[KahlanA]

Sorry duplicating my post on my old thread as I'm panicking

Omg! So I faffed and have paid the price for it

Orps didn't look like they were drying so I moved the pekins to the brooder, quickly wiped out the incubator and left orps in it.

Then realised that the ecoglow wasn't low enough on the lowest setting - I was using paper towel as a base in this first little brooder but they were miles away from Ecoglow.

So I stuck them back in the incy and went to buy wood shavings... Just come back and the incubator had stopped working!!!! They were all cheeping and looking miserable.

So I've flung wood shavings and chicks under the ecoglow... They've stopped cheeping (good sign?? Bad sign??) but I'm scared its too late - what else can I do? They're still not quite touching it as from what I can see they're all lying down but I don't want to bury them.

Argh poor chickys

[Clansman]

Are they just cold?

Don't understand about the ecoglow, is this the brooder? how low is it? it doesn't need to be touching them, in fact if they are too close they will overheat, i'd clear away the woodcarvings if they are too deep

[lord flynn]

have answered your other thread.

[KahlanA]

As the ecoglow (in the brooder cage) is radiant I was under the impression they needed to touch it. I've evened out the wood shavings, and checked on them, five look ok one looks a little floppy. Lots of loud chirping going on again.

[Womble]

Hiya,
 
The ecoglow is just a heat pad, so it's not radiant as such. Yes, they do need to be able to touch it with their backs (though it mustn't squash them).
 
The right setting is so it's about level with their backs when they're standing up. They should have to duck to get under it.
 
Cheeping is good. Repeated loud cheaping is bad - that means they're cold.

[Clansman]

As the ecoglow (in the brooder cage) is radiant I was under the impression they needed to touch it. I've evened out the wood shavings, and checked on them, five look ok one looks a little floppy. Lots of loud chirping going on again.

Just had a look at them and that is indeed how they work, I've never used one of these before, just the heat lamps.

Sounds like they are ok now then 

[KahlanA]

Thanks everyone. This forum and all your advice has been a godsend. This is also ridiculously stressful, think I may move to rehoming exbats after this!

They're cuddled up, no cheeping. In a row not a ball though. They aren't touching it at all lying down, gap of 2cm/3cm maybe. I might try and stick a bit more wood shavings under there after all, but to be honest I guess they need to rest right now. None have come out yet, so they don't know about food/water - shall I wait until tomorrow to fish them out and dip their beaks? If they don't come out by then I'm assuming they're a bit cold still too?

There's a thermometer in the woodshavings, under the Ecoglow but not touching it. Currently 29degC but still rising.

[lord flynn]

their instincts for food and water, and everything else, are quite amazing. I never dip beaks, I usually use a finger to drip a drop of water onto a beak and they twig right away-only to one as well, as they will show the others. Leave them be for a bit, they will be knackered.

[Fleecewife]

Yes they're knackered - sit on your hands 

A way to get them to peck is to imitate the mother and tap around in the crumbs and water with the tip of a pencil - you can make 'mother hen' noises too if you like 

[KahlanA]

Sitting on my hands

What colour do they look like they'll be? I believe the Orps are lavender but the four pekins are all yellow and black. Will they stay that way?

[Stereo]

They are tougher than you think. Well done for getting them through. Yellow in chicks can turn to pretty much any colour from red to white so hard to tell. Black usually stays although can be laced with other colours later.

[Eve]

The distance under the brooder is fine. Even large fowl chicks don't touch the ecoglow with their backs when lying down and have several cm to spare. I have several under there at the moment - they only just hatched so are still wondering how legs work 

[KahlanA]

Fab thanks

Is the feather method of sexing accurate? If so we have two boy pekins and two girls. The orpingtons are harder to tell, they're also a little less friendly.

It would be handy to know if it is, as all 9 (a friend had 3 of them) hatched, we weren't expecting such a success rate!

[lord flynn]

Its only accurate if the breeds have been developed for it although females do feather up slightly more quickly than males in the breeds I keep, plus one of my breeds is sex linked its not 100% accurate early one. Its the feet/legs that give boys away early on-if they've legs like tree trunks in comparison with others then they are boys.

[in the hills]

We find pekins the easiest to sex of the breeds we have hatched. Some of them can be identified as cockerels virtually from day 1 ..... they have a noticeably larger comb and wattles than the females. Pekins mature quickly and boys soon develop a larger and redder comb and wattles. We have had boys crowing their first 'strangled crow' at about 9 weeks of age!

Pekins are really friendly and seem to love being handled ..... lovely for children. 

Which 'feather' method?  I know of at least two but have to say that neither seemed to work for us.