The Journey to Chickens
Chickens are supposedly the easiest animal to husband. Perhaps I'm not cut out for this farm life.
We started with 50 straight run heritage reds. I have a justin rhodes style chick shaw built for the ladies, and a small bachelor pad built for the dudes. From the beginning it was rough. They shipped at 5pm on the day they were supposed to hit the mail (which means they were likely already pushing a day old), they took 3 full days to get here after that. But they did arrive all alive. They were the cutest things in the world. Little chicks are like tiny anime heros, full of gusto and bravery with a frame completely to small to backup of all that inner fire.
They arrived in early February, and I stuck them in my Ohio brooder. The next day, two were dead. Then 3. Then 6 died when they got out and couldn't get back to the pen and another 5 by morning. Within a just 3 days, I had 15 dead chicks. I switched immediately to an intensively managed brooder in our shed with 4 large tubs each with individual water/food/heat. We moved them into the workshop, separated the chicks into groups of 8ish on how likely to survive we thought they were, and set up a hospital for the ones who were too weak to stay with the rest of the flock. On the advice of a friend's mother, we began treating for coccidosis which was showed immediate improvement within 24 hours of treatment.
One particularly cute chick we named Stargazer after his symptoms. He perked up after electrolytes and vitamins. He would hobble over to your hand to be picked up from his isolation in the hospital, and when I would go into the area he would chirp loudly until I pulled him into my hand. He died 48 hours later, refusing to eat.
That was the last chick who died. One final one got a case of coryza which ultimately lead to some loss of vision in one eye, but she doesn't seem to mind too much. In total, 16 chicks died within 10 days of their birth.
To say that I was devastated was an understatement. I perfectly implemented the brooder plan according to the book. My temps were perfect, the environment was fine, and I still don't really know what happened. As far as I can figure, they had a rough shipment, perhaps even came sick from the hatchery, and that it isn't cold enough here in texas to really kill bacteria like that. But as I was scooping up the chicks to take them inside, 70% by my estimate had diarrhea. And were it not for an immediate intensive corid treatment, I was probably going to lose more.
On the care of chicks and chickens alone, I think I've read 5 or 6 books. And they're important and full of good info, but they are absolutely no replacement for experience. What those books don't tell you is how advanced ohio brooders are. You can't see anything, and the chicks scatter when you lift the lid or tip it up. The books won't tell you how to hear chick sounds and what they mean.
I also got to learn the real cold truth about medicine in livestock. I don't have them on medicated feed or low dosage in their water. But I did do a 5 day treatment. And I should have done it earlier. I was convinced that apple cider vinegar and garlic would let them heal naturally. But for whatever reason, it was just too severe a case within just a few days.
There are 35 chicks left, mostly female from the looks of it. They're in the chick shaw camping out, getting used to their new home. In a few days, I'll open the door but keep their food and water inside to get them used to going in there at night for a few more days. They're so big now it's hard to remember just a few weeks ago they were so tiny.
Hawks are probably the next biggest threat, and I will probably lose many more birds until my goose is mature enough. I don't even have one yet, there's a chance at one in 6 days in austin (first come first serve at the feed store). Part of me now expects that I will lose many many more until everything is in place, but only time will tell.
We started with 50 straight run heritage reds. I have a justin rhodes style chick shaw built for the ladies, and a small bachelor pad built for the dudes. From the beginning it was rough. They shipped at 5pm on the day they were supposed to hit the mail (which means they were likely already pushing a day old), they took 3 full days to get here after that. But they did arrive all alive. They were the cutest things in the world. Little chicks are like tiny anime heros, full of gusto and bravery with a frame completely to small to backup of all that inner fire.
They arrived in early February, and I stuck them in my Ohio brooder. The next day, two were dead. Then 3. Then 6 died when they got out and couldn't get back to the pen and another 5 by morning. Within a just 3 days, I had 15 dead chicks. I switched immediately to an intensively managed brooder in our shed with 4 large tubs each with individual water/food/heat. We moved them into the workshop, separated the chicks into groups of 8ish on how likely to survive we thought they were, and set up a hospital for the ones who were too weak to stay with the rest of the flock. On the advice of a friend's mother, we began treating for coccidosis which was showed immediate improvement within 24 hours of treatment.
One particularly cute chick we named Stargazer after his symptoms. He perked up after electrolytes and vitamins. He would hobble over to your hand to be picked up from his isolation in the hospital, and when I would go into the area he would chirp loudly until I pulled him into my hand. He died 48 hours later, refusing to eat.
That was the last chick who died. One final one got a case of coryza which ultimately lead to some loss of vision in one eye, but she doesn't seem to mind too much. In total, 16 chicks died within 10 days of their birth.
To say that I was devastated was an understatement. I perfectly implemented the brooder plan according to the book. My temps were perfect, the environment was fine, and I still don't really know what happened. As far as I can figure, they had a rough shipment, perhaps even came sick from the hatchery, and that it isn't cold enough here in texas to really kill bacteria like that. But as I was scooping up the chicks to take them inside, 70% by my estimate had diarrhea. And were it not for an immediate intensive corid treatment, I was probably going to lose more.
On the care of chicks and chickens alone, I think I've read 5 or 6 books. And they're important and full of good info, but they are absolutely no replacement for experience. What those books don't tell you is how advanced ohio brooders are. You can't see anything, and the chicks scatter when you lift the lid or tip it up. The books won't tell you how to hear chick sounds and what they mean.
I also got to learn the real cold truth about medicine in livestock. I don't have them on medicated feed or low dosage in their water. But I did do a 5 day treatment. And I should have done it earlier. I was convinced that apple cider vinegar and garlic would let them heal naturally. But for whatever reason, it was just too severe a case within just a few days.
There are 35 chicks left, mostly female from the looks of it. They're in the chick shaw camping out, getting used to their new home. In a few days, I'll open the door but keep their food and water inside to get them used to going in there at night for a few more days. They're so big now it's hard to remember just a few weeks ago they were so tiny.
Hawks are probably the next biggest threat, and I will probably lose many more birds until my goose is mature enough. I don't even have one yet, there's a chance at one in 6 days in austin (first come first serve at the feed store). Part of me now expects that I will lose many many more until everything is in place, but only time will tell.
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