You can get so attached so quickly.
Last week I went with DH to get some mealworms for the older girls. Bowman's was still having chick days and I saw that they had BOs. I wanted them first time but they were out of them and I was impatient. They had Brown Leghorns and since DH prefers white eggs (?) and after some fancy footwork on my part, we ended up with six more chicks.
That was last Friday. By Sunday, I noticed that the smallest of the Leghorns didn't look right. She was my grown daughter's favorite and was given the name Idgie. By Sunday night it was clear that she was sick. She cried constantly, her eyes were closed, her wings drooped and she kept her head back. She reminded me of a fledged sparrow still begging food. The others just ignored her. I'd go in to check on them and they'd all be in a pile except her. She'd be standing in the middle of the pack, crying. I would watch her interactions with the others. When she did move, she'd try to either crawl under them or hide her head under the other's little wings. They would just move away and she'd start her begging again. The brooder was the right temperature and nobody else was complaining.
I examined her and aside from some poopy butt I couldn't find anything until I checked her crop. It had a hard lump, the size of a marble.
The next few days I worked with her, expecting each time I went to check that she'd be dead. I would massage her crop, gave her water with ACV, olive oil...anything that I could read about or think of. Nothing seemed to move the lump. I figured it was shavings. I figured she was doomed.
I would hold her and talk to her softly. She, would run up under my hair, next to my ear and go to sleep. It was the only time she was silent. It got to the point that she would run up under my hair as soon as I held her. She was winning me over and I knew she'd break my heart.
Wednesday she was still with us. I was running out of ideas and she just wasn't growing. I began to think of culling her. DH stopped at the feed store on his way home and discussed the problem with them. They said there was little we could do and she would probably die. Some just didn't make it. I plopped Idgie on DH's chest so he could get to know her a little. She was so sweet. He asked me if chickens yawned because she opened her beak real wide. I said I was sure they did and didn't give the comment another thought until later.
Later that night we cleaned the brooders. The babies were plopped in the box they came in while the bedding was changed. When they were put back in the brooder, a miracle happened. Idgie was eating like there was no tomorrow and drinking. Her eyes were open and she was silent for the first time in days. I picked her up and checked her crop. The lump was gone.
Yesterday she was weak but greatly improved. Today, she is just like the others...just a little bit smaller. I can't believe it. I guess it just goes to show that you should never give up. Even tiny miracles still happen.
Last week I went with DH to get some mealworms for the older girls. Bowman's was still having chick days and I saw that they had BOs. I wanted them first time but they were out of them and I was impatient. They had Brown Leghorns and since DH prefers white eggs (?) and after some fancy footwork on my part, we ended up with six more chicks.
That was last Friday. By Sunday, I noticed that the smallest of the Leghorns didn't look right. She was my grown daughter's favorite and was given the name Idgie. By Sunday night it was clear that she was sick. She cried constantly, her eyes were closed, her wings drooped and she kept her head back. She reminded me of a fledged sparrow still begging food. The others just ignored her. I'd go in to check on them and they'd all be in a pile except her. She'd be standing in the middle of the pack, crying. I would watch her interactions with the others. When she did move, she'd try to either crawl under them or hide her head under the other's little wings. They would just move away and she'd start her begging again. The brooder was the right temperature and nobody else was complaining.
I examined her and aside from some poopy butt I couldn't find anything until I checked her crop. It had a hard lump, the size of a marble.
The next few days I worked with her, expecting each time I went to check that she'd be dead. I would massage her crop, gave her water with ACV, olive oil...anything that I could read about or think of. Nothing seemed to move the lump. I figured it was shavings. I figured she was doomed.
I would hold her and talk to her softly. She, would run up under my hair, next to my ear and go to sleep. It was the only time she was silent. It got to the point that she would run up under my hair as soon as I held her. She was winning me over and I knew she'd break my heart.
Wednesday she was still with us. I was running out of ideas and she just wasn't growing. I began to think of culling her. DH stopped at the feed store on his way home and discussed the problem with them. They said there was little we could do and she would probably die. Some just didn't make it. I plopped Idgie on DH's chest so he could get to know her a little. She was so sweet. He asked me if chickens yawned because she opened her beak real wide. I said I was sure they did and didn't give the comment another thought until later.
Later that night we cleaned the brooders. The babies were plopped in the box they came in while the bedding was changed. When they were put back in the brooder, a miracle happened. Idgie was eating like there was no tomorrow and drinking. Her eyes were open and she was silent for the first time in days. I picked her up and checked her crop. The lump was gone.
Yesterday she was weak but greatly improved. Today, she is just like the others...just a little bit smaller. I can't believe it. I guess it just goes to show that you should never give up. Even tiny miracles still happen.
Glad your Idgie is still with you and thriving!
