got my new babies today

I have ten golden comets and ten auracancs

One of the golden comets is very listliss,it will drink if you put it over to the water and it does peck at the bottom of the box and eats but it does not want to walk,its very unsteady on its feet,will it come out of this and be stronger it a day or so?The ten I got last year were all lively and healthy so this worries me.She sleeps a lot and the others just walk all over here.

They are darling! Congrats! Cute lil fuzziez

I can't tell you about the one that seems to be failing.. Were they shipped?
I hope it is okay.. but sometimes there is loss that can't be explained.. Just happens.

Hi Green! Congrats!!! I got my fifty-one yesterday and while my wife and I were introducting them to water we found two as you just described, and yes we lost them inspite of our efforts, but the rest are doing great. I have never had a shippment where there was none lost. It just seems to go with the territory and yes the others just run over them, which makes it even worse. Some are just so frail they can't take the pushing and shoving of the others. It's hard but it's the reality. Have fun with them. Haystack

Congrats green.!!! .youll love those comets..its funny everyone says about losing one or two..but in all the years i have sent for chickies i have never (knock on wood) lost any..i guess i get them from mt healthy hatcheries and they are really healthy birds..
have lots of fun with them..

cindy

I don`t think she will make it through the night,She is to weak to drink now.

Yes I got three babies nearly 4 weeks ago, and one just couldn't make it more than one day. I took her sisters out of the cage, so she could eat and drink without having to contend with the stronger ones, but she instantly started screaming until I brought them back. My son told me to give her mouth to beak resucitation, which I tried, but she just couldn't make it. The others are big, bold and brassy, lol. So good luck with your babies.

She did not make it.But the rest are running around and peeping.They were shippied to my milling coompany and I picked them up from there,so they were through a lot before I got them.Now I have to tell my granddaughters that she didn`t make it,my youngest called last night to see how she was and atthe time she was still alive and the other granddaughter wrote a note and put it on the brooder to remind me to give it water and food as it didn`t seem to know what to do unless you put it next to the water,I had taken some eggs to there school to be hatched and it supose to be today that they hatch but the incubator was shut off Monday for a little while so I don`t know what will happen.

so sorry that she didnt make it..but sometimes thats the way nature works..hope the ones at school work..
good luck

cindy

OH Green!!! How did the incubator get turned off? I sure hope it wasn't long enough to destroy the eggs.

That would be very upsetting. Like wise our remaining forty-nine are like live wires. It is always so much fun watching them run around like crazy. Enjoy, Hay

If it wasnt to long they probably will be okay Green. I am so sorry about the weak chick. I hope your granddaughter is okay about the loss. Its never easy. The others sure are sweet!! I love the ones that look like chipmunks. (Auracaunas?) Congrats!

Cute! Yes what are the stripey chipmunky looking ones? I have 2 that are similarly colored. What do they call that coloring? Partridge?

What's the marbles in the water? Does it keep it cleaner? I have one psycho chick that runs circles around everyone else and fills the water with shavings on her way over the other ones drinking and.....wow it's annoying.

Is that normal? Her name is "Psycho Chick" btw. Happens to be one of the stripey ones...

Yes Partridge. hehehe Psycho chick LOL my kind of chicken. :D

edited to add the o to psycho. LMBO

This message was edited May 6, 2009 12:42 PM

the stripey ones are the golden comets. yes they can be psychos! mine run around like nitwits..they are soooo funny..

cindy.

GOOD NEWS!! The school called and threeeggs had cracks in them I went up and one had already hatched and I got to see the second one hatch,there will be at least one more to hatch,I had taken up twelve eggs so I don1t know how many will hatch.The incubator was not off long,they don`t know how it got unpluged.The yellow ones are golden comets and the stiped one are aruacauna,I looked up auracauna and the ones that I found that looked like them was call silver aruacaunas but I don`t see any silver in them,they do look like partridge color and markings.How can I keep them from wasting there chick crumble?I put a feeder in this mornig full a quart jar and they have it almost empy and its all on the floor.The marbles are so they will not drown in the water,I used those in my last batch two,I read it somewhere,it said sometimes they can instantly fall asleep and there faces can fall in the water and they will drown.So I will use the marbles untill they are a little older.

Yikes! No drowning allowed!!! Going to get my son's old marbles out.

Psycho Chick is too funny! I have a chick that is.... well..... let's just say she is not the sharpest crayon in the box..
She has been in slow motion since birth.. and could never figure how to get up the ramp to go to bed.. Yesterday, she was doing victory laps around the coop running up and down the ramp like crazy! I thought for a minute she was hurt!!! She never gets upset.. it was the funniest thing to see..

I love it when you take them outside for the first time and they do laps, crash into eachother.. poppin cock fights and run again.. it's so cute!

I'm sorry the weak one didn't make it, but it was probably for good reason.

I'm glad I found this forum. I'm new to chicken raising. We got 22 chicks in the mail on April 22. I ordered ten golden comets and ten rhode island reds. I got a free fancy chicken that is white. I don't know what he is. They threw in one extra golden comet so that makes 22 all together.

I've found my golden comets to be very calm and quiet. We have them separated into two boxes now because they're getting so big. They are starting to try to fly. We had to put wire over the top of their totes. We moved them out of the bunkhouse and into the barn. They're still under the heat lamp. We've been working on fencing in the outdoor leanto area behind the barn so they'll have an exercise pen when they're ready. I have a coop inside the barn too. I've decided to only keep about ten or twelve and am selling the spares to the neighbor down the road. We were lucky that none of ours died. I thought some would.

I'm going to post a picture of my golden comets. It's nice to "meet" all of you and learn more about this hobby.

Brenda

Here is a picture of my R.I.R. and the white one that I don't know what it is. :)

Welcome Loon! I'm glad you found it too! We have a lot of fun here, and love baby pics! Your lil flock is darling! Do post pics when you get their coop done.

Welcome Loon I have 9 golden comets babies and 9 year old golden comets,you will love them they are so quiet and calm,they are very winter hardy also great layer of brown large eggs.I am also in the process of getting a new coop and run built,if you go on the thread of need need quick answer you will see some of the pictures,when I get it done I will post more pictures

The school called and I have three more babies,I took in 12 eggs and they threw away 2 I think so thats a prettty good hatching I would say.

way to go, green!! Beautimous!!

Welcome, Loon!
That's a great hatch, green! The kids must be having a blast.

Cool.. That is so good for the kids.. Not a bad hatch either!!

They called again and said there is more eggs that have cracks in them

Oh yes to Loon!! Welcomewelcome!! I was remiss.....

This is my granddaughter at her school watching the chicks hatch

too cool. almost as good as getting to watch the chicks......

Thanks for all the "welcomes". Congrats to green on more eggs hatching. That has to be a great experience for the children to watch.

Green, did you say you have some golden comets that are nine years old?

I didn't know they lived that long. Are they still laying eggs?

I do notice my golden comets are very quiet and laid back compared to the R.I.R. chicks. I'm eager to find out if my free fancy white bird is a hen or a roo.

I had my actual chicken coop made by a man in a nearby county. I have pictures of the coop. I had my coop painted red. It is big enough for 8 hens. That is why I'm selling off my extra chickens. I only want to keep 8-10. My exercise pen is big. Can't wait to see what they think of it. I'll get some pictures of it. Today it's raining.

I'll post some pics. It's a nice design. They can walk out the front through the doggy door in the back of the barn wall into the fenced in covered lean-to. At night they'll go back into the coop. The sides of the coop open up for cleaning out the bedding. I use pine chips. The back of the coop opens up to get the eggs from the nesting boxes there. There are 3 boxes. I hope they'll be happy in there.

My birds are starting to fly so we had to put wire fencing material over the top. One chick flew up to the top edge and sat there trying to decide what to do next. :) It's amazing how fast they grow. We moved them out of the bunkhouse and into the barn yesterday. They're doing fine. They're still in their Rubbermaid totes with lights on them. In a few more weeks we'll move them out into the coop.

Another pic

One more view

Loon, your coop looks very efficient - cute too.

Thanks! We actually have it set up on cement blocks so it's not so close to the cement floor inside the barn. It's level with the "doggy door" setup that will lead the chicks out into the exercise yard under a lean-to that is all enclosed with steel wire. We put a door out there as well. We plan to level up the dirt there some and add something to it. Not sure what yet..........sand or more dirt or sawdust???? We'll also put down a good layer of straw and put poles for them to perch on. I have some large cement blocks I might put a few out there to set their food and water on. I'll keep a covered steel can out there and put their food container in it at night so as not to attract visitors. I hope nobody gets the bright idea to dig their way under to get in there. I do have some grass growing in there but not much. I could try to seed some shady mix in there. I just don' t know yet. I wonder if they'd like a small pool with an inch of water to splash around in when the weather gets hot? I know small birds like to take a bath. Do chickens?

Wonderful set-up!!

Chickens are into dirt baths. And they look like they're half dead when they're doing it, so don't panic when you see your first baby keeled over in a weird and awkward position.........

Loon your coop is so cute.No I said I have4 golden comets that are a year old and 9 babies,I have been told that chickens with good care can live to be that old.They do lay only now and then when they get up there in age.My coop is 12x16 and the run is 60 feet long by 12 feet wide,an`t wait untill its done so I can move the.Someone was just here and wanted to know if I wanted 12 silkies,I called back and said only 2 hens and a rooster please.

Loon I went back and read what I typed, sometimes my mind goes faster than I can type I ment to say I have 4 one year old hens and 9 babies that are 3 days old.

green, what about the 10 auracanas and 10 golden comet babies? Do you only have 9 left? I am so sorry if that is the case!

OK this is what I have right now,4 one year old goiden comets---5 black sex links they are one year old---one black sex link rooster one year old---9 golden comet chicks 3 days old---10 auraucana chicks 3 days old. At my grandaughters school they hatched out 5 babies from the one years old sex links and golden comets and the black sexlink rooster is the father.There is another one in the incubator at school that is having a hard time hatching so I don`t know if that one will make it or not.Have I confused you completely? lol

Going to school today to get my babies,don`t know yet if the 6th one ever hatched out