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I'm an idiot, and I'm so sorry. I blame myself for Ribbon and Quill dying and Petunia acting so weird. We aren't positive, but we think that the cause was the stuffed flamingo. We'd only gotten it the day before the cam started, and set it in there under a very warm light...without thinking that it might start degassing some kind of chemical that could hurt that chicks. For now, that is the most likely cause. The symptoms of the chicks that died fit the 'chemical fumes' theory. Ribbon, Quill and Petunia also might be from the same mother, and if she is an older hen, chicks from older hens are more prone to congenital issues. The only other thing they have in common is that they were all leg banded, but the bands I've had for years, and have used them before with no ill effects. I doubt if the hay is an issue, we'd be seeing a more widespread problem. For now Petunia seems okay. I've put up a new chick list, here: https://i.imgur.com/XXPrhIk.jpg I'm so angry at myself I can hardly see straight. If chicks continue to die, I'm pulling the plug on the cam. No one needs to watch this. Again, I'm sorry. Velvet Sparrow fucked around with this message at 05:41 on Apr 5, 2021 |
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Apr 5, 2021 05:31
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CrimsonAuthor posted:Not Benedict Cumberhatch? I failed. Edit: Oh no! I just read your last post. You're doing an awesome job taking care of these little chicks. Things happen. Please keep on truckin' Chickam. You rock. Spaghett fucked around with this message at 06:01 on Apr 5, 2021 |
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Apr 5, 2021 05:58
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Accidents happen! No one is angry with you here. Do what you need to do, but I hope you keep the cam up. Chickam has been such a highlight of the internet for me for years!
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Apr 5, 2021 06:19
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Poor chickies 
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Apr 5, 2021 07:17
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Metaline posted:Accidents happen! No one is angry with you here. Do what you need to do, but I hope you keep the cam up. Chickam has been such a highlight of the internet for me for years! So sorry this has happened, but please don't blame yourself.
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Apr 5, 2021 07:17
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Echoing that you couldn't have known. You've identified what you believe to be the problem and have removed the source, and hopefully the rest of the chicks can recover and thrive. We aren't upset at you at all.
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Apr 5, 2021 07:36
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Please don’t be too hard on yourself, VS. I hope the rest of the hatchlings do well and have enjoyed watching their antics every spring.
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Apr 5, 2021 07:46
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I'm sorry this is happening. You do right by the chicks every year, and if there's some kind of freak issue this time that's not something to blame yourself for.
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Apr 5, 2021 11:34
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 "How to chicken" instructions are being studied
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Apr 5, 2021 14:59
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devicenull posted:
Do they know there's gonna be a test for them?
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Apr 5, 2021 16:15
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devicenull posted:
Neptune wants to be first in her class. Thanks for the kind words everyone. We'll be changing out the hay in a while, the cam will be off for about 10 minutes or so while we do. Also, we're having a windstorm and may lose power. We have ways of keeping the chicks warm if it does (I've worn baby chicks in my bra before), so they'll be okay. EDIT--The cam is back! Fresh hay, three chicks cleaned for poo butt, and CORN! VVV There's more pooing than peeping in that situation. VVV Velvet Sparrow fucked around with this message at 19:50 on Apr 5, 2021 |
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Apr 5, 2021 18:23
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The mental image of frantic peeping coming from your bra is incredibly funny
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Apr 5, 2021 19:02
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We lost Mooncake. She was okay when I checked everyone at 3AM, about 5 hours ago.
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Apr 6, 2021 15:50
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Velvet Sparrow posted:We lost Mooncake. She was okay when I checked everyone at 3AM, about 5 hours ago. Poor thing  . She was a very poopy bird though, wasn't she? Is it possible there was just something wrong inside rather than whatever claimed the other two?
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Apr 6, 2021 16:02
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Poor baby. I'm sorry for all your losses this week 
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Apr 6, 2021 16:04
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Velvet Sparrow posted:We lost Mooncake. She was okay when I checked everyone at 3AM, about 5 hours ago. At least someone was keeping her company when it happened (about 1:10 ago)
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Apr 6, 2021 16:30
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We're trying one last thing--we're going to ditch the brooder box. It's possible that the cardboard was treated with something, due to Covid...? We have a blue plastic kiddie pool (we've had it since last year, so no worries out it degassing plastic fumes), we're scrubbing it out, placing fresh hay in it and will place the chicks in there. I'm also scrubbing out the food/water containers.
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Apr 6, 2021 16:54
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It's rough, I'm sorry. You do your best for the little things, just baby animals are often more fragile than they seem...
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Apr 6, 2021 17:59
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Nettle Soup posted:It's rough, I'm sorry. Seconding this. Also thank you for sharing the experiences with us--good and bad.
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Apr 6, 2021 18:19
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Okay, the chicks have been moved to the blue kiddie pool and the cam is back up, and they have fresh hay, food and water. Literally EVERYTHING has been changed that could be changed, things like the flamingo lamp have been cleaned. They aren't going to last in there long, we'll have to make something bigger--but the existing cardboard brooder box will not be used again, it's trash. I'm going to take a look at the Tractor Supply store here in town and see what they do for chick boxes, if there's nothing suitable I'm going to look around and whack one together out of something else...time to think outside the box, as it were.
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Apr 6, 2021 19:26
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Velvet Sparrow posted:Okay, the chicks have been moved to the blue kiddie pool and the cam is back up, and they have fresh hay, food and water. Literally EVERYTHING has been changed that could be changed, things like the flamingo lamp have been cleaned. Is it a new bulb in the lamp? Apparently it's a thing these days to coat them in teflon
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Apr 6, 2021 19:28
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devicenull posted:Is it a new bulb in the lamp? Apparently it's a thing these days to coat them in teflon That's a really good thought, thanks--and it's true that Teflon, when it gets hot, emits fumes that are super deadly to birds. But all the bulbs we're using are on their second and third year, we've used them before with no issues. The chicks just had their first mealworm feeding, they scarfed them down and ate REALLY well, they also ate corn. I'm super happy with how much they ate, it can only do them good!
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Apr 6, 2021 20:15
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Watching the little fluffballs nap in absolutely faceplanted positions is the best.
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Apr 6, 2021 22:02
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Clearly the answer is to let them free-range in the house! Please don't actually do this. Thank you for caring so much for these little birds. It's a delight every year to watch them hatch and grow and to see you and your family interact with them. I'm sorry about Mooncake/Dumptruck, hopefully the new everything will help with whatever is going on.
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Apr 6, 2021 23:21
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This is everything I could find about the flamingo toy. I don't know if this will be helpful or not, but my thinking was that knowing what it's made of might help narrow down stuff. I could not find a whole lot, but it's a start I guess. - name: Gilda, the pink flamingo Beanie Boo by Ty inc., made with "Ty silk fabric" (x) - tag information: Tush Tag generation C1, a 2-tag set that lists: a) polyesther fiber (x , x) b) plastic beads/pellets a.k.a. polyethylene pellets (x , x) - some other possible added materials: 1. "grommeted eyes", but made of what plastic I don't know yet 2. foam in the beak? 3. flame retardants? (Possible issues: x , x) 4. anti-bacterial-growth chemicals? (Possible issues: x) I took the liberty of contacting tycollector.com to see if they knew more about what materials go into making Beanies; hope that's ok. I'm not holding my breath though. There really isn't a whole lot out there - that I could find anyway. Mostly a study here and there and anecdotes of dogs dying from eating Beanies. Not sure this will have helped you that much, but I did enjoy the endless random information rabbit holes I went down all the same! UPDATE: I heard back from the fan website - the lovely people there know even less that we do about what goes into making a beanie. On the other hand, YAY it's Jab & Clod day! Here's to a long and healthy future for The Twelve. Joanna fucked around with this message at 20:06 on Apr 8, 2021 |
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Apr 7, 2021 05:46
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Joanna posted:This is everything I could find about the flamingo toy. I don't know if this will be helpful or not, but my thinking was that knowing what it's made of might help narrow down stuff. I could not find a whole lot, but it's a start I guess. drat, Goons are awesome! Thanks so much for this, Joanna. It's right along the lines of what we suspected, and that from here on out, the chicks will either be able to clear it out of their bodies, or not--not much else we can do. Information is always helpful!
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Apr 7, 2021 07:59
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Everyone is doing better this morning, about half the chicks are perking around like normal. The remaining chicks are at varying levels of lethargy/wobbliness, with Neptune the worst off. I was up through the night keeping an eye on them, had to upright Neptune, Chicken Boo and Petunia a few times--those are the three weakest chicks right now. Everyone is eating and drinking on their own except Neptune, I was giving her water periodically overnight and this morning. They are getting scrambled eggs in a bit, and I'll be making a food/water slurry for Neptune that I'll hand feed her. Today is the day they all get innoculated, and we'll give them a grassy dirt clod, too. For those that don't know, since chickens don't have teeth, they process their food by ingesting dirt particles and tiny stones, this grit does the job of grinding their food. The grassy dirt clod gives the chicks a variety of neato stuff: dirt for grit, grass for green matter to eat, any bugs they find for protein, and dirt for dustbathing in. It also keeps them entertained as the scratch around in it, and the clod is a marvelous thing to climb up on, then jump down from to land on the head of your sister. I may partition off Neptune (and maybe Petunia and Chicken Boo, too) from the rest of the chicks with some wire, Neptune is getting trampled quite a bit. Velvet Sparrow fucked around with this message at 19:12 on Apr 7, 2021 |
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Apr 7, 2021 19:06
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I feel responsible for Neptune somehow.
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Apr 7, 2021 19:34
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If you can get them over there, I suspect that Nettex Poultry Drops could raise the dead, might be worth a try to give the worst off ones a boost. I even gave them to a hamster once that was dying in my hands, and by the next morning he was 100% right as rain and shouting at me for waking him up.
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Apr 7, 2021 19:38
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We just lost Neptune. Everyone else is looking like they are out of danger at this point, unless the toxins have caused irreparable damage to their livers/kidneys. We'll just have to wait & see. So now we are down to an even dozen chicks. Nettle Soup posted:If you can get them over there, I suspect that Nettex Poultry Drops could raise the dead, might be worth a try to give the worst off ones a boost. I even gave them to a hamster once that was dying in my hands, and by the next morning he was 100% right as rain and shouting at me for waking him up. Looked this stuff up, and I'm going to get some to have on hand. Thanks for the tip, bioflavanoids are always a great thing.
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Apr 7, 2021 20:27
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Ahh, poor Neptune! I'm glad to hear that everyone else is on the mend, poor fragile things. Keep at it, babies! VS, you're doing such an excellent job in the face of this unexpected challenge. 
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Apr 8, 2021 03:59
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If there's one thing I've gotten from a decade+ of Chickam, it's that the "CHICKEN IN TROUBLE"/"HEY DON'T STEP ON ME"/"SOMEBODY IS BEING A BUTT" chirp that the babies do sets off parental instincts I assumed I didn't have. My head just whips around whenever I hear it. Such a bummer about Neptune, I was so happy to see everybody doing so much better this morning, but I guess she missed that bus by that much
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Apr 8, 2021 05:08
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Notgothic posted:If there's one thing I've gotten from a decade+ of Chickam, it's that the "CHICKEN IN TROUBLE"/"HEY DON'T STEP ON ME"/"SOMEBODY IS BEING A BUTT" chirp that the babies do sets off parental instincts I assumed I didn't have. My head just whips around whenever I hear it. Yeah, that distressed peep is distinctive! And these chicks are SO very round they roll over easily. There will be loads of peeping today, we're vaccinating them. Afterward expect them to look low for the rest of the day, but they'll get mealworms and a grassy dirt clod as a bribe.
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Apr 8, 2021 19:06
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Velvet Sparrow posted:Yeah, that distressed peep is distinctive! And these chicks are SO very round they roll over easily. There will be loads of peeping today, we're vaccinating them. Afterward expect them to look low for the rest of the day, but they'll get mealworms and a grassy dirt clod as a bribe. THE CLOD They sure are whining about the shot.
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Apr 8, 2021 19:36
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 h a r v e y
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Apr 8, 2021 20:01
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CLOD TIME
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Apr 8, 2021 21:51
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Velvet Sparrow posted:Yeah, that distressed peep is distinctive! And these chicks are SO very round they roll over easily. There will be loads of peeping today, we're vaccinating them. Afterward expect them to look low for the rest of the day, but they'll get mealworms and a grassy dirt clod as a bribe. It's clearly a good day for vaccines, I had to head out to get mine after the first few chicks had gotten theirs. Great news, little ones, we're ~hEaLTh BudDiEz~ now
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Apr 8, 2021 22:38
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I'm really sorry...Chibbles! didn't make it. This year's Chickam is a goddamn Greek tragedy.
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Apr 8, 2021 23:29
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Velvet Sparrow posted:Yeah, that distressed peep is distinctive! And these chicks are SO very round they roll over easily. There will be loads of peeping today, we're vaccinating them. Afterward expect them to look low for the rest of the day, but they'll get mealworms and a grassy dirt clod as a bribe. hey do you have any of those grassy dirt clods left over? asking for a friend.
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Apr 8, 2021 23:34
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Velvet Sparrow posted:I'm really sorry...Chibbles! didn't make it. There've been hard years in the past, VS. Sometimes it was the kids dying later, sometimes it was babies dying right after hatching, or in the days after. I remember so many who died as babies or young birds. They all had the best life possible. This one has been particularly rough though and I hope you all are doing okay through it. I hope you know that nothing about this was your fault. You do your absolute best for these guys and give them the happiest life imaginable. I'm so sorry that this is happening.
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Apr 9, 2021 00:10
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