Miracle Baby!

[cakkleberrylane]

This little guy shouldn't even be alive!! I noticed an egg yesterday morning with a small hole in it. The mother hen was wild and was not too careful to keep the eggs warm, so I picked up the egg thinking I would take it inside. Immediately, fire ants started streaming out of the hole! There must have been a hundred altogether! I couldn't belive how many came out of that egg! I put my finger over the hole and listenened (didn't want fire ants in my ear) and there was no sound. I was sure it was dead and left it ouside all day. Last night, I thought I would pick away at the shell hoping that there was no chick inside. Well, there was. And it was breathing!!
I picked off all the shell and left the membrane attached to the chick. I wrapped the chick in a towel and held him for a few hours then put him under a light in my bathroom. Today, he's still doing fine and even ate a little this afternoon!

 

[speckledhen]

Wow, great save there!

 

[cakkleberrylane]

Thanks! It seems that every 4 or 5 weeks something like this happens. Last time, we were ready to leave on a business trip, then it got delayed one day. We returned home for the night, planning to leave the following morning and during that evening I heard peeping. A hen had been killed and she left a whole nest full of babies by our creek, some still hatching. I brought them in, they were covered in fire ants, but they all survived! When we got home, they were 4 times the size!

 

[skeeter9]

Holy Cow!

Those fire ants sound like nasty little critters! Glad you were around to save all the chickies.

Lori

 

[TreyClark281]

what are you going to name it??
lucky! lol

 

[mudhen]

What a story, the little peep is a survivor!

Jeesh, fire ants are sure nasty. Glad you got to her when you did!

 

[cakkleberrylane]

I was thinking of calling him Phoenix II. Rising out of the fire (ants)!

 

[aran]

how bout houdini?

 

[Whirlwind]

Glad you did'nt just throw the egg out. Did those nasty fire ants get you? I hate them. Have you tried Amdro fire ant killer? If you could keep your birds out of it and could apply it to the hills it might be worth a try. They carry it down in the hill pretty quickly.

Sure is a cute little guy. I love Phoenix for the name.

 

[cakkleberrylane]

The membrane fell off last night and he started to eat and drink. I didn't have anywhere to put him, so he ended up in a waste paper basket with a light over him. Today, I made a better place for him in a plastic tub and the first thing he did was to make his way to the towel at the side and snuggle in for a sleep. ('

', ''); Like all chicks, he first had to wash his feet in the drinking water. I guess that's what makes it taste so great! I've used Amdro, and it's an excellent produt, but we have 2 1/2 acres so it would take so much to treat the land. Easier to just keep the babies and/or mommies in the bathroom.