Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[Rainier]

One of the 10 day old chicks is doing this weird head shake (side to side but it is slow). My daughter called it a tick, like you see in humans that is an subconscious movement. It is not continuous but it does happen several times a day. This chick has a vaulted skull. He/she is eating, pooping, drinking and running around. Everything seems normal other than this head shake thing.

I have done a bunch of searches but cannot find anything that really fits what this chick is doing.

They are eating medicated chick starter that is fermented and have ACV with mother in their water. No wounds that I can find, is alert and very active.

Any ideas?

I found this receipe to treat wry neck and it seems to work well for those that use it. If this isn't wry neck though would it hurt the chick?

• 2 TBS Pedialyte
• 2 drops Baby Vitamin
• 100 units Vitamin E (squirt out half a capsule)
• 50 mcg Selenium (1/4 tablet crushed)

ETA
had input that the Vit E and Selenium is way to high.

ETA 2
I think I found what I need to use

Sav-A-Chick

Electrolyte & Vitamin Supplement

Salt (min.): 8.0%
Salt (max.): 9.0%
Sodium (min.): 14.0%
Sodium (max.): 14.5%
Potassium (min.): 15.0%
Vitamin A (min.): 1,280,000 IU/lb.
Vitamin D3 (min.): 3,200,000 IU/lb.
Vitamin E (min.): 960 IU/lb.
Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) (min.): 2560 mg/lb.
Vitamin B12 (min.): 1.9 mg/lb.

 

[catface]

I have the same type of issue you have. Drafty mobile home and wood stove. Unfortunately, I never found a way to get a good hatch with a styrofoam incubator. I also tried 2 others and never got good results. I even kept it inside the kitchen cabinet to keep the drafts out. After wasting hundreds of dollars on eggs and incubators I gave in and bought a Brinsea mini advance incubator. I've never had a problem again. I've also got the bigger Brinsea octogon incubator and have never had a problem with it. They cost a bit more but it would have saved me a lot in the long run on the cost of expensive hatching eggs.

 

[tridentk9]

For those of you who hatch and use a wood burning stove as your only source of heat and use styrofoam incubators, how do you keep stable temperatures? We have a single wide mobile home so there isn't an interior room to place it in.

A friend who lives off the grid has an incubator that will run on ... 12 volt batteries? Sigh, not on electricity but I've forgotten what size batteries. Manufactured that way.

 

[Rainier]

I have the same type of issue you have. Drafty mobile home and wood stove. Unfortunately, I never found a way to get a good hatch with a styrofoam incubator. I also tried 2 others and never got good results. I even kept it inside the kitchen cabinet to keep the drafts out. After wasting hundreds of dollars on eggs and incubators I gave in and bought a Brinsea mini advance incubator. I've never had a problem again. I've also got the bigger Brinsea octogon incubator and have never had a problem with it. They cost a bit more but it would have saved me a lot in the long run on the cost of expensive hatching eggs.

I do eventually plan to get a better incubator. Money is tight and to be honest if I was hatching out chicks to sale or had to buy hatching eggs I would not have even thought to try with a stryrofoam one.

Since I get the eggs for free and soon will be able to hatch out my own eggs it is not so bad. If I cannot get eggs to hatch in this stryrofoam one I will spend the money to get the more expensive type of incubator.

I've drooled over the Brinsea incubator since I got my first chicks back in April.

 

[Hinotori]

Quote:

That's a nice view!

 

[Chickielady]

My barred rock is on a roll! 7 eggs in the 8 days she's been laying, 2 of which have been double yolks. She's the best pet, too. All the work raising them is finally paying off in a big way

PBRs are probably my all time favorite all-around breed, had 'em since I was knee high, which was about 10,000 years ago !

 

[Chickielady]

I live inbetween Aberdeen and Westport. We own a charter in Westport called the tequila too. Maybe we could have a coastal BBQ fish fry sometime! We have 23+ acres so we love bonfires and bbqs! We have enough space people camp out here.
This is my favorite spot...

You just missed our Oyster smoke, BBQ & open house party that was on July 26th..................but started 2 days before (campers coming in!) and was over a week later, what a blast !
So much fun we decided to do it every summer !
You surely can host "The Crazies" next time.
Maybe "The Crazies" will book on your boat instead of the last one they went on, July 24, 2 days before the party (that is why "The Crazies can directly here after their boat trip)
That would be fun, huh ?
I'll bring Oysters & chicken !

Oh, and right after "The Crazies" were here 1 week, they went to MikeyB's for his party !
Endless Summer !

 

[Chickielady]

For those of you who hatch and use a wood burning stove as your only source of heat and use styrofoam incubators, how do you keep stable temperatures? We have a single wide mobile home so there isn't an interior room to place it in.

Hmm, I guess you watch the temperature of the room it is in, and I'd have it close to the stove, like 10 feet, no farther.
Keep it away from drafts & sunny windows, sun can heat them up super fast.
Other than that, borrow or buy a good bator with a good element, like a 1500 watt monster (LOL)
Mine work great outside in an unheated shed IN WINTER and early spring.
The problems arise when it is too hot (incubators have no AC !

)
So all in all it is easier to incubate in a coolish area, than a hot/warm area, as long as your incubator has the cahonies.
I had a styrofoam a billion years ago, and it did not have good cahonies at all !

BUT>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Einstein (my DH) got a small "milkhouse heater" (cheap at Walmart) and he cut the wires, then wired it to a wafer thermometer, put the whole mess in a wooden box he made of plywood, and it works fantastic as a incubator.
Alone, without the wafer thermometer, the little space heater thermostat is not sensitive enough to come on & off as the temp fluctuates, leaving the temp to fall far before the heater came on, and then climb too high before it shut off.
The wafer worked great.
Wafer therms can be bought complete in alot of feed stores, or bought on line at various web sites & hatcheries.
I use Cutler's Supply for most parts, but check a few as prices can be much diferent for the same thing.
PM me if you want links & plans for a home made bator with cahonies to die for.
And good luck !

 

[Chickielady]

One of the 10 day old chicks is doing this weird head shake (side to side but it is slow). My daughter called it a tick, like you see in humans that is an subconscious movement. It is not continuous but it does happen several times a day. This chick has a vaulted skull. He/she is eating, pooping, drinking and running around. Everything seems normal other than this head shake thing.

I have done a bunch of searches but cannot find anything that really fits what this chick is doing.

They are eating medicated chick starter that is fermented and have ACV with mother in their water. No wounds that I can find, is alert and very active.

Any ideas?

I found this receipe to treat wry neck and it seems to work well for those that use it. If this isn't wry neck though would it hurt the chick?

• 2 TBS Pedialyte
• 2 drops Baby Vitamin
• 100 units Vitamin E (squirt out half a capsule)
• 50 mcg Selenium (1/4 tablet crushed)

ETA
had input that the Vit E and Selenium is way to high.

ETA 2
I think I found what I need to use

Sav-A-Chick

Electrolyte & Vitamin Supplement

Salt (min.): 8.0%
Salt (max.): 9.0%
Sodium (min.): 14.0%
Sodium (max.): 14.5%
Potassium (min.): 15.0%
Vitamin A (min.): 1,280,000 IU/lb.
Vitamin D3 (min.): 3,200,000 IU/lb.
Vitamin E (min.): 960 IU/lb.
Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) (min.): 2560 mg/lb.
Vitamin B12 (min.): 1.9 mg/lb.

Is the chicks' head laying on it's back, so it is gazing UP and looking back & forth, and may develope to the point where it sits on it's haunches while looking UP (Star Gazing) ?
Or does it just have a bent neck ?
Wry Neck that I have seen, is not a nervous disorder but an actual bone defect, and the birds grow up just fine, just have odd bent necks, no tics.
Star Gazers are another issue, and my personal opinion with star gazers is a genetic problem, as in in breeding, or other issue with genetics, and have never seen a cure.
But keep up the good work !

 

[Chickielady]

I have the same type of issue you have. Drafty mobile home and wood stove. Unfortunately, I never found a way to get a good hatch with a styrofoam incubator. I also tried 2 others and never got good results. I even kept it inside the kitchen cabinet to keep the drafts out. After wasting hundreds of dollars on eggs and incubators I gave in and bought a Brinsea mini advance incubator. I've never had a problem again. I've also got the bigger Brinsea octogon incubator and have never had a problem with it. They cost a bit more but it would have saved me a lot in the long run on the cost of expensive hatching eggs.

.......Or can you can build one from scratch with a gQf element.....did I show you that ?