UK Member Please Say HI

[Gge23]

This is my current little soldier...he hatched yesterday morning in the incubator, but I wasn't until early evening we noticed it was in fact still attached to the bottom half of the shell it had gone all dry and crispy so it was very carefully detached and popped in with the others to fluff up overnight. I have been giving him some vitamins and washing its belly button with dilute iodine and he is slowly picking up (inbetween long naps) to the point where I hope he will be trying to walk tomorrow. He's the second one from this hatch that I have struggled with...the other had the same walking problem and kept falling on to its back unable to right itself. Although she's much better today after some vitamins...how long should I keep giving them for? I'm also worried about how much it seems to knock them out...is it normal for them to sleep straight after? Or could I be giving them too much? When they are awake they are very vocal and seem happy enough in themselves. Love them too pieces!

 

[timon]

Certainly could be leghorns then by the look of you're white ones. They are all great at being handed - I expect the attentive school children helped with that as they come to me when I'm outside and are quite calm when being picked up (even by my 5-yr old!)

Sry about the fox stories... I hope mine will be ok.

Did I post a pic of them all here? Don't think so.

 

[timon]

Did I post a pic of them all here? Don't think so.

 

[rebrascora]

Hi Timon and welcome from me too

Do you know what colour eggs they hatched from and were these the only ones that hatched? If not, were all the other chicks the same colour white?

I'm not convinced they are leghorns as they have red ear lobes and leghorns should have white ears. Unfortunately I'm pretty sure at least 2 of them are cockerels.... the two on the right hand side.... as you can see their sickle feathers (curved tail feathers) sprouting. I can't comment on the other two because you can't see their tails but since all have very similar comb and wattle development, it would be reasonable to deduce that they are all males. (individual close up side shots of each bird would help identify gender)
You can also see some red leakage coming through in their feathers which might suggest that they are actually male red sex links although it would be unusual I think for them to be quite so uniformly white with so little red. I personally don't think they are meat birds, because at 14 weeks they would be twice that size and so overweight they would be unable to stand.... they get harvested at 8-10 weeks.

You may need to start being vigilant when your 5 yr old is with you, as once they hit adolescence, their temperament may well change and as someone who has been flogged by a rooster, I can tell you it is an intimidating and dangerous experience for an adult let alone a child.... so please do be careful. That said, not having any hens amongst them and having been brought up together may help to keep them more amicable, but please do just be aware that things can change from one day to the next once their hormones kick in, which will start to happen in the next few weeks.

I appreciate that you may well already be attached to these birds but if I'm right and they are all male, keeping 4 cockerels is going to be a problem, particularly if you also want to keep some hens for eggs and my advice would be to teach your family the realities of where meat comes from, with at least 3 of them and "invite them to dinner". I know that sounds callous, but I imagine this is part of educating children about where food comes from and even if you are vegetarian and eat eggs, it is unreasonable to ignore the plight of millions of male birds in the egg production industry that get culled as day old chicks.... I seem to be making a case for veganism here!!
I learned at a reasonably young age as my mother helped with poultry on a friend's farm and my sister and I would help pluck them at Christmastime. Looking back it is really surprising how we accepted that this was what happened and although I grew up to be incredibly soft hearted and even move worms off the path when I see them, I am now keeping and raising chickens for myself and the excess cockerels have to be dealt with. That early education at the farm has stood me in good stead and although I find killing incredibly difficult, I am able to do it because it is my responsibility. They have a far better life than any supermarket chicken and a quick death at the hand of someone who cares, rather than the mass slaughter that happens in chicken factories.

Oh Gosh! I seem to have stepped up onto a soap box..... how did that happen

Sorry, really didn't mean to lecture..... just wanting to outline the less pleasant and less talked about side of poultry keeping that unfortunately you may need to research.

Good luck whatever you decide, but do be careful with your child around adolescent roosters.

Best wishes

Barbara

 

[rebrascora]

@Gge23

Hi Georgie and welcome from me too.

Congrats on your chicks and well done for taking on a rare breed. They look gorgeous. I don't know much about Scots Greys so will be interested to follow your progress and learn more about them from you. Hope your problem chick picks up and makes a full recovery.

Best wishes

Barbara

 

[rebrascora]

@Rudies Roost

Hi Sasha

Congrats on getting the thumbs up from the Environmental Health inspection and your landlord's approval. It's awful when neighbours do stuff like that behind your back. I hope this is the end of the aggravation. Sounds like you have a lovely set up.

Best wishes

Barbara

 

[Rudies Roost]

@timon

As @Yorkshirecoop said the ear lobes are not the correct colour for a leghorn, you'll see my hen has white ones (I hadn't seen a pic of your chucks so i didn't realise they had red earlobes). I think they are sex links or maybe leghorn crosses. I do hope you don't have 4 cockerels, i did have 3 and even with 21 hens, they were a nightmare. The fox dealt with 2 and left me with a real mixed breed cock who i must say is a darling! The RIR cock i had was vile with my 11 year old (though i think this breed is notorious for vicious males)....was a lovely lad till he hit adolescense then he would literally hunt her out and throw himself at her with spurs flying, she was so scared of him that eventually she refused to go in the garden. Not a nice experience for a child, our current cock (now a year old) loves being cuddled by her abd follows her about like a dog so it's all change. Good luck with them but be on guard! Sasha xx

 

[Rudies Roost]

@Rudies Roost


Hi Sasha

Congrats on getting the thumbs up from the Environmental Health inspection and your landlord's approval. It's awful when neighbours do stuff like that behind your back. I hope this is the end of the aggravation. Sounds like you have a lovely set up.

Best wishes

Barbara  

@rebrascora

Thanks so much! I was really anxious but all was well apart from the fact we've got tons of work, and not to mention expense, ahead over the next few weeks. New fencing all ordered, should be here middle of next week. :/

 

[rebrascora]

@Rudies Roost

Hi again Sasha

It was late last night when I typed and I forgot to ask after your duck at the vets..... I'm wincing for you at the thought of what that bill is going to come to, especially on top of the fencing you're having to fork out for. Hope they manage to fix him up well though.

Sorry to hear that your daughter experienced what I was warning Timon about but great to hear that she has overcome it with the help of the friendly roo you now have. She must be a tough little girl because it is a pretty scary experience. I had an almost daily run in with one of mine and it is unbelievable how much power they have. I'm pretty solid and he could nearly knock me off my feet and drew blood through my jodhpurs on more than one occasion and he would not back down. I had another one who tried it a few times but I managed to retrain him. Someone's dog got the bad one in the end and I would like to think that perhaps he taught the dog a lesson about chickens before his demise and that maybe he gave his life to save his girls, so there was some benefit to that aggression, but I certainly don't miss him.

Best wishes

Barbara

 

[dmarra81]

Hi all, im from the uk(london)

Just got a chicken I think its a silkie but have been getting advice from the good poeple on this site as to the sex, age and type that i have.

Looking for a rescue chicken to keep her(i'm hoping!) Would anyone know where i could go?

Thanks

Daniela x