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Before I knew my flock had Marek's, I raised about 3 clutches with broody hens. Every single one of the chicks ended up dying from Marek's. I hope your baby does better than mine did. My flock has a very virulent form of Marek's that is very deadly. Now I vaccinate my chicks at hatch and...

My RIRs from the hatchery were the same way. Laid great for a couple of years and then nothing. They showed the same symptoms as yours when they were 3 years old. I put them on antibiotics and made sure they were eating. I think they got egg yolk peritonitis. One by one they stopped eating...

Welcome to BYC! You should definitely pop over and join the Washington thread.

I don't think dyeing chicks is a good idea. Imagine if we did this to children - people would be in an outrage. Chicks are living creatures that should not have to be subjected to silly treatments like being injected with dye inside the egg.

Use nail clippers or some very tiny wire cutters that are designed for jewelry making.

I found that the thermometer that came with my incubator is not that accurate. You might want to invest in a digital thermometer/hygrometer if you haven't already. As others have said, the temp in a still air should be around 101.5 I keep my humidity at 40% for the first 18 days and then over...

Did you message a moderator?

Some fleas respond better to different medications. Frontline is good, but I find that Advantage works better. Fleas actually live in the environment (carpet, couch, bark and dirt outside). They only jump on their host, your dog is this case, to feed and lay eggs. The fleas must come into...

I'm sorry your pullet ended up dying. At least you didn't lose them all! I'm pretty sure BB gets calls weekly about sick birds and Marek's. He does only order vaccinated chicks, but that doesn't do any good if they are exposed to the virus as soon as they get to his place. It take weeks...

Chickens should not get fleas based on the fact that parasites are very temperature sensitive and don't like to be on a host that has the wrong body temperature. Dog and cat fleas prefer about 101 degrees. A chicken's body temperature is around 105. Humans, on the other hand, are closer to 97...

I'd guess the black chicks are probably Australorps. Or are you referring to the bigger chick?

It really depends on where you live and how cold it gets. I like to keep my chicks above 60 degrees until they are at least 8 weeks old. You might find that they sleep in the nesting boxes. They will also poop in there, which is not good since they eggs will get dirty once they start to...

A friend of my neighbor got some pullets last month and they started to die almost immediately. Before death they had stumbling, leg paralysis, unable to walk and couldn't roost anymore. They have Marek's. I asked where they came from, and it was Baxter Barn. Owning birds has its risks and...

Did they hatch yet? Sometimes there is an air cell on one end and some space on the opposite end that the chick has not grown into yet. Good luck to you!

I let broody hens raise vaccinated chicks starting at one day old. I put them in a "clean' part of the yard where the carrier birds are not housed. I feel a bit like I'm playing Russian Roulette with the chicks knowing they could come into contact with the virus before they are immune. The...

How is your chicken doing now Teaton? I didn't watch the video, but I think it is hopeful if she is eating and not getting any worse. On a side note, I have had a few of my vaccinated chicks come down with Marek's symptoms. Ironically, 3 were cockerels and only one was a pullet. The first...

I thought I'd post an update on my Marek's flock. I've been dealing with the disease for over 2 years now, and I'm about 20 months into my vaccine experiment. My flock had a very very virulent strain of Marek's that killed all my chicks and a couple of adult birds. Since vaccinating, I have...

Yes, my Araucana eggs are often infertile. It helps to trim the feathers around the vent so the rooster has an easier job to do. It also could be a rooster problem. My old rooster didn't have any issues fertilizing the hens, but the new one does.

For chicks or young cockerels/pullets (under 2 months) you can use starter fluid. It has ether in it, which just puts them to sleep. A side note here is this is starter fluid you'd use in a carburetor, not lighter fluid that you'd use to start a fire in a BBQ. Put the chicks in a bucket that...