We will call her "Surprise"... if she lives!

[kjxoxo1]

WOW!!! I really hope this has a happy ending!!! Please keep us posted!! Defintely keeping up with this thread.

 

[awesomechicken]

there soooooooooooooooooooooooooo cute together !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[debir1966]

Well, she is 1 week old today! This morning I left the door to the crate open and moved the water to just outside the crate. I left the feed bowl in the crate because the other chickens would only eat it up if it were outside the crate.

I will try and get a pic of her if I can, but I am so surprised that she has made it to a week old! Now the next hurdle is survival outside the crate. I hope she surprises me again

 

[lonnyandrinda]

Yay! Keep posting- there are several of us watching for the final outcome!

 

[debir1966]

The little turkey (pun intended!) was outside the chicken coop again and couldn't get back in. I didn't think the little thing would be able to hop over the board accross the doorway, but I guess I shouldn't have been surprised she figured out a way. So I put them back in the crate (thankfully my husband was able to grab her up quick before she found a hidey hole) for the night.

The next morning my son and I fixed as many holes as we could find out in the small run, put in food and water and put them, crate and all, into the run. We propped the door open and prayed!

This evening Momma and Baby were snuggled into the crate! The small coop run will be their home until the poult is big enough to jump into the chicken house on her own.

I am feeding her a high protien grower food... do you think that will be ok for Momma Hen to eat as well? I do not know how I would insure they ate seperate food really. I will throw in some scratch on the ground, but the poult did a pretty good job of scattering food around the bowl already LOL.

 

[chicken pickin]

Im so glad to read things are going well. Momma hens doing a good job and so are you. If it were me I would continue the higher protein feed for the poult Im sure it wont hurt momma and maybe you could even offer a chicken feed up a little higher for her where the poult cant reach it.

 

[debir1966]

I threw in some scratch this morning and will try and get the Momma Hen a higher feeder with scratch in it. The only other feed I have is lay mash and I know the poult can't have that and the hen will not need it until she is done brooding.

Well it was no surprise that I couldn't get a very good picture, Momma Hen had the little in the back of the run, under the shade of the plum bush that is growing there.

Here is the best shots of the morning:

 

[chicken pickin]

Just curious, does your chicken have a ring in her beak? If so, how come?

The poult looks like she is doing great!

 

[debir1966]

chicken pickin: Yes, she has a beak ring LOL. We bought some adult hens in April from a lady and I didn't notice the rings in the noses of 4 of the 5 Buff Orpingtons until after we got home (alone with the scaley leg mites and lice.. ugh!). When I finally did notice them, I sent her an email and asked what they were and she explained that she had bought the BO's from a hatchery, that years laying hens, and they had chicken spectacles (blinders, peepers) on when she got them. She was able to remove the plastic specktacle part that blocks the vision, but when she tried to remove the ring that clipped into the chickens nose, the chickens acted like it hurt... alot, so she left them on. When I did a search for chicken blinders, most of the ones I saw were all plastic and just slipped into the nose holes, but I guess the ones used by this particular hatchery uses metal clips. We have been tempted to try and take them out, but I am worried about causing undue pain to the chickens when they do not seem to be bothering the chickens at all. However, one of the BO hens that had a nose ring got a terrible infection, which was so fast acting and severe we decided to cull her incase it was something contageous. I "think" it could have been caused by the nose ring, but the other 3 hens with them have not shown any ill affects.

 

[chicken pickin]

Hmmm very odd, but interesting! I have never heard of or seen anything like it so I was curious. Youve got your self a flock of rebel chickens. I have one of those rebel chickens lol her name is Evil Kenevil though I call her my badass chicken. She is a Silver Laced Wyandotte and im sure its only me but she looks like some teenage punkrock rebel not to mention her mohawk(single comb) shes not supposed to have(they are supposed to have rose combs). I know my description of my chicken is weird but thats how I see her. Sorry you lost one of your chickens but good to hear the rest are doing well.