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Is this sour crop?

gamermouse

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I saw that one! I adapted it since I didn't have access to a fish tank right now at this hour. Tomorrow I can grab a heating pad as well as a critter keeper of some kind for long term use.
 

Shezbug

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I've seen some use a cardboard boxes for emergency use as they have nice high sides to stop any draughts and the cardboard itself is kind of insulating so it is easier to get it to the correct temp- I wonder if that would be helpful for you in this situation.
 

gamermouse

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Girl I got so many cardboard boxes. About how big do you think I need it?
 

Shezbug

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Is the cardboard you sprayed with water the sheet the chick is going to sit on? If so I am wondering if a wet hankerchief or piece of tissue in a small container or lid of a jar will be safer than having the chick on damp bedding.

The box would just need to be big enough to fit what ever you're setting your temporary brooder in as it will help to regulate the temp and keep the draughts out.
 

gamermouse

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No, the cardboard is pressed against the side of the container. I didn't want the chick to be on damp bedding and red that damp cardboard pressed against a nest box or brooder side would increase humidity. The towel has some aspen on it so he isn't on a flat surface, and I can add more. I added the towel so direct heat wouldn't seep through the glass to him.
 

Mockinbirdiva

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Will this work? Temp is rising and I won’t go to bed until it’s stable tho to be honest I’ll probably stay up most of the night.
I’m sure I can get it up to 95 degrees. I used sprayed cardboard for humidity and got it to 50%. It’s a heating blanket and I plan to just fold it over the top with an opening for air exchange.
Tomorrow I’ll grab a heating pad so I have a smaller footprint to work with.

thank you everyone for us through this. View attachment 362910
If this is all you have on hand it should do in a pinch.. make sure you wrap a blanket around the edges as the glass may not hold the heat in.. and it's pretty shallow so you don't have as much thickness with the shavings as you should... so you can form a depression in the shavings for the chick to settle into. He may be too young to try to move out of the dish but I'd feel better if it was deeper. Look at this link from our breeders blvd and scroll down to the " 3 Basic parts to a brooder" and you'll see you can use a critter keeper container... easy to view the chick from the side so as not to disturb it too much. Lower lighting is also better for such young babies since they are normally in a nest box. Leaving an opening in the top is also a good idea for air flow. Ideally you only want to have a heat source under half of the outside bottom so if the chick gets too warm it can move away from the heat. I've copied and pasted this link to the page where you'll find the Basic parts to a brooder... next will be a link to the page that link comes from and lastly I've copied a post from a valued member ( @Laurie ) for you to read about the humidity.


This information is from Laurie a bit further down on the link to the page @Shezbug provided for you on making a homemade brooder... I just copied it so you wouldn't have to look for it.



I would add just a couple more thoughts.

It is very important to find out the proper temperature for brooding your particular species of bird, it will not necessarily match the chart provided above. You should seek out this information from someone who raises the species you are taking care of.

The importance of humidity can not be overstated. A chick's ability to digest its food is dependent upon the proper temperature AND humidity. Generally speaking, the higher the temperature is the higher the humidity should be. An inexpensive hygrometer will give you peace of mind in knowing that you have achieved the proper humidity.

Humidity is a result of evaporation so to increase humidity you need to increase the surface area of the water you are trying to evaporate. A small dish of water can provide some humidity but if you loosely wad up a some soaked paper towels and place them in the dish of water all the little peaks and dips created by the folds in the paper towel will increase the amount of water that can evaporate and will create more humidity, faster. If you can find a replacement wick for a humidifier you can use that instead of the paper towel.

Proper humidity should be 50% or more depending on the species. If you live in a humid area without air conditioning or heat then you may not need to add humidity but if you live in a dry area or are using dry heat or air conditioning then you will need to pay close attention to humidity levels.

Low humidity can cause dehydration and lead to slow crop or crops stasis in chicks.

Finally, all water sources must be thoroughly cleaned, regularly, to prevent bacterial growth.




 

Mockinbirdiva

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He’s begging and it’s pitiful. He appears a little red also and I’m not sure if his skin on his back should be wrinkled like this. View attachment 362930
His crop is still plenty full. If you've been keeping him in the glass container he may be a bit too warm if he can't move away from the heat source. He looks fine on his back.
 

gamermouse

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His crop is still plenty full. If you've been keeping him in the glass container he may be a bit too warm if he can't move away from the heat source. He looks fine on his back.
Okay thank you! He’s begging her for food and I was stunned cause you’d think he wouldnt want more.
I’m going to set up a cardboard box instead in hopes that it holds humidity better. The glass one dries up very fast.
 

gamermouse

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Oh! I should have scrolled up farther. Thank you for that post about the humidity. It’s been one of our struggles. My home is very dry and I think I’ll be buying a humidifier.
 

Mockinbirdiva

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Okay thank you! He’s begging her for food and I was stunned cause you’d think he wouldnt want more.
I’m going to set up a cardboard box instead in hopes that it holds humidity better. The glass one dries up very fast.
So you still have him in with the mother? I thought you had separated him for the night so his crop would have a chance to digest the food. If and when you do put him in a separate container you can also give him something to snuggle up to for company.. nothing bigger than he is.. a safe small toy or a small bundled sock.
 

gamermouse

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So you still have him in with the mother? I thought you had separated him for the night so his crop would have a chance to digest the food. If and when you do put him in a separate container you can also give him something to snuggle up to for company.. nothing bigger than he is.. a safe small toy or a small bundled sock.
I had nothing to keep him warm while I set up so I kept both with me and watched her to make sure she didn’t try to feed him while I worked. They’re not staying together overnight because I don’t trust her not to do it again while I’m asleep.

I’ll give him a sock.
It takes a while for boxes to heat up and to get the humidity right.
 

Zara

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Glad you got brooder set up help from Shezbug and Mockinbirdiva and you have the little one on his own now :)

Both the problems you posted, the excessive amount of air in the crop, and the over feeding are both caused by your hens feeding technique. Firstly feeding too little with the little one continuously gulping nothing, then by over feeding. That actually happened to me once, she over fed the little one so much I honestly thought they were going to pop! It went down and luckily my girl didn´t do that to him again.
Overfeeding the little ones can cause the crop to stretch.

Do you have some formula on hand? I would definitely have it ready, just in case.
Allow the hen to feed him, as said above, but if you notice she is not, or is ¨feeding air¨ again, then stop her, and feed the little one yourself, preparing the formula as per package instructions (look at those closely as for the first week the consistency changes daily). You can get a feeding response from the chick by gently touching their beak (I put my thumb and first finger together, so my nails mimick a beak, and super gently touch the beak).

Definitely get yourself a critter carrier. It´s easier to clean, easier to monitor the chick etc you can position the thermometer and hygrometer so you can read them through the container without opening it.
Also, lots of bedding - as the chick gets older you will need to change it more often.
A thermometer (if you don´t have one already) for checking food temp
 

gamermouse

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Glad you got brooder set up help from Shezbug and Mockinbirdiva and you have the little one on his own now :)

Both the problems you posted, the excessive amount of air in the crop, and the over feeding are both caused by your hens feeding technique. Firstly feeding too little with the little one continuously gulping nothing, then by over feeding. That actually happened to me once, she over fed the little one so much I honestly thought they were going to pop! It went down and luckily my girl didn´t do that to him again.
Overfeeding the little ones can cause the crop to stretch.

Do you have some formula on hand? I would definitely have it ready, just in case.
Allow the hen to feed him, as said above, but if you notice she is not, or is ¨feeding air¨ again, then stop her, and feed the little one yourself, preparing the formula as per package instructions (look at those closely as for the first week the consistency changes daily). You can get a feeding response from the chick by gently touching their beak (I put my thumb and first finger together, so my nails mimick a beak, and super gently touch the beak).

Definitely get yourself a critter carrier. It´s easier to clean, easier to monitor the chick etc you can position the thermometer and hygrometer so you can read them through the container without opening it.
Also, lots of bedding - as the chick gets older you will need to change it more often.
A thermometer (if you don´t have one already) for checking food temp
Update: that was exhausting but here we are today.

I already bought formula a few weeks ago in case this was necessary and I bought a candy thermometer to help.

I’m still nervous about feedings and realized the breeder I got my boy from may be able to help show me how. 6930CE01-3ABC-48C4-A98F-F55D236E014A.jpeg
 

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Zara

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I’m still nervous about feedings and realized the breeder I got my boy from may be able to help show me how.
I would definitely reach out and ask them for help. We can help describe feeding, but it´s far easier to learn by being shown and doing it.
 

gamermouse

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I would definitely reach out and ask them for help. We can help describe feeding, but it´s far easier to learn by being shown and doing it.
He got through this cause of y’all so I can’t thank you enough. I’m waiting to see if the crop goes down a little more.
I’ll also call the breeder when it’s a decent hour. I have all the supplies and the theory of how to do it but if I go through all this just to kill him through my clumsiness I won’t forgive myself.

Do his intestines look dark to any of you? He finally started pooping “small” and has been standing upright to beg a few times.
 

gamermouse

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I've seen some use a cardboard boxes for emergency use as they have nice high sides to stop any draughts and the cardboard itself is kind of insulating so it is easier to get it to the correct temp- I wonder if that would be helpful for you in this situation.
Thank you again, Shezbug. I ended up swapping to cardboard at your suggestion by the way and it has produced a lovely temp and humidity. He looks so comfortable!
I’m still planning to get a Kritter Keeper but waking up seeing him comfortable helped my anxiety tremendously.
 

Zara

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Has it just been nighttime for you? If it has, I would wait until the crop completely empties before feeding/allowing the hen to feed.

If the breeder can help you, see which you feel more comfortable with; syringe or spoon - I recommend spoon for novices as it´s harder to aspirate the chicks, but under a breeders tuition, you could learn to syringe feed well if you felt comfortable.
 
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