The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[atmaclean]

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]

 

[aoxa]

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.

Nope not just you!

Pain in the butt to hatch. After they pip they seem to take their sweet time getting out. Over 36 hours for all of them so far. I had one pipped on Monday and just get out last night.

Newbie question... What does lockdown mean? And is it bad when a hen goes brody?

Lockdown:
It is a term on BYC to describe the event of leaving hands off at internal pip in the incubator (day 18 or 19).
Broody: It is a celebration if you want chicks, not so much if you need eggs. Once a hen goes broody she stops laying.

What would you describe it as before you went on BYC?

 

[brandislee]

I hatched out 3 cockerels out of 5 salmon faverolles eggs this spring. I'm way down in southern Ohio next to West Virginia and Kentucky, so way too far to give you a rooster. Be careful introducing a faverolles cockerel since you have another rooster--my fairly mild-mannered blue wheaten ameraucana tried to kill my faverolles guy when I brought him in at 5 months, even when I slowly introduced them. My boys have to be in separate coops since my faverolles won't fight back.

Yeah... I found an adult Fav rooster someone's trying to get rid of, and my gut just screamed "NOOOOO!" Favs are pretty mellow... and while my other rooster, a Buckeye, is as well, he's also done some pretty significant damage to a mutt rooster I have (who is now separated... I need to cull him, but I'm way too good at coming up with reasons not to). I would much rather bring in a chick or at least a really young chicken, the integration tends to go much better. And not right in the middle of hormonal spring!

 

[brandislee]

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

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...

 

[Leahs Mom]

How do you do the IFTTT to watch craigslist? You can pm me if it's too much to put out here on the thread.

 

[armorfirelady]

Ok question for all those who feeds their chickens grain. I found this ad on craigs list & I am wondering if its worth getting some to add to my FF?

http://buffalo.craigslist.org/grd/3765336477.html

I obviously wouldnt get a 100 lbs but if its something I can mix into their current food tub to ferment & it has added benefits for the chickens I will def get some.

I dont think throwing some into bare spots in the yard would work tho since I only have a lawn mower to mow it down lol

 

[brandislee]

How do you do the IFTTT to watch craigslist? You can pm me if it's too much to put out here on the thread.

No, it's really simple. Go to ifttt.com. Follow the directions. It will say "if this then that" and ask you about the "this" first, with a bunch of options to click on- click on craigslist. Then (in a seperate window/tab) go to craigslist, perform the search you want, and copy the URL to the IFTTT window. Then it will ask you to do the "that"- click on email, enter your email address. That is it. I have ifttt's set up for pekin ducks, kittens, mulch, compost, manure, and a chipper (lots and lots of chippers coming up on CL right now).

Hope those directions are clear- other than knowing what to do with the craigslist bit it's pretty simple and easy to understand.

 

[delisha]

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 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.

Quote: 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.

 

[brandislee]

Ok question for all those who feeds their chickens grain. I found this ad on craigs list & I am wondering if its worth getting some to add to my FF?

http://buffalo.craigslist.org/grd/3765336477.html

I obviously wouldnt get a 100 lbs but if its something I can mix into their current food tub to ferment & it has added benefits for the chickens I will def get some.

I dont think throwing some into bare spots in the yard would work tho since I only have a lawn mower to mow it down lol

You can use it in small amounts, but it increases photosensitivity in most animals (including chickens). And I can't remember the percentage you can mix it in. But I would be careful if you have any white chickens or bare backed chickens, it will make it more likely they will get sunburned. Same with the plant if you plant it for forage or soil improvement- don't let your animals eat it, or eat much of it.

 

[delisha]

Ok question for all those who feeds their chickens grain. I found this ad on craigs list & I am wondering if its worth getting some to add to my FF?

http://buffalo.craigslist.org/grd/3765336477.html

I obviously wouldnt get a 100 lbs but if its something I can mix into their current food tub to ferment & it has added benefits for the chickens I will def get some.

I dont think throwing some into bare spots in the yard would work tho since I only have a lawn mower to mow it down lol

That is pretty expensive unless you plant it. If you do plant it, do you know anything about it?