One of my silver sebrights drown. I have three brooders going, one with older chicks (one week orps/delawares to couple week old marans to 5 week old moderns & silkies) , one with meatbirds and my lastest hatch of sebrights/silkies. I was running everything through the dishwasher with a little bleach so I did not have any marbles, I was in the same room with them (they are in a blue tub) & I just found one of the SS drown laying on her back. Stupid mistake. That won't happen again.
A drowning
I am so sorry Lora....I don't see how anyone could anticipate that happening so quickly. I just started using marbles in my waterers--it also seems to attract their attention to the water when they first start drinking--and am extra glad I do now seeing how easily it can happen. Thanks for letting everyone know.
Thanks, I should have gone out in the driveway & rinsed off some stones. When are your chickies due??
aawww how awful. So sorry to hear that. I know it makes you feel just awful.
How sad, but it's not anyones fault .
thanks for the reminder. all my marbles are dirty, and i keep forgetting to wash them, so busy taking care of the older chickies... i have 10 week old chicks, and one pipping!
sorry this happened, unbelievable how fast they can go, and so heartbreaking... hugs, tf
LoraK sorry this happened to you. I know that feeling of shoulda, coulda cause that's how I felt when I killed that chick in the door. If only I had looked but they're so fast to do things and you are only one person it's hard to stay on top of things with them.
MollyD
well, thanks to both of you sharing, i got my marbles washed and into the indoor chick waterer. and i ALWAYS rattle the gate and the door to the henhouse before i open or close it!
Sorry to hear about the baby. I saw a drowned chick at the feed store one time.
I have chicks arriving the end of June, and as a first timer, I had not heard about marbles.
Can someone point me to more info on chick drowning prevention?
Oh, LoraK, I am so sorry this happened. We do all
we can, and to our best, and still things happen. Don't
blame yourself, I know it's hard, we are the only care.
Neo,
You can use either the marbles, or you can
get a quail fount waterer at the feed store or
at a gamebird supply online. Just google gamebird
feeders/waterers. Small smooth stones would
also work, try not to use porous rocks, they could
shed off particles into the water and cloud it.
My marbles are all lost...
Truest, I found your marbles, and am sending them back to you. Please put them where they belong.
Thank you
GG
^_^ she will just misplace them again, but so nice of you to try to help her!
Can I get a tracking number for those marbles?
If someone else doesn't keep track of them for me,
I am doomed to lunacy and scatterencephaly.
i'll be happy to rent you a safe deposit box for them, say 100 bucks a year? LOL
*&%$&^#@% Who could eat a hundred bucks a year!?
Who said the bunny chucks a beer? I saw him rent
the socks at the home for wayward steer!
feel-ing en-ceph-a-lit-ic, must- gather- marbles.
LOL, good poetry. you sound like my DSon...
^_^
well, today i lost one of those chicks to drowning. actually the hens did ;-( i think it was too windy and got swept into a goose waterer...
SS, TF.
GG
Sorry tf :-(
MollyD
I'm sorry, TF.
the hens are down to eight chicks. i took one away. they are locked in a wire cage for the night. we have no ducklings. till the other hatch anyway... found several huge mouse/rat nests. DH is gonna have to get rid of his extra fence panel piles. maybe tomorrow, if he can take a break from building the new wood shed...
i took a good shot at them, but the safety was on, and they were down in the tunnel before i got it off to shoot again...
tf
TF, that is almost as funny as me not changing from slugs to shot when DH found the possum in the henhouse. He took my shotgun and used it. The slug went through the possum and the wall of the henhouse. Left a hole you can put your finger through. Still laughing about it and that was 4 years ago.
Yep, you will have to move the fence panel piles. Or, he can put them up off the ground about a foot to ensure that they are open underneath.
Did you find out what kind of mouse/rats they were? From the description I am thinking they are those "hispid cotton rats".
GG
tf you should get a rat terrier! They're built to hunt and kill rats. They'll go into those tunnels and wipe them out for you.
MollyD
terriers also kill chickens!
i think the cats must be doing a good job, we have seen them with killed babies...
yes the cotton rat, right on the nose GG!
so DH won't do anything with the pikles till he finishes the woodshed. the kids & i will go to amnarillo for the day so he can work without interruption..
at least the nests are exposed so they'll have to relocate?
poor chickies are staying in the cagee day & night, with hens taking turns... wouldn't be so bad, but they KNOW what they are miossing...
GG. i had the rifle right handy. but once you lift the bottom panel, they move pretty fast. i offered to shoot into their tunnels, but DH thought it would be a waste of shells!
tf
It probably would have been. Those tunnels aren't straight. They twist and turn every which way. If you didn't have cats and dogs, I would have suggested you use poison on them, but not with our critters around. But now that you know what you are up against, you can take measures to keep it from happening again.
GG
BTW, like I said, having the book handy has been really handy. It shows pictures, gives descriptions, and shows the range of quite a few animals, plants, birds, insects etc. of North America, and was well worth the investment I made in it quite a few years ago. You know, unless you have a pretty good idea of what you are looking for, you can't depend on Google to find it. You don't need any of that with the book.
no, i just need you, your book, and google for photo confirmation!
I did find a safer "poison" for rats and mice. It looks like rabbit pellets and is supposed to disrupt their metabolism so they stop feeding and go into a coma--dying in their sleep. It seems to work and is safe for most animals and children. I'm not sure about birds. I'll try to find the name. Of course it is not as effective as the most toxic stuff--but it does help and is very safe--the active ingredient is some kind of vegetable oil.
thanks!
This is it. I bought it at our local hardware store:
http://www.organic-gardening-shop.com/Agorganics/Product_Details.aspx?ProductID=175&ProductName=Safe%20Kill%20Mouse%20Bait
thanks, i may need a case!