*Update - Unsuccessful Spay. Anyone have experience with Suprelorin implant and/or spay? Egg yolk pe

[kculbert]

It's easy to raise mealworms but they do smell. I do it the simple way with a 20 gallon tank with a couple of inches of bran in the bottom and apple slices, sweet potatoes or carrots for moisture. I keep them in a closet because it gets so hot here and they don't seem to thrive in the humidity. There is some really great info. on here and some helpful Youtube videos. I don't take very good care of my worms so I'm certainly no expert but my girls do gobble them up and it makes them happy.

Your husband is so sweet! I think if we had fewer dogs, my husband would be a little more interested in the other animals. We have four dogs and they follow him everywhere, which can be a little overwhelming at times. Plus, two of them sleep with us along with a cat or two. I am a big wildlife lover and volunteer feeding squirrels and birds at a rehab center. I was out of town when he found a dead mama opossum with three tiny babies clinging to her. He picked them off, wrapped them in a towel and rushed them to the wildlife center. Not something he would normally do but he knew it would matter to me. It's nice when you find a keeper, isn't it?

We did flood but we are used to it because we have a sunken living room. They cancelled school on Monday so we all spent the day with the wet vac, sump pump and mops. Cable guy just left so we have TV again. We lost a tree in the back but overall it wasn't too bad and all animals are safe. We have an eastern screech owl nest in our backyard and I was worried sick about the two babies. They not only made it, they have left the nest and are learning to fly!

The sun has come back out and everything is brilliant green and blooming, if still a little soggy.

 

[Luvmy9hens]

Glad you all made it through unscathed!

(Although you did have a mess to clean.)

I will try raising mealworms and see how it goes. Even the dried ones smell nasty...

How is Big Fatty doing?

Ellie had not laid again (yet).

The new chick is doing well. Looks like a baby silkie but is silkie / wyandotte cross. No other hatchlings yet and there are 4 more eggs...

 

[kculbert]

Big Fatty is starting to molt. I read that one of the side effects of the implant is a sever molt. Hope it's not terrible because there is nothing more pathetic than a big fat bald chicken.

Oh how I would love to hatch some chicks! Little chick sounds adorable! What do you do with the chicks you hatch?

My silkie goes broody all the time and would love to sit on some eggs but it is illegal to keep chickens where I live so I have to keep my flock small and quiet.

Apparently Zelda and Big Fatty liked to talk to each other. Now that Zelda is gone and Big Fatty is calmer, it is much quieter around here. The vet called yesterday and said they made a plaster cast of Zelda's footprint. I wasn't expecting that and thought it was so sweet.

 

[Luvmy9hens]

We have a silkie rooster. He was an "accident" as we set 7 fertilized eggs (under a broody hen) hoping for a female silkie. He was the only one that hatched and turned out to be a roo. Unfortunately, he is VERY shy and docile. All attempts to put him in with the girls led to him being severely beaten up. We could not give him away because we did not want him to needlessly die. Of course, the crowing was another matter.

This Spring we finally put him out in the coop again hoping that a little maturity on his part would make him more acceptable to the rest of the flock. He is now accepted by the girls and the fact that he can't fly (and they can) seems to help. If they don't want to be near him, they can fly up and perch out of his reach. I have 3 hens now that are broody but scatterbrains unlike my older hens. The three broodies swap nests, kick out all of the bedding, knock the eggs out, and sometimes double up in a nest box (it's quite the feat!). They don't seem to serious about their "job". Anyway, I marked a few eggs and allowed them to do their thing. I did not believe that any would really hatch so I did not even bother dating them or checking.

Boy, was I wrong! Here is a picture of the new chick:


Tiny little thing with LOTS of spunk! I noticed that there is an extra toe (with a nail) growing between the two back toes. Looks like there are six. Could be another extra toe also growing next to the outer front toes. That would make 7 on each foot. The extra toes are barely noticeable. At first, I thought that the toes were webbed. Upon closer inspection, I noticed the extra toe. I can't get the chick to stay still long enough to look under the hair on the outer front toe. The chick looks totally normal - you REALLY have to look to notice it.

I keep what I hatch. I finally found a good home for the roo, too!

I was not planning on any chicks so this was a surprise! I do hope that another does hatch so that this little one has a friend!

That was very sweet of the vet to make a plaster cast of Zelda's little foot! I would have never thought of doing that!

I know that it is very hard on chickens when they lose a mate or "best friend". I have heard that it causes extra stress. Is Big Fatty isolating herself or is she looking to find another companion?

Ellie went through a severe molt last year. She molted again in March. This time, she lost her head and neck feathers. Ugh! What these hens put us through!

 

[kculbert]

That is one cute chick! I would never be able to set it down or stop staring at it!

Zelda and Big Fatty were the two closest hens but I think most of the attachment was on Zelda's part. Big Fatty isn't really "allowed" to isolate herself because wherever she goes, the others follow.

I have major chicken yearnings and have been online looking at different breeds and checking out what's available within driving distance because it's too hot to ship. Big Fatty was shipped to me from Washington state and I had a Salmon Faverolles (killed by a hawk) that was shipped from Cape Cod. Totally worth it but the waiting was hell.

I think the yearnings will just stay yearnings for now though. It has been so quiet without Fatty's egg song and Zelda joining in the celebration whenever anyone laid an egg. I have one loud girl, a frizzled EE named Phyllis Diller, and even she has quieted down some now that Zelda isn't here to "egg" her on. I am always nervous about someone reporting me for having illegal chickens so quiet is good. Also, less poop on the patio is nice.

 

[Luvmy9hens]

The chick is cute but being alone is difficult. She cries and she is picked up and cuddled. Spoiled little thing! I did see a video once of a feather duster being suspended in the brooder to alleviate anxiety in baby chicks and give them a place to "hide". We have found the little one under it so I guess it works!

So Big Fatty is the head of the pack? That's cute that they all follow her. Zelda sounds like she was quite the character. I agree - quiet is good. We can have chickens but I am unsure about roosters. I don't care, though because it only temporary - I knew that I would be giving him away eventually. So far, so good.

You have a frizzle EE named Phyllis Diller? I LOVE IT! SOOO Funny! Great name!

Ellie looked worse this morning so I gave her another dose of Cal-Nate before going to work. A few hours later, she laid an egg with a good sturdy shell and I was told that she was "extra hyper" after the egg was laid. A far cry from this morning when she was standing with her head down and her eyes closed. 8 days between eggs. I gave her a bath this afternoon because she was looking dirty from all that she has been through the past few weeks. She is sitting on my lap and wrapped in a towel. I noticed that the scales on her feet and legs are sloughing off. Underneath the new scales are much cleaner and soft. For a while I was worried that something was wrong as her scales were becoming thick and yellow. Her scales are normally light gray. Never actually saw this in all my years of tending chickens.

Ellie was shipped as one of 4 fertilized eggs from Georgia.

The white silkie rooster came from fertilized eggs that were shipped to a friend of mine but I do not know their origin.

We see chicks quite frequently at the post office and we HAVE to take a peek. Sometimes, the hatcheries are so interested in getting the chicks out, that they do not take heed of the weather. We have had them arrive dead and close to death. We've even seen cannibalism! This occurs when the chicks do not arrive until day 4 or 5. I have a small stash of feed and a waterer at work just in case any chicks arrive in bad shape!

 

[kculbert]

Hmmm, any chanced she had scaly leg mites? Big Fatty has always had super thick scales on her legs and I have always worried that there was something wrong with her. I finally realized that she just has big legs, kind of like my cankles, and that I needed to stop obsessing over her.

Dead chicks would just kill me. The closest I've ever had to a little one was an eight week old pullet. Not near as cuddly as a hatchling but still sweet. Love that baby "cheep cheep."

Keep me updated on Ellie and the baby!

 

[Luvmy9hens]

When I was at the vet, I did ask about Ellie's legs. No scaly leg mites as she is indoors. The vet said that they looked normal. I was concerned because they were asymmetrical. Her legs and feet looked odd because some scales were new and healthy while others looked thick, yellow and icky. I just never thought of them being periodically shed and replaced.

The baby is a girl, no doubt. Unfortunately, the silkie genes for "feathering" are recessive so unless the mother carries any silkie genes, the chick will have normal feathering. She really likes the feather duster and goes under it when she is startled. She also sleeps under it. Too cute!

I found another egg today with a hole in it. A black chick inside with 5 toes on each foot - dead. It was only a few days away from hatching as the yolk was not absorbed. One of the broodies chipped a hole in it and abandoned it. That's the second one I have found that way.

I set up the incubator and brought the remaining 2 eggs inside and added 2 from today's gathering of eggs. I really didn't want any chicks this year but I am hoping for a sizzle (frizzle/silkie cross).

I'll post more pics of the chick soon!

 

[kculbert]

Interesting about Ellie's legs. I didn't know they shed their scales so learned something new.

Sad about the little chick. I am keeping my fingers crossed for a sizzle for you! I love them and frizzled bantam cochins too.

My frizzle has an ugly secret. Her wings are disgusting. They are literally just the shafts. Fortunately, you only see it when she flaps her wings or tries to fly (that's never going to happen).

 

[Luvmy9hens]

I had been gone for most of the week (business trip) so I couldn't update you on the chickens. Interesting to get home and see how they were doing. It looks like Ellie continues to shed more scales and her feet are looking lighter in color and smoother. She laid an egg on June 4th and another today so the time between eggs is now getting shorter. We routinely give her the Cal-Nate supplement once a week.

The chick is doing better than I ever expected. She is very quiet and loves my husband. He holds her every day and spends time with her. I told him that she is HIS chick because he is the one who saved her. She seems to know that, too. I am adding more pics.

Our frizzles have a secret, too but they don't hide it. They drop the wing feathering as yours do and drop most of their feathers surrounding their crops as well. They look totally disgusting until they go their molt every fall. :O

I hope that Big Fatty is still doing well and that the implant is doing its job!

The chick before I left on June 2 - 7 days old




The chick on June 6th - 11 days old





Chick interacting with her feather duster surrogate mom. It really does work!


Looking at the chick's coloring, I believe that her Mom is a frizzle. Looking forward to the feathering.