Against the odds hatching thread (with pictures and questions)

[aart]

My kids just invented a game to play with the chicks. They gave them one end of a long, thin orange ribbon, and held the other end. The chicks think it’s a worm and are having a great time dragging it around playing chase, hiding with it under the heater, fluttering over top of each other. The kids pull the ribbon back by the other end to make the worm “crawl” across the floor, sparking more interest and chasing by the chicks. Everybody is having a great time!

And you know who the absolute champion of Ribbon Worm is? The screamer!! It has a killer hunting instinct and hogs the “worm”, it has the quickest reflexes and the best ideas on where to hide with its prize... That’s gotta be a good sign on its prospects, right?

I hope it's too wide to swallow!
Laser tag is fun too, your kids might be too young for that tho...cause do not shine in eyes.

 

[K0k0shka]

I hope it's too wide to swallow!
Laser tag is fun too, your kids might be too young for that tho...cause do not shine in eyes.

It’s 3 feet long and the kids are holding one end, so it won’t get swallowed.

Laser tag is a great idea! We’ll definitely try it. Kids have experience with that, we play it with the cat.

 

[K0k0shka]

The paper towels are out. The poop levels were getting ridiculous. Also, I kept finding the paper towels pulled all the way back, and the chicks digging hard into the sand anyway... At this point, unless I tape the paper towels down, there's no way to keep them secured! I observed the chicks for a while after leaving them on just sand. They loooooove scratching through it! They peck at things as if they're looking for food, may occasionally eat a larger grain of sand, but they look very selective in what they're eating, and look like they're at least trying to sift through and look for food. No longer the indiscriminate full mouths of sand of the first days. If they grab a dried piece of poop, they spit it back out. They seem to like the larger white flakes of the sand itself, that look more like crushed rock/grit/shell, and seem to be eating those occasionally, but not the rest of the sand. Does that mean it's safe to leave them on the sand? Or should I give paper towels another try? The sand is SO much easier to clean and to keep clean. The poop gets mixed in with it and it takes way longer for things to start *looking* dirty. And the kids really enjoy scooping, so I can push that chore off to them

 

[K0k0shka]

I shall call it, Game of Worms

Part 1, the original:

Part 2, my husband's modification - a worm with a radius:

The red one with the stripes at the center of the action is the screamer

 

[adirondak5]

I shall call it, Game of Worms

Part 1, the original:

Part 2, my husband's modification - a worm with a radius:

The red one with the stripes at the center of the action is the screamer

That's great , my boys have chicken races with our flock with strawberries , fun times .

 

[aart]

Does that mean it's safe to leave them on the sand?

Should be fine.

Love the vids!

 

[K0k0shka]

Should be fine.

Love the vids!

Thanks! We'll try the laser pointer today.

Second day on sand, everybody seems fine. They're eating some, but after scratching and pretending like they found something special Everything is looking SO much cleaner!!! I love the sand! This is the first morning that I didn't wake up to brown paper towels and caked poopy feet. Everybody is clean and happy. Phew.

 

[K0k0shka]

That's great , my boys have chicken races with our flock with strawberries , fun times .

That sounds fun, too! I'll have to figure out baby treats and do races with ours, too. They are getting very interactive.

 

[aart]

This is the first morning that I didn't wake up to brown paper towels and caked poopy feet.

Beware that the sand and poops can create 'concrete' blobs on toenails.

 

[K0k0shka]

Beware that the sand and poops can create 'concrete' blobs on toenails.

I'll keep an eye on it. Right now the sand is dry, and the poops turn into dry little pellets that are easily scooped. I'll have the kids scoop several times a day to keep things under control. They like it anyway