# Chick pics/tough day



## dawg53

This past Thursday at 6:30am the post office called and said my 4 chicks arrived from Meyer hatchery, one of each: RIR, Jersey Giant, Light Brahma, EE.
I got them home and opened the box the poor things were chilled, shaking and huddling together despite the heating pad under the bedding in the box. The Light Brahma was by her self though, trembling terribly. It was dark, cold and misty that morning, a bad chickie weather day to say the least.

When I got home, I immediately put them in the brooder with the heat lamp and set up a second heat lamp as well. I filled the 1 quart waterer with lukewarm water and mixed in 1 tablespoon Poultry Nutri drench.
I dipped their beaks in the waterer and they were very thirsty. I could tell my problem child was going to be the Light Brahma as she was still shaking. Later on I removed the second heat lamp.

My wife spent most of the day nursing and coaxing the Light Brahma to move around in the brooder. She used to be a nurse (MA.) I still had to dip the chicks beak in the waterer often. The other chicks recovered nicely and eventually started eating crumbles.
Later in the afternoon, the Nutri Drench did its job with the Light Brahma. The chick stopped shaking and was drinking on her own, but still hadnt eaten.
Late in the evening the Light Brahma started eating and she finally pooped. She has since made a full recovery and is doing great. She's had poopy butt twice (Sharon's eyes spotted it) and I cleaned her up. Phew!
In pic #003, the chick at the top left is the RIR, below her is the Light Brahma.
At the top right is the JG and below her is the EE.
I forgot to add that I'm getting 3 Speckled Sussex chicks today and will put them in the same brooder. I'll take pics of them later today.


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## chickenqueen

How did you get only 4 from the hatchery?I have to order 15 or 25,depending on the time of year.That's a nice mix of chicks you got.I always have EE's and LB's,both real good layers with nice personalities.


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## Steinwand

Cute! Meyer hatchery can do as little as three chicks if you order after April and before November


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## seminole wind

Sorry your chicks arrived cold. I'm glad they all snapped out of it. SS are nice. I have 3 but one can barely walk. I personally think she has cancer because her eyes are jaundiced. 

I'm glad to hear your wife is so involved in their care!


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## Maryellen

Thats great they bounced back!! Hopefully the brahma fully recovers


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## Steinwand

Are Brahma's good foragers?


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## dawg53

I added 3 Speckled Sussex chicks from a breeder friend of mine today. They are straight run. My friend is a big time enabler and tried coaxing me to get more lol. I might end up doing it if all 3 chicks turn out to be cockerals...it would be my luck.
They integrated well with the hatchery chicks in the brooder, no problems whatsoever. Two SS's are yellow in color and the 3rd almost has the same coloring as the EE.


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## seminole wind

So cute!


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## dawg53

They sure poop alot. I had a neighbor save us a ton of newspapers. We change it out frequently. 
Here's a good one. Sharon was watching the chicks running around and all of a sudden she gets this funny look on her face and asks,"what's that awful smell?"
I looked in the brooder while Sharon was running out of the room...it was cecal poop! Hahahaha!


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## Maryellen

Lol poor sharon!!!
Dawg i use wee wee pads for the first 2 weeks depending on how many chicks i have, then graduate to shavings, try the wee wee puppy training pads,you will lije them better then newspaper


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## chickenqueen

Nothing is better than stinky chicks in the living room.I kinda miss it this year but I'm letting Mama raise her 2.I've never seen them with a Mama and it's neat watching them though Mama won't let me get close to her babies.


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## boskelli1571

I have one bantam that likes to raise chicks each year. She is currently sitting on 2 eggs


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## seminole wind

Poor Sharon!
I get my chicks on hardware cloth at 3-4 weeks with the wee wee pads underneath and a low box of shavings to sleep in. They sure poop a lot!


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## boskelli1571

dawg53 said:


> They sure poop alot. I had a neighbor save us a ton of newspapers. We change it out frequently.
> Here's a good one. Sharon was watching the chicks running around and all of a sudden she gets this funny look on her face and asks,"what's that awful smell?"
> I looked in the brooder while Sharon was running out of the room...it was cecal poop! Hahahaha!


That's funny with your wife being a nurse!
I have a question for everyone - I have 2 hatchlings. They had a bit of a rocky start but seem to be doing ok right now except I never see them eat. I try to 'tidbit' them with the feed but they never seem interested. They are drinking well (vits in water) and they are pooping but not a lot. Quite active, cheeping a lot don't sem to be distressed. I don't hatch that often so I need moral (or immoral) support  ME the yellow one is Georges' I believe....


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## Maryellen

Grind up the feed,make it smaller more like powder


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## boskelli1571

Maryellen said:


> Grind up the feed,make it smaller more like powder


Should I mix with water to make a thin gruel?


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## dawg53

boskelli1571 said:


> Should I mix with water to make a thin gruel?


I went through the same thing with my new chicks, the crumbles were too big. I just crushed some and put it down for them to eat in front of the feeder. They were reluctant at first until one or two chicks started pecking at it, then they ate it. The others followed suit.
As far as a gruel goes, I'd do it as a last resort. If they like it and scoff it up, they may not want to eat dry crumbles again.


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## seminole wind

boskelli1571 said:


> That's funny with your wife being a nurse!
> I have a question for everyone - I have 2 hatchlings. They had a bit of a rocky start but seem to be doing ok right now except I never see them eat. I try to 'tidbit' them with the feed but they never seem interested. They are drinking well (vits in water) and they are pooping but not a lot. Quite active, cheeping a lot don't sem to be distressed. I don't hatch that often so I need moral (or immoral) support  ME the yellow one is Georges' I believe....
> View attachment 29436


GRIND UP THE FEED! You can also give them a wet mash as a treat. I give my chicks a mash treat every day late afternoon. It really makes them plump.


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## Maryellen

No you dont have to add water, just grind to almost powder. 
How are they doing?
The only chick food that is tiny enough for newborn chicks ive found is nutrena chick starter grower, its super fine and my newborn chicks have always done well on it since i started using it


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## boskelli1571

Maryellen said:


> No you dont have to add water, just grind to almost powder.
> How are they doing?
> The only chick food that is tiny enough for newborn chicks ive found is nutrena chick starter grower, its super fine and my newborn chicks have always done well on it since i started using it


Sadly, they both passed, one last night and I think the other one just gave up too


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## dawg53

boskelli1571 said:


> Sadly, they both passed, one last night and I think the other one just gave up too


I cant believe it! They seem to look good in the pic....sad. 
Sorry for your losses Sue.


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## Steinwand

thats terrible, sorry for your loss.


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## boskelli1571

dawg53 said:


> I cant believe it! They seem to look good in the pic....sad.
> Sorry for your losses Sue.


Thanks Dawg. It was very difficult to get them interested in eating, they seemed to have no inclination to peck at anything. Very sad, but I will hatch some more if spring/summer ever arrives....


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## chickenqueen

Sorry for your loss!!!I've had that problem with chicks I hatch.One trick(for future reference)is vanilla Ensure,it's easy to force feed them and has lots of nutrition to keep them going.


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## Maryellen

Omg Sue im so so sorry

Maybe there was something genetic wrong with them. The bredas are VERY difficult to hatch and get them past the 2 week old mark


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## boskelli1571

Maryellen said:


> Omg Sue im so so sorry
> 
> Maybe there was something genetic wrong with them. The bredas are VERY difficult to hatch and get them past the 2 week old mark


Yes, as I said earlier they really had no inclination to peck whatsoever. Between the incubator acting up and possibly genetics they didn't stand much of a chance. 
Waiting for spring/summer to arrive and have warmer weather for chicks - still snowing here


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## boskelli1571

chickenqueen said:


> Sorry for your loss!!!I've had that problem with chicks I hatch.One trick(for future reference)is vanilla Ensure,it's easy to force feed them and has lots of nutrition to keep them going.


Never would have thought of ensure - I will keep some on hand, thanks


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## dawg53

Baaddd chickies. The Barred Rocks wernt this bad!


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## seminole wind

LOL. What fun raising chicks!


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## Steinwand

Ewwww! lol  two more days till "my" chicks supposedly hatch!!!


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## dawg53

Steinwand said:


> Ewwww! lol  two more days till "my" chicks supposedly hatch!!!


Now you know what YOU'LL be in for! Hahaha!


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## chickenqueen

Good luck!!!I hope you have a successful hatch.


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## seminole wind

At this point I usually start peeping at the eggs hoping for an answer.


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## dawg53

Here's the chicks perched in the brooder. It's in the mid 80's this afternoon and I booted them out into the grow out pen. Actually it's the main chicken pen and I'm using a portable pen to keep them confined in a smaller area (pen within a pen.) Breaking them in right! Heheheh. I forgot to mention that the Barred Rocks were fussing at the chicks. Jealous.


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## Steinwand

Thanks guys!! I'll tell my hen she has y'alls support!


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## chickenqueen

Did your eggs hatch?


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## Steinwand

Nope not yet she's clucking in the nest and appears more fluffy than usual, it might just be my imagination but I think I heard two cheeps and she preened once almost like she wants to look good for her chicks!


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## seminole wind

Dawg, looks like you have a nice array of colors.


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## dawg53

seminolewind said:


> Dawg, looks like you have a nice array of colors.


Yeah, I cant wait til they are grown. Red, black, white and black, brown, mahogany with speckles lol. 
I really like the coloring of your speckled sussex Karen, she's a beauty.


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## seminole wind

They are pretty!


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## Maryellen

Ooh soooo pretty dawg!!!


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## dawg53

Here are some updated chick pics that I took yesterday afternoon as soon as it slacked off raining. The Brat Pack are 7.5 weeks old.
CQ you were right about my Light Brahma being slow to mature. She is finally growing feathers as you can see. Out of all of them, she is the friendliest and my wife named her "Susie." She knows her name and comes when called. She even came up and took a dried mealworm out of my hand and ate it right there. The others are still too skittish to do that, but are curious. She's a sweetie for sure and of course already a favorite.


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## Maryellen

They are all beautiful!! Susie is a smart chick!


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## chickenqueen

Susie has a lot of black splashes.I have LB Gertrude who is more black than white.She came from MM hatchery. The other two came from the feed store(and different hatchery)that have the right color pattern.Susie looks like she's in the "dinosaur"phase.I still love those SS and plan on getting some in the future.They're looking good!!!


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## Steinwand

They look adorbs!!!


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## dawg53

chickenqueen said:


> Susie has a lot of black splashes.I have LB Gertrude who is more black than white.She came from MM hatchery. The other two came from the feed store(and different hatchery)that have the right color pattern.Susie looks like she's in the "dinosaur"phase.I still love those SS and plan on getting some in the future.They're looking good!!!


Dinosaur phase hahahaha! I cant wait til she feathers out like the rest of them. I know she's going to be a beautiful bird. I hope she looks like the adult Light Brahmas I had when I was living in Georgia.
The SS's are looking good too. Karen has a really good looking SS that I like alot.


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## seminole wind

I didn't know you got 3. I like them. They're inquisitive. I can't garden alone. I can't leave my plants unprotected. But it seems they don't scratch at black rubber mulch.

That Brahma is adorable!


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## dawg53

You're right Karen. I had one Speckled Sussex years ago from the same breeder and she WAS inquisitive. I added her directly into the flock and she became friends with my only EE and they hung out together. There were never any pecking order issues with her neither. I think they are beautiful looking birds.


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## seminole wind

I'm glad your wife is getting attached to them and having more interest. It makes it nice when there's both of you to have an interest. Now if you could get her fishing...………….


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## dawg53

seminolewind said:


> I'm glad your wife is getting attached to them and having more interest. It makes it nice when there's both of you to have an interest. Now if you could get her fishing...&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;.


If I could get myself fishing, sigh.


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## seminole wind

I know. At some point....……. When snowbirds leave or get ready to leave there's lots of bargains out there.


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## Maryellen

Dawg go to new site


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