YO GEORGIANS! :)

[abmaddox1981]

So much for taking a break from the forum and bird stuff. :/

I've been babysitting the hatcher and the brooder for the last few days, and a few more days to go. Just to make sure I was available to be close by, the stars lined up just right and I did something a mom dreads -I cut myself while washing a paring knife .

I was lucky enough to have the one and only @abmaddox with me, so she drove me to the ER (because it's hard to drive with one hand wrapped in a dish towel and holding over your head). Let me tell you, that girl can cook, she can raise kids and critters, but DO NOT expect comfort from her when you have sliced your finger open like a fool. She will only point out how much the needle of lidocaine is going to hurt, or that your stitches will probably get caught in your hair and get ripped out while you are doing your hair, etc. I tried to kick her out twice, but my nurse was lazy so @abmaddox had to fill in and help the Dr. pour cleansers while I got stitches.

I figured I'd be nice and not show you a picture of the stitches -or abmaddox   but thought you might like to know that I have some forced free time for a few days -in case anyone wanted to talk about chicken stuff, lol

*in all seriousness -BIG THANKS to ab for driving and staying at the ER with me until the wee hours of the morning -so creepers didn't get me while I was waiting to have my wound dressed.

 

[mrsdszoo]

I think all of my hatching is done, but I'm leaving the remaining eggs in the incubator another day just in case: one EE, three turkeys, and two CCL.

I'm worried about two chicks, a CCL who had her eye pecked and it's now bulging, and another CCL with swimmer legs and curled toes. The Popeye chick eats and drinks and carries on, but I don't know if she's in pain. The other guy - well, do you have any idea how hard it is to tape toes and hobble legs on one of these little suckers?! Especially with your own boo - boo? I got it done, but he's not handling it well. I'm thinking he'll need help eating and drinking for a few days. He's lucky he's a rare bird. I'm attaching photos, so please weigh in with your estimate of who of the CCL are boys and girls:

 

[mrsdszoo]

... photos continued:
(Trying to put Forrest in with the others, and Popeye)

 

[Rocky Rhodes]

I think all of my hatching is done, but I'm leaving the remaining eggs in the incubator another day just in case: one EE, three turkeys, and two CCL.

I'm worried about two chicks, a CCL who had her eye pecked and it's now bulging, and another CCL with swimmer legs and curled toes. The Popeye chick eats and drinks and carries on, but I don't know if she's in pain. The other guy - well, do you have any idea how hard it is to tape toes and hobble legs on one of these little suckers?! Especially with your own boo - boo? I got it done, but he's not handling it well. I'm thinking he'll need help eating and drinking for a few days. He's lucky he's a rare bird. I'm attaching photos, so please weigh in with your estimate of who of the CCL are boys and girls:

I see 3 females and 3 males in the first photo. The little guy with the feet problems is a male, how many CCLs did you have hatch?
I have never seen a bulging eye like that, it looks like the eyeball is actually larger than the other. So all together I see 4 males and 3 females.

 

[mrsdszoo]

So after waiting three weeks beyond the auction "end time" I finally got silkie eggs that I had won here on BYC. I was frustrated enough that it took so long to get them (and if you can recall, DURING this time I lost Skeeter and decided to quit until next year, but I had already paid for them...). I paid for one dozen, and got 14.

They were due two days ago. I got one white chick, and one partridge chick. That's it. And it bothers me more because they were in "old reliable" which is my one incubator that always seems to hold the right temp, no matter what. I can take it apart and put it in the dishwasher, reassemble it, plug it in, and it goes right back to the same temp. My hatch rate in that particular incubator is near 100%.... except for these silkie eggs.

But I have a feeling that I was actually sent eggs that were already up to 3 weeks old...

sounds like if they wind up being a pair, we'll have nearly matching pairs.

 

[mrsdszoo]

I see 3 females and 3 males in the first photo. The little guy with the feet problems is a male, how many CCLs did you have hatch?
I have never seen a bulging eye like that, it looks like the eyeball is actually larger than the other. So all together I see 4 males and 3 females.

Oh good, my guesses were correct . I had seven hatch, and I have two in the incubator still, just in case. They were due yesterday, and two hatched the day before, so it's not quite time to call it yet. I had one clear, two with early blood rings, and two quit right at lockdown. I'm thinking the turner I used this hatch for the first time killed a bunch of eggs with the vibration. I've had excellent results incubating and hatching in my homemade cooler bator, and almost as good with the little giant, but I've always hand turned eggs on their sides. That's what I get for trying the "easy" way. I'm loving my Rhodebars and these little Crested Cream Legbars in spite of incubator trouble; and the instant gratification of auto sexing is terrific !

 

[kattitude45]

OK, good afternoon1 I know I'm sporatic on here, but I love seeing all the local chickies! I have 3 kiddos under 10, so I'm pretty busy now that it's summer!! I wanted to share my first hatch pics!! I set 7, one silkie egg never developed and all of the remaining 6 hatched! 3 EE and 3 silkies ( @mrsdszoo silkie eggs) Here are a few pics





ok, so I have a few questions!

I have a white silkie about 10 weeks old, I think a pullet... My daughter has her heart set on a white silkie pet. Except I think this is the dumbest chicken I've EVER seen. She freaks out when you pick her up and starts flailing about. She will hook her foot over her head and rip feathers out of herself trying to get her feet on anything. Have you ever seen a chick be that scared? I bought her a few days old from TSC. Should I just give up and sell her, start looking for another?

Also does anyone know where I can locally buy d'Uccle eggs to hatch? We have one pullet and she's awesome! We want more!!

 

[ChickDancer]

ok, so I have a few questions!

I have a white silkie about 10 weeks old, I think a pullet... My daughter has her heart set on a white silkie pet. Except I think this is the dumbest chicken I've EVER seen. She freaks out when you pick her up and starts flailing about. She will hook her foot over her head and rip feathers out of herself trying to get her feet on anything. Have you ever seen a chick be that scared? I bought her a few days old from TSC. Should I just give up and sell her, start looking for another?

Silkies are right up there with polish in the "freak out" category. Basically, they just can't see all that well because of the crests on their head, so when something grabs them, they freak out.

But my polish eventually got over it with two things. First, I would always make a noise when I was about to pick them up (just a tongue click for me) so they associated the noise with a no-harm grab. They also got mealworm treats when this was done, so they associated the noise with being picked up and given yummy treats!

Second, when I didn't pick them up, I kept them by my feet - with more treats. I just tossed mealworms on the ground within a few inches of my feet where the girls would see both. They can look DOWN pretty easily, just not up, forward, or out very far. So they began to associate my feet with good things as well. Once the roosters began to try breeding everything in sight, the girls would still come running to the noise I made, and hang around my feet to avoid being grabbed by a rooster - which is just as bad as being grabbed by an unknown beast.

So I would assume that what you're dealing with, is the silkie not seeing what or who is picking her up when the ground suddenly falls out from below her feet. Imagine going camping outside of a state prison, and then suddenly someone (even someone you know) grabs you from behind when you can't see them. That's kinda what it's like for her - especially since predators are probably just a few feet away from them most of the time, and we just don't realize it. Since the crest can make them blind, start "warning" her with a certain sound instead. Try not to use the sound for anything else, and try to do it EVERY TIME you're about to pick her up - but before you actually touch her. And then make sure you have a few mealworms ready!

Chickens can be "trained" just like dogs, you just have to be ready to give them treats like you would with a dog.

 

[ChickDancer]

sounds like if they wind up being a pair, we'll have nearly matching pairs.

Um... who did you get your silkies from again? I hope I don't get any egg stompers!

 

[ChickDancer]

I see she is trying to close her eye in this photo. My question is, can she close it completely?

If so, I would put her on some light antibiotics to make sure it's not an infection that is causing swelling, and then leave it alone. If it's not an infection, then you may be looking more at the eye socket being damaged somehow, which lets the eye come out of the bony socket (it's still cartilage for babies though). But with her being so young, those eye sockets will be expanding soon anyway, as she grows, and will also renew the tissue quickly. So she will probably almost literally grow in to the bigger eye socket, the tissue will grow back to cover the eye, and it will settle back where it's supposed to be.

If it's an infection though, the eye will most likely shrink after you start antibiotics. And my biggest concern with an infection is if the eyeball swells to the point of pushing itself out of the socket. The only thing that really holds an eye inside of the eye socket on a chicken is a VERY thin piece of bone right above the back of the nostrils. If the eyeball itself is swollen and gets pushed out, you have to find a way to get it pushed back in once the swelling subsides - without breaking that little bone flap. But if the eye stays popped out too long, the bone flap (which, as mentioned before, is probably still cartilage at this age) may just start to harden and develop incorrectly, leaving her with a weird eye forever.

But the good news is, I don't think it's causing her any pain. The first thing a chicken will do when they are in pain, is cower down in a corner, fluff up their feathers, and become lethargic. It's what Phoenix did when he lost half of his skull. He could see fine, but I'm SURE it hurt, and that was his response.