BABY CHICK DILEMNA 911!!!!

[Boondox]

Maybe, but after we experienced this problem we read up on it (should have done that first) and several sources attributed it to "help" during the hatching process. We don't help out anymore and have never had the problem again.

Pete

 

[Ole_Hickory]

I have hatched lots of chicks before in an incubator,my old incubator was a still air without an automatic egg turner. I had lots of cripples in the old incubator and I finally broke down and bought an incubator with the fan and automatic egg turner and it was a great improvement over the hatching success.Helping a chick out of the egg does not cause the legs to be crippled,deformed etc.That is something that happens during the incubation process the formation of the chick in the shell. I have helped chicks out of the eggs and they have died and sometimes they have lived,sometimes if the humidity is too low the shells will stick to the chicks and the chicks cannot pip or peck there way out.I have picked a small hole in the egg to let oxygen in if I think they are having trouble hatching,sometimes you can hear the chick chirping in the egg a day or two before they hatch Humidity and good air circulation and an egg turner is the key. But if you can get a good broody setting hen they will do the best.

<font color="blue"> Basic Hatching </font>

 

[RichZ]

Howdy, Todd!! You're doing great, and you've already received lots of good info!!

One thing that I'd add is that the best feed for them is called chick starter. I particularly like Agway feed, and that's what I use for all of my livestock, including the chickens, but just about every feed company makes chick starter. The stuff you have looks just a little course for them, it could cause problems in their gizzards.

The setup you have for the chicks is perfect. You can adjust the light for heat by their reactions. Panting is definitely too hot. Also if they're all staying aprt from each other, it usually means it's too hot. If they're all huddling together tightly, it means it's too cold. But I'm sure you already figured that out.

You're doing a GREAT job with these little guys!!! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[polecat]

thank u zster!!!and thanks for the thoughts2!!!! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Boondox]

Ah, the difference is probably that we rely on broody hens to do the incubating...so they get turned regularly by her. Thanks for the clarification. Pete

 

[NIXON]

Not to intentionally hijack this thread . I'd like to have a few chickens and turkies . I don't want to coop them up ,as I'm sure they'd do better free range . But my question is ..... What keeps them from just Running away ??? and do you do anything special to keep critters from getting them ??
Yeah I know .... city boy question /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif John

 

[polecat]

Depends on yer situation!!! I don't have a coop ...YET....gotta build one now........a friend of mine gave me 6 half grown birds last late summer and they were put in a LARGE dog crate and put hay in the bottom..thats what they still call home today...except liddle red who has made a nest this late spring behind my propane tanks .. other than that they all go back in the crate at night...and i leave my dog out now and she mindfully watches over them and my kittens...at night...they are locked up ..most night but liddle red has been outside behind the tanks for 3.5 weeks now...when the chicks started hatching i put her on the back porch so that ablosutely nothing could bother her or the chicks...i now have 4 chicks in one large box...and its covered witha piece of aluminum faced foam board with a large rock on top..one more hatched last night and is kinda weak and i put him in with the others and they started picking on him so he is inside in his own box now with a light food and water...there is one more egg to hatch and that chick will go in with the other weaker one...It is truly amazing how tough these birds are...they spent the whole winter..2-3' snow storms in that box..covered with an old sleeeping bag and bermed with that foil faced 2' foam and snow...when their "stuff" started gittin a little messy i jist threw in a couple more inches of hay..
it is amazing how much heat is generated by 6 ckns..8" of layered poops and hay.....when it snowed i would shovel an area in front of the box and throw their grain down and they'd come out and eat and then go back into their box and huddle up..they always hung round the box and now i jist close the front gate closed at night...i have no real close neighbors so they run all round in the woods tearin all the leaves and stuff up!!

It is nice not to have to feed them as i was laid off a couple mos ago and am on unemployment for the first time in my life..and it jist barely pays my bills...If u happen to have a well trained dog like OAKLEY....MY BABY and he/she can be a protector...then yer all set..if u dont then u may have to confine yer dog or cats or build them a small shelter till they can defend themselves...and believe me ...a rooster can ward off bout any dog and cat in a sec...and is a great thing to have round...i will build some "chicken tractor boxes in the next few weeks..so that the chicks can git out..( a cage with no bottom that can be drug to a different spot everyday with a built in shelter inside..and a roof with hinges so that i can water and grain them wihtout them gittin out...

I havent had turkeys as of yet but jist gimme time /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

if u have more ???'s jist post back here and i'm sure all the guys that have helped me(i never had chicks hatch b4..but have raised many ckns... its really cool)... as well as my self will do everything to help u out... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

TODD from maine!!! /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

the pic above is my eternal chikn..kittten protector...she never barks unless something is wrong...something i trained her when she was a pup...memba the old proverb:kids r to b seen not heard /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gifunless of course she's tryin to tell dad sumfn!!!!.........cheers /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[NIXON]

Todd thanks for the post . I intend to build a hen house before I get the chickens . I've got plenty of room for them to roam as I live in the sticks . There is a guy a few miles from me that has some magnifiscent looking Turkies . They're grey and white . I'll have to ask him what breed they are . As far as dogs , I have a chocolate Lab and a Dachshund . The lab is really mellow . The Weiner is a terror . But I expect a good rooster would set her straight .
I went in with my inlaws a few years ago with some chickens ( Barred Rocks and Aricaunas) . But they were on their property and penned up all the time . I'd like to raise my own and let them have a lot more freedom to run around . John

 

[polecat]

nx!!!!! Git the chicks as it'll be 3-4 weeks b4 i even take mine out of their little box worlds and then u will have plenty of time to build yer chicken tractor box and it'll put u way ahead of schedule...don't even know if u can order chicks this late in the season but ...it'll put u way ahead of schedule...jist my.02...but will build my ckne tractor box's in the next 3-4 weeks and then put them out..my hen has one more egg to go but iv'e slipped 7 more under her right now and whe has'nt moved and hopefully she'll jist stay right there waiting for her !!!! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gifothers /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif!!!! to hatch to so in 20 days i'll have 7 more chicks arriving jist in time to keep their boxes full as the others will b going out...am lookin for 3 more eggs to put under her as that'll make 10...maybe even put her on 12...wonder if that'd b a record for a little hen like her!!! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gifam gonna turn her into a chick factory!!!!
/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

am GOING TO # ALL OF THE EGGS TO MAKE SURE THEY ARE ALL GITTIN FULL HEAT ... will put the evens directly under her one day and then the odds the next...she's on 8 right now and it's not crowded at all the way she shakes and spreads her wings as she settles down on them /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[NIXON]

Todd . I believe it's a bit late in the year to get chicks . I can get them from the local feed store next spring . That'll work out well for me and the chicks as I'm a lazy git when it comes to building my own projects Right now I'm in the middle of builg a woodshed . As it's a pole stucture , I'll just incorporate the hen house into it . Thanks again for the help . John