Minnesota!

[Rhetts]

Good luck with the polish. Sounds like it might be a pretty interesting looking chicken.

Sounds like you had a bad shipment in February? My order that arrived last week didn't have a heat pack either. The weird thing though is that only the light brahmas and German Spitzhaubens got pasty butt. All the rest are clean as a whistle (black copper marans, australorps, Delawares, speckled sussex, golden laced wyandottes). 2 of the light brahmas had it really bad and didn't make it :-( so Meyer's is sending my replacements on Monday, and of course since the shipping is free I couldn't resist ordering 7 more!

I'm giving them corn meal and grit with their feed, ACV in the water and cleaning and vasalineing (not a word I'm sure) their butts daily and they all seem to be doing much better. Anything else i can do?

Sounds like you are doing what you can for the pasty butt. I noticed that some breeds had it worse than others and of course some breeds had no pasty butt at all. Some were so bad they required putting their bottoms in running water while I gently cleaned them and I also Vaselined them. That helped a lot. Why are some breeds more prone to it than others? I ACV'd from day one, grit on day 3 like suggested from Mcmurray. Not really sure what else can be done. Good luck with your next batch of babies. Hope things go better this time around.

 

[duluthralphie]

For the record, I hate pasty butt.

I gave my lone Creamette chick a bath this morning. She ( I think it is a she cause I see no spot on her head) was touch and go but my DW seems to have saved her. By the way, I caught holy you know what when she found out I gave her chick a bath. The reason I did it, as you will see in the pictures, is she was not fluffing out.

She was dry and stuck to her egg when hatch, needed assistance. Her wings were tuck to her body, she was dry, it was ugly. We kept trying to keep the humidity up in the incubator.it kept wanting to fall too low. We yoyo'd the humidity for 24 hours. My DW put oil on the chick to try and keep her moist. it worked in that the wings broke free and she survived, after I had written her off for dead.

But she needed to fluff. I thought the oil was keeping the down from fluffing, much like oily hair is matted. So I bathed her. Her reaction means, I have lost that chick and she realy does think it is hers.......

Here is the pictures before the bath, hopefully I will have fluffy chick pictures in an hour or two....









Now for you chicken whisperers... Is there anyway to "help" or encourage a hen to go broody?

If I had a broody I would give her the 7 CL eggs I have in the incubator. I am worried after this chick I may not be able to hatch them.






Finally..Happy Easter

 

[jailerjoe]

how about some pics of those chicks?

How about a slow mo chick flick instead?

 

[Cyrus83]

Well my hens are in the new coop and run, I'm assuming they think they died and went to heaven. The new coop Is about 5 times the size of the old one, and the run is 3 times the size and full of fresh grass to destroy.

 

[lalaland]

oh oh, Ralphie, its 7:30 pm, no pics.... makes me worry about how things went with your tiny creamette chick and her bath.....keeping my fingers crossed.


And @jailerjoe ,, that slow mo video was fun, you could see the little one breath! sounded more like darth vader though.

Cyrus....pics of your new coop and run?

See, I'm a greedy gal, always wanting pics...

Happy Spring everyone! My flock is completely full with all the leftover easter dinner scraps - had 14 of my family up for the day. I'm wiped out!

 

[duluthralphie]

Murphys law works again. Princess Di is alive and doing well. My little Creamette died today. Her feathers just never fluffed out and she looked weak from the start, but then so did Princess Di. Now I have 2 EE chicks I really do not want, they were suppose to be company for the creamettes.. Oh well.


Princess Di is a little sweetheart and she is still wearing her crown. We went to Duluth today, so I was not here to watch the creamette, but I doubt there is anything I could have done. She was just too dry coming out of the shell. I probably should have helped her out earlier, but that can be bad too. She had been pipped for 36 hours before she unzipped and we saw she needed help.

I am giving the other eggs until the morning, when the garbage goes to hatch or out they go so I can clean the hatcher.

Thanks for all the well wishes Sorry I could not keep her alive.






Anyone around my area wanting a couple cute EE' give me a pm.... thanks..

 

[Bogtown Chick]

Ralphie you could load a favorite nest with golf balls 4-5 to tempt a broody. Or set up a dark quiet nest or "Broody coop" away from the action. That may encourage a hen to set. They say the pressure on the breast of multiple "eggs" may trigger hormones fore broodiness. I think also nice quiet dark places also encourage. Buff orpingtons, australorps, Cochins, silkies... Any breeds like that are more easily persuaded. Sorry about the creamette baby. Sometimes things aren't meant to be. I heard from my friend today and were on track for 2 creamette-itos. She also has some buff laced polish mixes in her incubator. I'll get some pictures posted once they start their business pipping and zipping this coming week.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

I have a silkie that's been growling broody at me for 3 weeks. I've been just letting her break herself the last couple times. But she's hanging on to those hormones this time. I'm tempted to set up my broody coop for you Ralphie and have u bring those eggs up here and we'll have Dixie hatch 'em for you. She's a good momma. Determined little thing.

 

[duluthralphie]

I have a silkie that's been growling broody at me for 3 weeks. I've been just letting her break herself the last couple times. But she's hanging on to those hormones this time. I'm tempted to set up my broody coop for you Ralphie and have u bring those eggs up here and we'll have Dixie hatch 'em for you. She's a good momma. Determined little thing.

I appreciate the offer, but the eggs have been in the incubator for a week, I doubt they would survive the trip. I had a hen growl at me tonight when I got eggs. She was not broody but she has attitude. Maybe I will set up a pen for her in the "dark" shed put a nest in it with fake eggs and see what happens. I have 10 eggs under the broody I do have, but they are just run of the mil eggs not creamettes. I would hate to take a chance on her not taking them and lose them.



On the same subject sort of, how many creamette eggs are you getting from your 2? I only get an egg every other day. I put the creamettes eggs in the bator on Monday, and I only have 4 new ones on the shelf. Also I know Triplell said these were last years chicks, and she thought they were laying, but I am wondering one of the eggs I had in the incubator looked like a pullet egg (small) and one I have in the rack ( on the shelf looks like a pullet egg. '

I am thinking of changing them to game bird layer feed to see if that will help them. I am just feeding layer feed now, and I give them "treats" which cuts the protein even further. But I do not want them to be bored so I give them scratch and treats...

Also I am thinking of going back to a wet incubator by adding a small sponge..

Any Ideas, I am open to them from anyone!!!

 

[Chickenchick11]

Sorry about the cremette Ralphie. Hopefully your next hatch will go better.