Meet the New Babies

We received 10 new replacement babies. These girls are healthy, energetic and a bit on the nosey side. Actually, one of the girls I handpicked because she was so Nosey and we named her Nelly. Nelly happens to be the loudest chick I have ever heard and she is always looking to start the fun.

Here is a picture of the new girls. We are keeping them seperated from the first chicks just to be safe.



There was no need to teach them about how to find the food. These girls were hungry and went after it straight away.


Nothing like a hen party around the waterer. We put a tray under the water to make sure they are not dragging it out and making the whole tub wet. They like to play chase around the water so someone always ends up going for a swim.



This looks like a serious conversation. What do you think they are saying to one another?

This is Boo. Her full name is Duck-Booey but we call her Boo. She is Sarah's hen.

And here is Boo with her sisters.

There are two red heads in this batch and Boo is one, the other is Boo-Boo. Well, that is her name until Taylor gives her a proper name that she chooses.

This batch has been wonderful from day one. We put them on starter feed and water with vitamins and Electrolytes for the first day and then went to straight water the next day. Every one has a hardy appetite and they love to play. This group needs a mama though because they can get a little rough with one another. Yea for healthy babies.

Oh my goodness, do you remember that I said things change fast around here? Well that is absolutely true. I have tried to hatch a post for today about three times but things kept changing. Let's hope this one cracks. =)

*Warning* This post will start serious so we can talk about the sad stuff but then it will end happy.

We have to date lost six of the baby chicks. Ducky is in an infirmary brooder with a splint on her leg because it is hurt, possibly broken. Please keep in mind that this is not the norm. Apparently everyone is suffering big losses with their chicks from this batch but it is not what normally happens.

When you are raising any kind of animal it is almost inevitable that there is going to be some loss. Raising baby chicks, both if you hatch them or you purchase them, is a delicate task especially in the first week or two. This specific shipment of chicks has had something not work in their favor and I am not sure what it is. I know that Ms. Carol is very saddened that the 4H kids are having to experience all of these precious babies not making it and she is working very hard to make sure that replacements are sent.

We are dealing with nature and delicate life so we must look for the lesson in this experience. First of all, all life is delicate. Animals, plants, humans, we all have the same thing in common, we are living creatures that rely on a balance in order to be healthy and thriving. These chicks, like us build an immune system that protects the body from illness and foriegn germs. If that immune system is not strong enough yet or for some reason gets confused bad things can happen. An example of this would be Daniel. Daniel's immune system got confused and thinks that these certain cells in his pancreas are enemy cells. His immune system did it's job and killed these cells but in doing so it causes him to no longer be able to create his own insulin and now he has to provide insulin to his body all of the time and this is called Type 1 diabetes and it is referred to as an auto-immune disease. There are over 80 types of auto-immune diseases and they all work the same way it is just that the immune system targets a different part of the body to attack. In this case the chicks immune system was not developed well enough to handle the stress of whatever has happened to them, possibly in shipping, maybe from before that so they are more likely to not be able to fight off any foriegn germs or illness at all.

Now for the happy part!

The chicks are all on balanced starter feed and they now have water that we have mixed with vitamins and electrolytes. Hopefully this will help them get built back up and give their immune systems a boost so they can thrive and be strong.

Ducky seems to be doing well, the splint has helped ease some of her pain so she can rest and it will help keep her leg in place so it can heal. She ate really good for me last night but we are having to urge her to continue to drink. I think she will be ok it just has taken a lot out of her. The worst thing to happen I think will be that she will continue to think she is the queen and needs special attention even after her leg heals.

This morning I received a phone call to come and pick up more babies! These are to replace the ones that have died, the one we were short in the first place and a couple of just in case because we still had a couple that were not looking so good. So right now we have 28 baby chicks in three seperate brooders. Oh my goodness that is a lot of babies! When I go out to see the grown hens they seem to look so much larger now. It is hard to believe that a year ago they were little fuzz balls like these are.

So now for some pictures!

This is where Ducky spent most of the afternoon yesterday. She wanted to be close to me and would not let me get far from her without peeping like crazy. In nature she would be under her mama's wing so that she would be safe while she heals.

Here is Ducky wearing her splint. It seemed to really help and let her rest. She is so sweet.

She has learned how to hop with it on so she can get places. I rolled a washrag for her to lay next to thinking it would help her not feel alone. But it was not enough.

Sarah gave her a stuffed horse that she looooves to snuggle with. They are now best buddies.

If she gets too warm she still wants the horse close where she can feel it.

Saria is doing really well so far. She is a bit on the small side but she seems healthy and alert.

This little girl is just really pretty. She is so dark you almost can't see her eyes but they are very pretty too.

We had to put a tray under the waterer because they had water everywhere. Now they think it is a place to perch.

The next post will have pictures of the new additions.

Day One Was Happy and Sad

The kids got off the bus yesterday at a full run to see the newest members of our family. These babies are so very sweet and it was hard to remember that our last flock had one time been this small. These girls may be small but they have energy and attitude. The thing to remember is that they are still so fragile, this first week is critical not only for their survival but for their future well being. More on that later, first let's look at who the kids chose to be their loves.

Sarah has had the nickname of Ducky since before she was born. So when we saw this little girl who has a striped face and somewhat resembles a duck's coloring (at least in the face), then that was the one for her. Meet Ducky.

Ms. Carol was right on her choice for Daniel, he loved the little red haired girl. Since she resembles Zelda he thought he should keep with the theme and named this one Saria.

Unfortunately we lost two more girls yesterday and one was the chick that Taylor had picked out to be hers. These girls are so small and get stressed by the trip, the new environment, the vaccination they receive before leaving the hatchery, among other things. It is vital in those first couple of days to make sure they are eating, drinking, staying so very warm and are out of any drafts. Unfortunately there was a run on chicken feed in this last week. There was no starter feed to be found in the three towns we checked. So until we could get some we made a makeshift starter for them, we also provided them with sugar water to give them a boost. Maybe it just was not enough or maybe these girls were just too weak and stressed to survive.

Today I plan on giving them some egg yolk from some hard boiled eggs, this should help the ones that need a little extra. I know that sounds weird, feeding chicks eggs but if you think about it the egg yolk is a chicks first food. Eggs are high in protein and good things that they need to grow. We must be careful not to spoil them to the treat because what they need most is the starter feed because it is balanced for them, but right now we need all the help we can get so a treat of egg yolk is definitely in order.

Speaking of eggs. Did you know that baby chicks have a tooth? That's right, they have what is called an egg tooth. It grows on the end of their beak and it is what they use to break through the shell when they are hatching. It usually falls off after about a week or so but here is a picture that shows one of the girl's egg tooth as she was raising her head to swallow the water. See the yellow dot on the end of her beak?

More updates to come, maybe today will be a healthy day for all the girls.