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Hey, it’s Chickam time again, and this is our 13th year, yay! You can watch the hatch, with sound and chat, here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCr7ICWyIMhWSp0UUJpAeTCw/live NOW... We have a surprise for everyone! We’ve installed a major equipment upgrade! A new laptop to run everything, dedicated solely to Chickam: Asus TUF506II, upgraded to 16GB RAM and an Intel WiFi 6 Ax200 WiFi adapter. A new router: Asus RT-AX86U (AX5700) The camera is the same Logitech c920 that we used last year. So this year’s Chickam is running at 16:9 1280x720 (720p) @30fps! With the previous equipment, the stream was at best 852x480, and barely keeping to 25fps. No more eye-bleedingly bad picture, YAY! Thanks go to our Chickam patrons, for helping make this happen! What The Hell Is *Chickam* You Ask? Why it’s a live webcam feed of baby chicks hatching in my ReptiPro incubator, in my dining room! After the hatch, we’ll move the cam to the brooder box for the next 8 weeks, it will run 24/7, with sound, so you can watch the chicks grow up! You will also hear our family, since the chicks are taking over my dining room for the next 8 weeks. If you have a question, fire away! Hope everyone is ready for some hot chick action, ‘cause we’ve got eggs pipped and chicks on the way… How Many? This year, we started with 36 in the incubator, a variety of standard and bantam sizes, all from our flock! We have for sure 26 embryos, with 2 more that are iffy due to the shells being too dark to see through when I candled them—so a possible hatch of 28, though it will likely be less than that. Mother Nature ultimately makes the call and sometimes pulls the plug at the last minute. Bantam eggs like to hatch several days earlier then the usual incubation period of 21 days, we have three eggs that pipped (the chick pecked an airhole) already. Little bastards. Will There Be A Mama Hen This Year? MAYBE. Right now only 3 banty (small) hens in our flock have gone broody (gone over to the Dark Side and are in killer mama mode). One of them is Darling, a really tiny banty hen, the other two are Brick and Bobo (another uber-tiny hen). Several mama hens would tend to fight over the chicks, so we’d only be able to use one hen for a foster mom. BUT--if all the eggs hatch, there will be too many chicks for one bantam hen, and when this happens mama gets pissy and can peck/hurt the chicks. So if roughly 7 or fewer chicks hatch, YES we can try to introduce a broody hen, if MORE than that hatch, no mama, sorry. Hopefully we can get the kids a foster mom, because watching a mama hen interact with her chicks is a blast. And no, broody hens don’t care if she laid those eggs or not, all she cares about is OMG CHICKS. What’s With The Missing Sequential Numbers Of Eggs? I candled (shined a bright light through each egg in a darkened room to see if there was an embryo inside) the eggs 13 days in and removed some duds, that’s why you’ll see a break in the number sequence of the eggs. In addition to being numbered, each egg is marked with an X on one side and an O on the other, this is for us to keep track of which egg was turned every time we turned the eggs—5 times a day for three weeks, by the way, because I wanted no life other that EGGS for the last three weeks. What’s Taking So Long?! And ICK! Patience, little one. When chicks hatch they pip first, then hours later (sometimes up to 24 hours later) start to ‘unzip’ their shell (peck in a line as they rotate in the shell) then finally kick free all at once. It’s hours of waiting with a sudden payoff at the end, but once they start to unzip they can be out of the shell in anywhere from 1 hour, to 20 minutes, to 5 minutes later. And YES, they are icky and slimy and lay around like wet noodles when they first hatch, don’t worry they get cute and fluffy as they dry and get stronger. Also, hatched chicks can be quite rough and step on each other, or flip over onto their backs and have trouble righting themselves—they’ll be okay, no damage is done; so don’t worry. We monitor them carefully and will lend a hand where needed. Ditto for any that require assistance hatching. Once dry and strong we move them and the cam to the brooder box, where mama will be installed overnight if we can use one this year. I’ll list the eggs that have pipped and hatched here, with their progress and names: #36—Pipped 4/1 at 11AM--Hatched on 4/2 at 6:30PM, named 'Kana' by eating only apples #14--Pipped 4/1 at 11PM--Hatched 4/3 at 8AM, named 'Taffy' by ApathyGirl BLUE leg band #16--Pipped 4/1 at 11PM--Hatched 4/3 at 8AM, named 'Octavius' by Glenn Fawcet PURPLE leg band #3--Pipped 4/2 at 6PM, Hatched 4/3 at 3PM, named 'Ouzo' by Nutella #26--Pipped 4/2 at 7PM, Hatched 4/3 at 3PM, named 'Saber' by pretty pinkpansy BLUE food color spots #28--Pipped 4/2 at 7PM--Hatched on 4/2 at 7:30PM, named 'Moosebaby' by Chernobyl Princess #35--Pipped 4/2 at 7PM--Hatched on 4/3 at 3:30PM, named 'Biscuit' by Velvet Sparrow GREEN food color spots #5--Pipped 4/3 at 12P--Hatched on 4/4 at 12:30AM, named 'Harvey' by my cat is norris #17--Pipped 4/3 at 12P--Hatched on 4/3 at 10:30PM, named 'Sybil Disobediance' by Primpin and Pimpin And because we are suckers, on 4/9 we got 4 chicks from the feed store: All are the same age as our chicks, except for Jonesy, who is 2 weeks old. Jonesy – Feed store buff Orpington chick, two weeks old. Large buff chick, no foot feathers. Spork – Feed store Dominique chick, dark with a white head spot, no foot feathers. Slick Charlie – Feed store partridge Rock chick, reddish-brown, fuzzy, no foot feathers. Nyx – Feed store Midnight Majesty Marans chick, dark with foot feathers. (although I will forever call this breed a Midnight Marauder) BTW—please keep the YouTube chat CLEAN. Lots of kids watch Chickam every year, likely moreso this year than ever. We have zero tolerance for over-the-top bad language, racism, hate or other things of that nature and will kick & ban anyone not being a decent human being. NOW FOR THE BEST PART: YOU GUYS GET TO NAME THE CHICKS! Post your name suggestions here, 
Velvet Sparrow fucked around with this message at 05:06 on Apr 11, 2021 |
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Apr 2, 2021 20:33
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Woof Blitzer posted:All I see is eggs. The world is full of lies... #25 is about to pop out.
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Apr 2, 2021 20:39
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#25 should pop out any minute! #36 is unzipping, and should be after that. Several other chicks are enlarging their pips.
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Apr 2, 2021 21:35
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We had a 'Bear'--our Head Hen for many years. And we had a 'Juliet'. And I'd think 'Anne Boleyn' might be fitting for a headless chicken...? Also, #25 has been mooning the cam for like 20 minutes now. Velvet Sparrow fucked around with this message at 22:26 on Apr 2, 2021 |
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Apr 2, 2021 22:21
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25 took so long that the membrane had dried out and shrink-wrapped her a bit. Once I loosened it she popped right out into the kid's hand...and pooped on her. Going by the looks of her, she is at least half Brahma!
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Apr 2, 2021 23:01
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#25 is named 'Neptune' by Halloween Jack!
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Apr 2, 2021 23:54
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#8 has hatched and is named 'Petunia', by Kit Buckley! Petunia seems to be having holding her head up, but IS able to. We're going to watch her and give her time to get stronger. Velvet Sparrow fucked around with this message at 02:00 on Apr 3, 2021 |
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Apr 3, 2021 01:37
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^^^LOL, to give them extra humidity, I suppose.Chernobyl Princess posted:My child suggested the name Moosebaby As a fellow MST3K/Rifftrax fan, I approve.
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Apr 3, 2021 02:03
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#3 has pipped--one of the gigantic white eggs--mama is a mystery, so I'm eager to see what kind of monster hatches from those!
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Apr 3, 2021 02:14
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#36 is named 'Kana' by eating only apples!
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Apr 3, 2021 02:46
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We already had a 'Pongo', sorry. I had to stop the cam for a minute to reorder the eggs--more had pipped in the back. All 11 pipped eggs have been moved to the front of the incubator.
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Apr 3, 2021 03:12
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#28 is named 'Moosebaby' by Chernobyl Princess!
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Apr 3, 2021 03:34
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Ok, we're gonna need more names if all these chicks hatch, so I'm breaking my 'one Goon, one name' rule. Toss out those suggestions!
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Apr 3, 2021 04:19
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Neptune, Petunia and Kana have been moved to Club Flamingo, and are NOT happy about it. Moose is still in the incubator, she needs to get a bit stronger before she joins them. #10 and 14 will likely be the next to hatch, maybe before morning (it's 10:30PM here now).
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Apr 3, 2021 06:28
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#10 has hatched, and is named Chibbles! by blight rhino. Chibbles! is clean-legged, so must have Bacon for a daddy. Not sure about mom, possibly it is Rapunzel.
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Apr 3, 2021 07:58
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#6 has hatched, she will be named in the morning!
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Apr 3, 2021 09:28
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Well alrighty then, I go lay down for six hours and there's a chick explosion!  Hatched: #33, a big blond chick (Chicken Boo), #14, a small dark chick with a white bib (Taffy), #16, a medium-sized black chick (Octavius), and #7, a small black chick that may have some reddish highlights (Ribbon). All have feathered feet, and are still in the incubator. We removed Moosebaby, Chibbles! and Quill to the brooder box. They are all doing great. So! Right now there are a total of 10 chicks, with an additional 5 pipped eggs (though there may be more pipped eggs, I'll check later). EDIT--Names have been chosen! In the order they hatched: #6 is Quill, by thishtns, #33 (the big blond chick) is Chicken Boo by Neddy Seagoon, #14 is Taffy by ApathyGirl, #16 is Octavius by Glenn Fawcet, and #7 is Ribbon, by Stelladoro. Velvet Sparrow fucked around with this message at 18:45 on Apr 3, 2021 |
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Apr 3, 2021 17:29
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Prof. Crocodile posted:Is Club Flamingo a reference to the old Police Squad! TV show by chance? Nope, people started calling the brooder box Club Flamingo because of the flamingo lamp I use to keep the babies warm. bus hustler, thanks for alerting me to that bad link--I meant to take it out and forgot. OP Fixed! Velvet Sparrow fucked around with this message at 18:11 on Apr 3, 2021 |
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Apr 3, 2021 17:39
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10 hatched chicks 8 pipped eggs (three of these just pipped) All of the chicks have been removed to the brooder box, and the dark banty chicks got colored legs bands to help ID them (there was MUCH OUTRAGE). The colors for who's who are listed in the OP. Chibbles! is the only dark chick without a leg band. #26 should be out soon!
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Apr 3, 2021 20:16
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#2 beat 26 to the punch and hatched first! Covered in mucous, goop, bits of shell and poo. She even flicked poo onto the plexiglass in case anyone wanted a *really* good view of it. Yeah, we hatched an utter slob. She's now cleaned off (I get all the fun, glamorous jobs). The kid drew a name. i SWEAR it was random. We all had a good laugh, and decided to draw again, keeping the first name chosen as a nickname. So...#2 is named 'Mooncake', by ApathyGirl with the nickname of 'Dumptruck', by Fashionably Great. #26 is hiding in her shell in protest. Velvet Sparrow fucked around with this message at 21:04 on Apr 3, 2021 |
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Apr 3, 2021 21:01
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Pictures! Kana co-opting the best spot at the feet of Flamingo Prime, Moosebaby the blond striped chick with her back to you:  Sleepy pile:  Sleepypile alerted, Neptune in front:  Uh oh, the chicks have gone all 'Lord of the Flies', and Flamingo Prime has been toppled! No doubt at the command of Flamingo Mom: 
Velvet Sparrow fucked around with this message at 21:41 on Apr 3, 2021 |
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Apr 3, 2021 21:29
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#3 has hatched, and is bigger than Mooncake, which I hadn't believed possible. #3 is named 'Ouzo' by Nutella. #26 has also hatched, and is named 'Saber' by pretty pinkpansy. #35 is making progress unzipping!
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Apr 3, 2021 23:31
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#35 has hatched, and is named 'Biscuit' (by me!)
Velvet Sparrow fucked around with this message at 06:41 on Apr 4, 2021 |
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Apr 4, 2021 00:08
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Welp, #15 didn't make it. Her abdomen hadn't closed, so she pipped and died. Also, I was mistaken about #9, it has no pip--what I saw was a chunk of debri. But! #5 and 17 are expanding their pips and are very active. The chicks in the brooder are doing great, drinking electrolyte solution and pecking at food. Right now we have 14 chicks, with two more going to hatch. No new pips on the remaining eggs, so we'll likely be done when these last two eggs hatch. We'll leave the unhatched eggs in the incubator for the next three days to catch any late hatches.
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Apr 4, 2021 03:39
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#17 has hatched, and is named 'Sybil Disobediance' by Primpin and Pimpin! One chick to go, if anyone wants to throw in a last-minute sweet & silly name suggestion, now's the time! Velvet Sparrow fucked around with this message at 06:40 on Apr 4, 2021 |
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Apr 4, 2021 06:36
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#5 has hatched, and is named 'Harvey' by my cat is norris! We left Sybil in the incubator to keep her company. Meanwhile, Saber and Biscuit have gone to Club Flamingo, Saber was kinda being a butt. Also, both now have the indignity of food color spots applied to their backs and chests--Biscuit has green, Saber blue. No new pips on the eggs, I think we are done at 16 chicks. Too many for a banty broody hen, so no mama this year, sorry! Tomorrow morning we'll move the last two chicks and the camera into the brooder box! Velvet Sparrow fucked around with this message at 09:06 on Apr 4, 2021 |
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Apr 4, 2021 09:01
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Good morning and Happy Easter, everyone! In just a bit we are taking the camera down for a few minutes while we relocate it to the brooder box, along with the last two chicks. I'll check the remaining eggs at the time for any new pips. Everyone is doing great! Also, thanks for all the kind words, we're glad everyone is enjoying the chicks! Pandemics are powerless against cute fluffies... EDIT: The cam has been moved to the brooder box! All 16 chicks are in there, with no new pips on the remaining eggs. Posting the link in case it's changed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_drj-FYmR0o EDIT #2: Here is a link to a list of the chicks so you can ID them: https://i.imgur.com/W88dAmD.jpg Velvet Sparrow fucked around with this message at 21:14 on Apr 4, 2021 |
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Apr 4, 2021 18:10
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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Thanks for the support, everyone. I'm sorry about Petunia, the others looks quite strong, so hopefully she will be the last one we lose. The kid and I will get individual chick pictures today, which will mean more outraged peeping. Tiny wings and tails are beginning.  Anf thanks for posting the pictures, those are great!
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Apr 9, 2021 17:34
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We went to the feed store for chicken food....and...well, my kid was sad, and asked so nicely. The new chicks: a two week old buff Orpington (giant blond chick), a Dominique (dark chick with a white spot on her head), a partridge Rock (red/brown chick) and a Midnight Majesty Marans (dark chick with feathered feet). All are supposed to be hens. Now we need to choose 4 new names!
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Apr 9, 2021 20:01
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