WooHoo! My chicks that hatched yesterday somewhere
up north should be here tomorrow! Doin a dance...cha cha
The brooder is cozy warm and waiting for them. I have the
high protein chick starter in the cat proof abode. I used 16"
square concrete blocks to form the perimeter, and lined the
bottom with camo tarp for easy cleaning, and atmosphere.
Just so the chicks have that 'outdoor' feel. On top of this
is a generous layer of pine shavings, and on top of that
is paper towels, on top of that is the feeder tray and fount
waterer. On top of that is 1/2" hardware cloth bent over the
edges leaving enough to unbend as I add blocks to increase
the brooder size as chicks require.
On top of that is a light reflector with a red bulb that DH built
for them, complete with reostat for easy temp changes, no
raising of the light necessary. I have some concerns that the
blocks are porous, this may inhibit cleaning, but I think it will be ok.
may princess tammy always be on top of her game
The Eggs are in The Bator!
Sounds like you are all set to go! Be sure to post some pics when they arrive!
We have a big tupperware 28"x32" box for the quail set
up, as well. I will use the hardware cloth for the top. For
my ameraucana chick, Pebbles, we just cut a 12" square
out of the tupperware top and replaced the hole with
hardware cloth. This was good, and snapped well shut, but
for a number of chicks, I don't think that is enough ventilation.
We will just leave off the top, and put on the cloth with a
heavy block on top (cuz of cats). I have a special fount
waterer for the quail, which is designed smaller, to keep
them from falling in and drowning. It's just the tray, and you
can use any ball jar or other similar that screws in. I am
going to have to slow down, so I don't fall behind, as by the
time Blanca's eggs hatch, we will have 3 seperate brooders
going at once. I think I can just add a divider to the concrete
block brooder, and another light.
may princess tammy be in the light
They're here! They're here! Every chick from McMurray
is happy and healthy! This first is a crested polish..
may princess tammy have healthy chicks!
This is a cochin, hope I have mostly blues!
This is an ameraucana baby, they are very Big!
may the princess be blessed with green eggs
Oops, sorry. All 28(?) are doing very well. I think the one
wearing a mask is ameraucanan...
may princess tammy have a great day, like me!
Ok, in my excited state I have goofed on posting! I have
settled some, and here is an ameraucana chick..
Her are as many in a group as I can get at one time and
still see them fairly close...
My heeler mix, Durham, wishes he was a bird dog instead
of a herder...has not left their side since 7:30!
Joni, are these the day olds you ordered?
Isn't today hatching day, too?
Hi, Auntie Cookie! Yes, all the babies arrived in very good
shape. My quail start to pip this coming Sunday, and Blanca's
eggs on about Wednesday. It's cheep cheep mayhem, and
I am soooo proud!
Best of Monday's to you!
best of monday's to princess tammy
This message was edited Feb 11, 2008 12:44 PM
Joan, your smiles and eggcitement are felt all the way in Virginia!!!! I am so happy for you......
may Princess Tammy never get picked by chicks......
Yeah!!! I LOVE those crested polish! They look hilarious! I think your dog is certainly interested. Our last two dogs were hearders. The first one chased the horses and nearly got killed once after being kicked. The second one tried to herd (then eat) the chickens...so he had to move out. Our next dog will have to be smaller then the chickens!
What was the box like that they came in??? I was always curious how they shipped those little guys!
I was very surprised at how small the box actually is!
Only 12"x14". Had no idea all those chicks could fit in there, and
there was still some room...
may the princess have a rainbow when she opens her box
This message was edited Feb 11, 2008 12:43 PM
Oh my! That is pretty cool. They even have little windows so they can see where they travel! I bet your house is full of all kinds of chirping now!
I can already tell who is the loudest, one of my ameraucanas.
It's so busy in there! Seems they eat, drink and sleep in shifts.
At any given time, 5 or so are sleeping. I sprinkled in some
alfalfa, and they started playing keep away like your's did with
the bread! One or two of the polish have had pasty butt, and I
cleaned them up. I also got a package of grow gel plus with
my order. I'm glad I asked for this, at 3.95 a pack, as the
chicks really went for it. One polish was very droopy, but after
the grow gel, I can't tell who he is. Yea! They are all doing great!
may princess tammy never have pasty butt.
That is wonderful! I have never heard of grow gel. Hmm...WellI moved my kids into a large contained just for the day so they could spend some time close to Bob the duck...and near the window. THey seem to have having fun, and they are growing so fast! They are about 3 weeks old now.
MEL!!! I can't believe they've grown so much. Oh it's the story of my life. Turn around, turn around and they're grown.... :o(
I know. I remember when we first got Bob. We would take him down to the cabin (where the entire family is every weekend of the summer) every weekend they would say, "he is getting SO big"! We never saw it, and then all of sudden he was all grown up! Watching the feathers coming in is the coolest thing I think. Two of the 5 have their combs already hanging over...kinda weird since they are only about 1/8 of an inch tall!
Combs, feathers, girl and boyfriends, they grow up too fast.
Has Bob taken a liking to them? I noticed the chicks all
have 2 tiny feathers on the tips of their wings. One cochin
seems buff color. S'posed to be blues. The blue thing is,
mate 2 blues, and you get 2 blues, one black and one spangle.
Where'd the buff come from? I was able to count them. I
put the chick box in the brooder and loaded them in. I have 27.
Exactly my order. McMurray says they sometimes put in a
surprise rare chick. Maybe it's too early in the season for them
to have extras.
may princess tammy have spangles!
Interesting! So that last chick could be a surprise?? Does this mean that since you have that buff you have one less of one that your ordered? Bob is still a little unsure of them. I moved them over by his cage so he could keep an eye on them. He hissed at them for a few minutes, then went to just watching them closely. I will keep doing this until they get more comfortable with each other.
Last year when I ordered from McMurray, I got two extra chicks plus a "rare" breed. The rare breed turned out to be a white Araucana rooster. I don't know why I got the two extra chicks, but maybe it was because I ordered 50.
Joan, did you get something in the mail from me today? :)
Hey...what kind of crested polish did you get? Are those white? Silver?
White crested black? I just found a picture of what those silver guys look like...WOW! Cool birds!
i stop turning mine in 3 days
I have concerns. Maybe you ladies can help me, or at
least quell some fears. I lost one of the white crested
blacks last night. All were doing fine all day, very busy
and active. The polish are smaller, so when they would sleep,
the other, bigger chicks would trample them. That's what I
think happened to the one. I segregated them by putting up
a wire wall, and gave the smaller polish their own water and
feed. There is one ameraucana that is droopy, and it
seems to be smaller than the others. I don't know if it's
going to make it. It was droopy last night, and still is this am.
I have 7 polish left, now, started with 8, and this morning,
though most all seem to be just sleeping, it seems the polish
are just not as vigorous. They were all vaccinated against marek's
and coccidiosis. They have ample room, clean water,
plenty of chick starter. What do you think it could be?
What kind of sleep cycles did your's go thru, Mel? Were
they still sleepy in the a.m.?
may princess tammy have busy chicks
This message was edited Feb 12, 2008 7:04 AM
Lucky, I am at about the same place in incubation of the
eggs as you are. I stop turning the quail on thurs, and Blanca's
on sunday. I hope you have a great hatch!
may princess tammy never get lost.
Mine slept a LOT for the first 4-5 days. They would fall asleep for 5 minute intervals every 10-15 minutes. They would run over each other at first...but it stopped after a couple days. Now when they sleep (3 weeks old) they tend to kinda dog pile. I only have 5...so that could make a difference. I dont think you should have any that are sick though. I know that McMurray said they are all day old...but those smaller polish could be day or two younger. Mine didnt have any feathers at all until at least day 3 or 4. I would definately seperate the smaller ones for a day more to let them adjust. They could just tired from the trip (and probably didnt get a moment of sleep the whole way).
Remember how mine woke me up at 3 am that morning their light burnt out? I couldnt imagine how stressed they would have bin if I put them in a box with no lights for a day or two! What about sugar water for the slow ones? I heard a lot of good about that.
The eggs in the bator are now at day 13. This day brings
*feather pappilae (buds)appear on the wings
*the right and left collar bones fuse to make the wishbone
All seems as it should be with the quail and hen eggs. I will stop
turning the quail on Thursday, and the hen's on Sunday.
Thanks, Mel. Not sure what's going on. They all hatched on
Saturday. The polish are just smaller in build, it seems. Most
the ameraucana and cochin are busily scratching and chirping,
while the seperated polish are sleeping. One polish and one
ameraucana in with the polish, are very droopy. I am going to make
up some sugar water for them. I noticed the sleep cycles
yesterday, taking note. Time will tell.
may princess tammy have all the time in the world..
Well I hope they start to do better. Maybe they just need some more time then the others to recoup from the trip.
This is a picture of mine sleeping in their pile yesterday.
Gosh, they grow so fast! All of them look great. And, they
are lucky to have a mom like you. Are they 3 weks old now?
may princess tammy have all pullets..
Yes. They are 3 weeks old today!
happy birfday to chickies! happy birfday to chickies!
may princess tammy have few candles on her cake!
Here we are at day 14 of incubation. Blanca's eggs are
getting to the point where I can't see anything inside. I will
stop turning the coturnix after today, and take them all out of the
turner, mark Blanca's so I can turn them by hand, and put them
on the wire.
*the chick's head turns toward the blunt end if the egg (big)
*the bones of the skull begin to ossify (close together)
The McMurray chicks are doing very well, except for one
ameraucana. I have her seperated with the polish. She is
still droopy after feeding her yesterday, and does not go
for food or water on her own. I think this is one of those
difficult times when I must let Mother Nature do her thing.
I do not want to prolong her suffering.
may princess tammy be strong and patient..
That is so sad. I wonder what could have caused that chick to be the way she is.
Good news! The little ameraucana is doing better! I saw
her drink, and she is preening, and picked at another
chick. I haven't checked her crop yet, but the others
usually preen after they eat. I am optimistic!
The pecking order is already being established. At just 4
days old, they are jostling for position. The most curious
and aggressive are the ameraucanas. The quickest are
the polish, and they have a funny habit of falling over
backward when they preen their backs. I think it's because
they're top heavy! haha. They will lean up against a wall of
the brooder to preen so they don't topple. The chicks that
are on the outside of the pile will spring in the air, to land
in the center where it's warmest. It's very funny.
may princess tammy have a spring in her step.
That is hilarious! I remember when Gimpy was only a day old. Ryan couldnt stop laughing, and when I went to see what was going on it was because that little chicks was asleep...on his back...with both feet in the air! I SHOULD have taken a picture, but of coarse I was so worried that he was dead that I touched him to get him to wake up. He did the same thing several times in the first couple days...but each time I was so worried he was dead that I never got a picture.
I thought for sure each time I checked the brooder, that
I would find little 'Timex' dead. But no, she just keeps on
ticking! I am going to order some legbands so I can keep
track of who's who. In the meantime, what can I use to
mark her? I want to follow Timex closely to see what kind
of personality she develops.
may princess tammy get thru this game soon..