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.