from CA (to MN???). I have an IFTTT set up to watch Craigslist for Pekin ducklings locally. I could still change my mind... I really really just want some duck meat, and I can't seem to find any locally. Plus ducks are super duper cute.

Broody is not bad! I don't get why people get so up in arms about it when their hens go broody. Okay, I get it a little... some people have limits on how many chickens they can have, making hatching chicks an overall bad idea... and if you only have like 3 hens I can see where it would be mildly annoying if one or two aren't laying. But it's a natural chicken behavior, and I go out of my way to keep broodies! IMO I don't have ENOUGH broody hens- I only had 2 out of my 30+ last year who went broody, and one of them died this spring. My stupid silkie (she's not really stupid, I love her and she's beautiful) won't stay broody, which is annoying because that's why I got a silkie. Thankfully the other is going broody as we speak, I just need to figure out which eggs to put under her. I wish I had time to sit out there and just watch the hens until they lay- I only want to hatch Buckeye eggs and only have a Buckeye rooster in with the hens, I just need to be able to tell the Buckeye eggs from the Favs and the stupid Gold Stars. I think I may start kicking everyone out of the coop except the Buckeyes (and the Broody) just during the day until I get enough eggs. I have a spare like 10 hole nest box I could set outside the coop, I would just have to figure out how to get them to use it...

exactly. This is a natural chicken keeping thread. Human incubating is not natural. Broody's are natures way.

One word. Sumatra's. Trying to KEEP mine from going broody is the problem. And they follow through and are excellent mothers. So are my RIR's and my Runners.


We started with straightrun Pekins. Got 5 males and 1 female. Got rid of males, got more females. Then got Runners. I love my Pekins but the Runners are down right entertaining as well as beautiful. AND the feed to egg conversion is MUCH better. A BIG Runner weighs 5 lbs. A Pekin goes 8 to 9 lbs. And a Runners egg is only slightly smaller than a Pekins. Runners lay a LOT of eggs. I have 8 female ducks. 3 Pekins and 5 Runners. I get 6 to 7 eggs a day. Always 4 Runner eggs a day. Sometimes all 5 kick in. Except now. One is broody

 

[Mumsy]

OK I suck at pictures but I also wanted to post pictures of my Partridge Silkie. I am pretty sure it is a male. Even thought it is much younger than my first one this one has a comb already visible.

Sorry I've missed so much the last couple days on here. Lots of interesting discussion.

First off. Nope. Not a Partridge. Grey Silkies come by Silver Partridge color. Grey x Grey produces 100% Grey. This chick looks Lavender or what is called Self Blue. Pretty chick!

My flock:

22 Ron Fogle HRIR

15 Catdance Silkies

19 Barn yard mix.


I agree with Stony about Cock birds. There is nothing gentle about their sexual advance. Some are much quicker than others and the hen doesn't even know what hit her and it's over. I don't care if they dance or not. I like roosters that get the job done quickly and I like hens that have good enough feathering over their back and can take it. Hens that squat all the time are not my favorites for the breeding pen. Neither are Cocks that favor only a hen or two and don't cover the rest of the flock. Mature roosters that are left to mature before introducing to hens make good breeders.

I adore all the duck pictures! I used to breed White Call ducks. Loved them! My property is too small to keep all the animals these days.

I lost a Call duck to a Great Horned owl. I was out near the pens one morning and it was still dark. I watched a huge dark shadow sweep down from a fir tree and off with a juvie. I heard that poor duck squawking through the air as the owl flew away. I later discovered the half eaten remains under a large old growth evergreen tree in the neighborhood. I love owls. They do a great service in controlling rodents. I keep my flocks undercover until daylight these days. I enjoy listening to the owl song every morning while having my coffee on the patio early summer mornings. I relax knowing my birds are safe.

Gardening is now in full swing and I spend all day outside. Cleaned the DL this morning and la;yered it in the Potager garden pathways. The flock is thriving.

 

[Leahs Mom]

I agree with Stony about Cock birds. There is nothing gentle about their sexual advance. Some are much quicker than others and the hen doesn't even know what hit her and it's over. I don't care if they dance or not. I like roosters that get the job done quickly and I like hens that have good enough feathering over their back and can take it. Hens that squat all the time are not my favorites for the breeding pen. Neither are Cocks that favor only a hen or two and don't cover the rest of the flock. Mature roosters that are left to mature before introducing to hens make good breeders.

So do you separate your cockerels to a separate area/pen until a certain age? What age?

 

[Bulldogma]

I'm planning to get eggs from some mostly black and dark gray stock in June so I hope to have some real sfh black/dark gray soon too! Can't wait for these kiddos to start laying to see how they do egg-production-wise.

My 3 hens are averaging about 14 eggs a week. Sometimes more, sometimes a couple less. Pretty darn good IMO.

My chicks came today one day earlier than expected

trying photobucket to post photos here goes:

Congrats on your new chicks!!! Great pictures!