I just got 8 of the day old White Crested Black Polish chicks yesterday. The feed store had them and they had just came in earlier in the day.
So far, one died last night, 2 died this afternoon, and one is very weak and looks like he may die too. That's 4 out of 8. Since they had just came in at the feed store, do you suppose they just didn't have time to cull out the ones that didn't fare well in shipping and they waited til I got them home to die ? They seemed fine at the feed store when I bought them. Or are the ornamental chicks more delicate than regular chicks ?
I've got them in a box, in the house, with a light for warmth, just like I have kept other baby chicks that have done fine until I could put them out in a brooder. I've never had this many die so soon. Sometimes you may lose one or even two, but 4 out of 8 ?
Anyone know if these little guys are more fragile than regular chicks ?
The feed store gives no refunds on live poultry.
White Crested, Black Polish chicks......... more fragile ?
Were they eating and drinking?
Could they have been chilled when shipped to the feed store?
How old were they?
WCB are usually pretty hardy although the polish blood lines I have trouble with are the ones that have been inbreed too much
where did they get the birds?
Their supplyer?
Did you call the feed store and sort of feel it out and see if they've had other complaints? Perhaps they can get a credit if the majority of the chicks they got didn't survive.
~Julie
That's rough; sorry. The only problem I've heard of with the crested breeds is that they sometimes get picked on, and don't see it coming b/c of limited vision.
Hope the others do okay.
Goodness Peggie - that is terrible. I'm so sorry, hopefully the others will thrive and do well. While at your local store, did you ask them any questions regarding shipping? (i.e. timeframe, etc) It sounds like maybe they spent too much time in their shipping containers and maybe were not properly introduced to water upon receipt??? I know that I take the time to get each chick out individually and dip their little beaks into the water source.........I've found this to be very helpful to them. Let us know how the others are doing. Best of luck.
Belinda
Thanks all, for your replies.
Well, the 4th one did indeed die. So now I'm down to 4 little chicks. The ones that I still have look to be thriving and perky. They are very active and love their feed and water. So it looks like they will be ok.
It does make me wonder if they may not have been introduced to water soon enough. It was a very small Mom & Pop feed store, and the only one there when I went was their two teenage sons. They probably didn't know to do anything for them. Also, I do remember mentioning to the kid that I thought the light needed to be down a little lower, closer to the chicks........... they acted cold.
They were day-old chicks, and had just arrived that day from 'Ideal Hatchery'.
They had ordered 100 chicks in all, and they all looked fine as far as I could tell. I bought all 8 of the WCBP they had left. I think they only ordered about a dozen of them in all. I probably just 'got lucky' and happened to get the ones that the trip was the hardest on. The others which were Auracaunas and RIR were all a little larger chicks.
I actually only wanted 3 when I went in, but ended up taking all they had because they weren't sexed and I wanted to be sure I got at least a couple of pullets and one cockerel. I'm glad I did, at least I did
get the three I wanted. Now if I just got at least 2 pullets and a cockerel. What are the chances, lol.
Last time I bought baby chicks, I got them at the poultry auction............ bought 8, .... one died, and I ended up with 7 roosters. Go figure ! I'm pretty "lucky" when it comes to buying chicks, LOL
Oh, these little white crested ones are soooooooo cute ! They look like they have a little yellow pom-pom on the top of their heads. Cute !
DO you think they had pastybutt ? DId you check for that?
Oh Peggy, that is awful! Hope fully the people at the Feed store will "make good", on the chicks! I think I would let the Ideal folks know about the chicks too! Especially since so many died right together! They may even be thankful to you , to know that ! Since they were all of the same breed! They could even give you some idea about how delicate or Not , your little " top Knots " are! I hope you have really Good luck with the rest! E.
I have a question too, about the Top Knots! I have one Sultan Roo, A White Splash Polish Hen , and a little White Silkie Hen. I have no experience with these breeds at all. I just aquired my little group, by happenstance! My silkie bantam ,came in an assortment last year( her Roo died suddenly when the temperatures got cold), the Sultan and Polish were together in Shameful condition,at an auction, so I brought them home!
Now to my Q. To you all that raise them or have had experience with them! I have already found out they are quite timid yet friendly. They are quiet and seem to be more at ease with like kind! But have you all found ,like myself, that they donot seem to be very bright???? They are the only ones I have that just do not under stand that being inside at night would be for their benefit! That roosting inside the coop would be warmer! I even built them a little house and put it on the ground just for them! Well .. thats when they decided to Roost up high, still with no cover! What do yours do?
Daggnabbit ! I have one more that looks like he isn't thriving so well. He's not eating and drinking and dosen't seem as active as the other 3.
He tries to keep up with the others, but acts like he is so tired......... and dosen't run over to the feed and water when I change it, like the others do.
Wonder if I should try to force feed him. I tried to help the others that died, by using a dropper to give them a little sugar water, and they died anyway.
That's it ! I'm calling the Feed Store. 5 out of 8 chicks is ridiculous. I may even contact Ideal Hatchery and inform them also. Since I got the chicks just a couple hours after they arrived at the feed store, they may be interested in knowing this particular breed didn't endure the trip as well.
You're right to call them. That's so depressing, to lose so many. Wish I could hand you my leftover packet of Quik Chik (electolytes, sugars you mix into water) , but I'm not sure it would help.
Thanks Zeppy.
I called the feed store, and sure enough, they lost almost all of their fancy chicks that came in the order. He said they lost a lot of baby ducks also. He said the RIR were doing fine, and the Auracaunas were fine, but the little fancies and ducks didn't do well.
He told me there was no refund on live poultry but he would make good with new chicks after he contacted the hatchery to see what they were willing to do to make it right with him.
Well, you know it's nothing you did wrong. Not much comfort, but still.
This doesn't have much to do with your chicks, but I think you'd have fun looking at this chicken chart...
http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html
I'm glad more people are getting interested in crested breeds
and yes,they may seem slow,stupid,and you wonder
WHAT ARE THEY THINKING???
the truth is ...
they don't see well
they'll walk(or run) into walls even
I have some that you can't even see their eyes
they do need to be babysat
here's a thread from some of my birds that were in Vogue magazine a year ago December
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/559122/
I hope you get some good , new and healthy Replacement chicks Peggie! Obviously there was a big problem and it was none of your doing!!!Good luck!!
Thanks ,CrestedChick,
I didnt think my silly Trio were Stupid, ( but they do make you wonder)! I think they are so cute and unique! I wonder from time to time,how do they live in the "Natural" world with all their little Differences!
Do you think my little "Special" Group will have hatchable eggs and produce offspring??? I hope so! They definitely will be my babies, and get special care!
Someone on the polish breeders club page ordered polish chicks from a hatchery
and they died
Trying to find out if was the same hatchery
Hmmm...........I'm curious to know if it was the same hatchery too.
Zeppy, thanks for the link.............I loved it. Wonderful pics and info.
Crested, If they will run into walls and things because they can't see.................is it a fairly large chance
of them flying into things inside the pen and getting hurt, if startled ? Of course I understand this is a
concern with most any penned up bird. But are the WCBP skittish and jumpy because of their slight
handicap, and prone to this ?
I know they are the quietest little chicks I've ever had. They hardly make any noise at all. As long as
they are warm and have food and water.........they barely make a peep. Other baby chicks I've kept
inside when tiny were so noisy........I could hardly wait to put them outside. But these, I hardly even
know they're there.
My little crested polish are 5 weeks old now.......and getting so cute !
I read somewhere that their head is different from other chickens in that there
is some sort of membrane that is easily ruptured on the top of it. ??????
Do you know anything about that ? Two of my three have got feather loss up
on the top and I just thought the others may have pulled them out. But now it
looks a little strange like something else is wrong. They are not in with adult
chickens, just the others that are the same age as them. They are also much
bigger than the others they are in with, so maybe that's not it.
Any clues ? It sure takes away from their pretty appearance.
In the event of a rupture, does it heal and feathers grow back ? Or is it a
permanent baldness ? They seem to be healthy and alert in all other ways.
I have new pics. Sorry do know about these kind..
Tracey
Peggie,
I can't believe your little ones are already 5 weeks old! That is great. About their baldness...........what is happening is that they are losing their "baby" feathers and their permanent feathers will begin to come in soon. I don't know anything about that membrane you were speaking about - - - I've never heard anything like that before. To my knowledge, their heads are just like all other chicks. I will snap a pic of mine for you tomorrow and post. They are now 7 weeks old and their permanant feathers are coming in which I think makes them look like Don King! lolololol They are really cute.
Belinda
p.s. Awwwwwwwww, I remembered that I snapped one yesterday while I was capturing my new little kittens. Take a peek at two of my Don King look-a-likes! LOL
Now arent they the cutest little things!!! They are adorable!
How cute ! They have pretty full mops of hair, a'hum, ... I mean feathers.
Are yours more skiddish than the other chicks ? Mine are.
Can you tell the pullets from the cockrels yet ?
Thank you, thank you, thank you~ and yes, mops of hair is about right at this point! lol They aren't skiddish at all, Peggie. Quite the opposite I would say. When I fee them their daily "treat" of mealworms...............the Don King wanna-be's are the first ones in line! As for the pullet/cock differentials, well I haven't even tried yet. I usually wait until I am ready to separate everyone, which I do at age 4 months. :-) What about you? Have you tried yet?
Nah, it takes me forever to tell who's who. I really have a hard time trying to decide who's a rooster. I wish there was a way to tell earlier........ I usually have way too many roosters by the time I can figure it out. Then I'm reluctant to part with them after raising them. Get fond of all of them.
I have tried raising these with other chickens and they did not do as well. In fact, in our rainy weather, they were running around with their heads wet all the time (didn't have the sense to go under cover) and got sick more often. I dearly love them, though....they are worth the extra effort.
I have a terrible time parting with them, too. Especially the ones that I have hatched. That would be the reason I have SOOoooooooo many birds! lol
Beth, I can see them not having sense to go under cover - - - I agree they are definitely worth the extra effort!
I have one White Crested Polish chick that was shipped in with my regular brahmas. I loved the Don King description, Texas! You're right. He/she looks so very different from what I am used to. Feisty punk though, fights me anytime I attempt to pick him up. I guess me dropping him on his head the first time didn't help....(short distance, soft landing)....
Haaaaaaaaaaaa,.Fiesty Punk ....dropped on head...........soft landing.....Lol!!!
Cathy youll be lucky if little Don King doesnt grow up to be a prize fighter with you as its first opponent!!!! Seems to me it has reason!!!!! (bOinG...bOiNg...bOiNg) Ouch!!!!
"You Did What to my little Cousin?"
Yeah, he's okay, even after being dropped on his head. His take on Don King on a bad day is hilarious.
But if you think that is bad, take a look at the photo of the chick who is absolutely pooped. I really thought the little fellow had crossed into Poultry Paradise until I saw her/him yawn . Chickens do yawn, don't they? I swear mine do. (Hummm, just WHAT or WHO could possibly be boring them?)
Oh My!!!! now that is one tired Chickie... Its called "Playing dead Pig in the sunshine"! Lol!
Mine yawn too! Its pretty funny. and scary too, some of them look like their neck is going to stretch clean out of place sometimes!
Polish are called Polish not because of them coming from Poland,which they don't.
They are called Polish because of the knob on their heads,called a poll(not sure of the spelling),just like a poll on a horse or other animals.
It just slanged into Polish
If you were to see a skeleton of the skull there is a knob on the top of the skull.In show polish the bigger the knob the better,it will sometimes even force the skin to overhang the eyes if it is a flatish knob,a taller knob is better.
When watching a breeder check out birds they will grab the knob to see the size and shape of it
Its one of the first things I check
I have notice many of the silver,golden and buff bantams don't have much of a knob
This knob is sensitive
If a pen mate hits the knob hard in the right spot it sorta effects their brain,
they get kinda drunk looking
almost limber necked
not much you can do except isolate them
One of my polish' has a bare spot on top.............. I think he may have burned it on the light bulb in the heat lamp. It scabbed over and then healed up. But I'm just wondering if he will be a baldy now. If it's like people, we rarely grow hair where there is scar tissue.. He looks really kookie. He has some really long puffy white feathers around the outer edge, and then the bare spot on top in the middle. He looks so goofy he's cute !
Well now , Ive certainly learned something new this morning! Thanks Crested!!! Hmm now I will know to be very careful with them if I ever get any!!!!! My little Polish White just refuses to go Broody, but Im trying to be verrrrrrrry patient!
you'll be waiting a long time.....polish generally NEVER get broody
In all my years with polish and all the birds I've had I've seen maybe 6 get broody.....
they're considered non-setters
OOOOh so thats it!!! Hmmmm, makes you wonder how any ever got here , doesnt it!
thats another story....
lololololol - - - we all learn something new everyday about these little fellas!
Thank you so much for sharing. I had bought my grandchild some white crested black polish chicks. They watched all of their chicks die. The worse part was I was out of town. When I got home I bought more thinking I was home and things would go smoothly. We loss two and one is looking poorly. I felt like there had to be something that happened in shipping or something. They seemed like they didn't want to eat or drink. I took them back and told them I don't care if they give me credit or not they were keeping them. I did not want my grandchildren to have to deal with more death. They replaced them, but 2 have died. I will not go back there for anything again.
Thank you again for sharing, we were feeling like we just couldn't raise these sweet little chicks.