PO Delivery! Everybody's chirping!

They're here! My PO called this morning-babies arrived! 19 buff orpingtons and 6 black silkies. I ordered from Meyer and all but one were very strong and active. One Black silkie looked at death's door so I dipped it's beak in sugar water and that was about an hour ago and it's running around now! I thought for sure it was a goner. I checked my chick starter late last night and realized the protein is only 18%. I called Agway where I bought it and that's the highest they sell. I called a couple more feedstores and found one(25 miles away) that sells 20%. Should I get the 20% and wait to feed out the 18% when they are 4 weeks?(yes I already filled the feeders with the 18%! :) )
Here's a pic of my babies:

Oh forgot to ask: 3 of the black silkies are a lighter color than the other three. Are the darker ones a different sex than the lighter? Or is that just the way they're colored? Thanks, Sue ☺

Unknown on the food question, I never raise Orps, I know silkies do very well on regular chick starter. Congrats on all your babies!! They are adorable!

Thanks!

Congratulations, saanansandy! You will love the Orpingtons...they are the sweetest birds. I haven't had silkies, but from what I understand they are even sweeter. Beautiful chicks. Good luck!

After hearing great things about the Orpingtons(being calm and gentle, cold hardy, good layers and moms) I decided to go with them. And the silkies-who could resist! I'm so excited about them being here! I'm like a mother hen, constantly looking in on them! My nephew (4 years old) is just beside himself!

Sandy I'm waiting for my babies to arrive. They're shipping out on 5/5. A mix of Buff Orpingtons, Delawares and New Hampshires.
Congrats on your healthy babies!

MollyD

Thanks! Yours will be here before you know it-the wait feels like forever though, doesn't it!

It sure does! I'm running around online reading everything I can find. Someone here posted a site on waterers that turned out to have lots of info. http://www.shilala.com/shippingeggs.html they even have this great page on how to pack eggs for shipping!! I'm learning a lot on that site today.

MollyD

This message was edited Apr 2, 2008 6:24 PM

Congrats on the chicks. You can give them buttermilk to add in more protien and it also builds their immune system. It takes a bit to get them to try it, but once they do they love it.
The darker silkies may be males. I'm not for sure on that but the pictures I've seen show the males darker than the females. We have 5 silkies and one is darker than the rest and looks a little different. We are hoping it is a male and the only one!

We get more chicks tomorrow!!

The small one that was at death's door on arrival is looking sad again this morn. It's just sitting opening and closing it's mouth but no sound comes out. I tried to get it to drink but it has no interest at all. I think I'll pick up some buttermilk this morning and see if it'll drink it.

MollyD, thanks for the link!
Yea smedgekles! More chicks!!

Well, just got back with the buttermilk and the little silkie has passed. :(
I called Meyer and they said we were even because they shipped an extra chick. I thought a counted the exact amount that I ordered but thought maybe a miscounted(easy to do!) so I left it at that. So I just recounted and there was no extra chick! Can't say I'm too happy that in Meyer's mind they shipped an extra chick which would have been an buff orp which there is a price difference between them and a silkie. It's not the money but more of a principal thing w/ me. I guess I'll try Ideal next time.

Sandy you should call them back and tell them a) you checked and there is no extra chick (maybe they miscounted) and b) there is a price difference between the Orp and the silkie. I'd ask to speak to a manager about this too.

MollyD

Hi Sandy--I was about to say the same thing as MollyD. They should at least give you credit--which you could spend on something other than chicks if you like.

Thanks, I'll give them a call. The CSRs that I have spoken to while ordering and when I called about the chick passing have all been very pleasant so I'll give it a try.

I would htink Meyer would make more effort, so please do call and report back. Sorry about your chick. Some just can't survive the trip ;-(

Note to self: thaw out that extra half gallon of buttermilk, we have a use for it LOL

I am expecting about 15 homegrown peeps to hatch starting Monday night. Should be interesting, while they are pipping and breaking out, i will be in court defending their predecessors on the charges of $5000.00 in damages to the nieghobrs irrigation line LOL...

Congrats on all the beauties!
tf

They think your chickens did that much damage!? Holy cow! Are you raising baby huey's down there?

MollyD

hey, my claim is they are NOT bionic chickens LOL. totally innocent. our counter claim is for him poisoning them and causing me financial loss. can't sell eggs you don't have...

y'all be thinking about us Tuesday. lawyer, jury and everything... just not a REAL JUDGE.

Conratulations on your new chicks, Sue!! I am
sorry about the little one. Some seem to do great,
some can't for whatever reason. Nature takes care of
them. Try not to feel badly. I know it's hard.

You can try game bird feed. It is much higher in protein
than the chick starter. Do your chicks need a higher protein
content? I am not familiar with your breed, so don't know.
About saving the 18% for later may not be a good idea.
They lose nutritional value quickly, and it would be a detriment
to your chicks.

Un-imagineable TF, the damages. That's got to be an
inflated estimate!! Ooh, that would make me just fume-
anti chicken people. Who-da thought. Good luck on your
hatch! Also, good luck on 'your' day. Can you bring any
documentation to court that you do sell eggs? I'm sure
you've covered all the angles.

This message was edited Apr 3, 2008 4:02 PM

No judge? Are you having an arbitrator? I hope they rule your way.

MollyD

i have the best defense lawyer, and he isn't from this county [i wasn't born yesterday!]

we didn't do anything wrong, and although my faith has been seriously shaken i still believe that in the end [whenever that may be], everything will be OK.

will be out of pocket again after today...

no, a justice of the peace LOL...

In the end all we have is our faith.
Very smart girl, getting a good attorney.

If you win will you sue them for your expenses? You should.

MollyD

my atty will be asking they pay the expenses, since they did this. he attmepted twice to get it dismissed, but the JP must think the neighbor has a case... we have been out a lot of money and into debt over this mess. can you just imagine living NEXT DOOR to someone like this, and on top of everything else he is somehow an UN-REGISTERED sex offender/child molestor.

i do wish i were as wealthy as i am smart LOL

hey, Sue, not to hijack your thread [really don't want to starte one about this terrible subject], but what did Meyere say?

No problem tf! I hope your legal problems are resolved soon in your favor. Don't you wish you could take a vote on whether on not someone could be your neighbor?! We have to constantly worry about who moves into the neighborhood-back in the late 70's the town decided to make all the property here residential even though the family farm was 230 acres, our next door neighbor had close to 300 acres and two more farms up the road well over 20 acres! So now we have to be careful not to have any noisy animals, make sure everyone stays where they belong and keep our fingers crossed!

I tried calling several times around 11am and kept getting a busy signal. I couldn't get to the phone any other time because of helping out my Dad(he's 83). I'll try again on Monday-so far it looks like a less hectic day!lol!

The rest of the chicks are strong and healthy. Wish I could say the same. I was cutting vines that were hanging down off my lilac and down the stone wall. I must have ran into poison sumac because I am covered in itchy red bumps! Calamine lotion is my friend! :-) Sue

oh, NO! poor Sue... soak in oatmeal and take ti easy. enjoy your chicks, nad have a beautfiul weekend...

tf

Thanks TF!

My horse licked me in several places, and I have
poison ivy popping up everywhere all week. I am
so feeling sorry for you, Sue. DH got me some
Burt's Bees poison ivy soap to wash it 3x a day, and
it kills the itch and helps dry it out. I've never used it
before, but it seems to help a lot. Another fixer I know
of is Rhuly Gel. Don't know how easy it is to find, or I
would have some of that, too. please feel better soon,
and certainly let your mind off it with playing with chicks!

Thanks truest! The calamine works for abit then the insane itching comes back!! I'll have to look around I may be able to find the Burt's Bees poison ivy soap as finally the stores around here are starting to acknowledge this company but I've never heard of Rhuly Gel.
I guess horses are like goats in that they both like poison ivy. You'll have to tell your horse no kissing if he's been chewing on that evil vine!! Hope you are better soon, too!
Sue, your companion in itching!! :-)

Try witch hazel. Great stuff for burns and itches.

MollyD

Thanks Molly!

I usually suffer for 2 weeks with PI, (we just call it PI
around here), as we see it's evil effects more frequently
than any one would want. But this time it dried up quicker
with the Burt's Bees soap. I was very happy about that.

I am really bad about remembering Sophie's kisses in
early spring, and she gets me at least a little bit every year.

Sophie sounds like a sweet horse. What kind is she? We had a shetland pony when I was growing up. Her disposition was not so sweet! Can't tell you how many times I saw the ground rushing up to meet me!!lol!

She is an Arab/paint cross. Her spots faded because
she has a lot of gray horses in her bloodline, but they
show up well when she is wet.

She's beautiful! I showed your pic to my 4 year old nephew and he wanted to know when we were getting her. So I explained to him you were showing us a pic and that you live in TX. His next comment was, "When are we going to Texas?!" lol!

well built gal there truest, and not a bit of oneryness in her LOL

I love it when the little boys catch the bug, Saansandy!

LOL TF! No, not one bit of ornery! hahaha. She is very
straight, though, thanks.