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They are growing up so fast! They have been playing with each other and it is so cute! I am very curious to see what the yellow babies end up looking like! The Roo was black, white and copper Ameracuana, and the hens were solid White Leghorns. I figured they would just be solid white, but the black spots showed up on their new wing feathers too so maybe they will be black and white. My lil #5 (perfect name I think not only the 5th chick hatched, but #5 from the movie Short Circuit!) is the sweetest, most cuddly chick, sadly though I am not sure it is out of the woods yet. Not doing much more than sleeping last night and this morning, it does not even seem to notice when the other chicks bump into it. I did get it to drink and eat a bit, I am trying my very best, but I just do not know. One day it will be just fine and full of energy, then out of nowhere it seems sickly again. I know things like this happen from time to time, but we are so attached to them all it will be heartbreaking if #5 does not make it.
 
Figured I should update this just in case anyone reads it. #5 had poultry lice a few days after he hatched, we cleaned the box really well twice a day for several days and treated all of the chicks with a tiny sprinkle of garden and poultry dust. That took care of the lice, which I am still not sure where they came from. (I suspect it was the woodchips maybe, they were out in the garage) He perked right back up, and the others never seemed effected by it. Then a few days later he got pasty butt. So I ran warm water over him again, gently cleaned him all up, dried him with the blow dryer. He was still eating and drinking normally but I assumed the stress he had been through was the cause. Then he got pasty butt again, so again I cleaned him up, dried him and added Vaseline to try to prevent anymore buildup. I always add probiotics to their water, they only get the medicated chick starter feed. The temp in the box is normal and steady. The other chicks do not pick at him or anything, so I really do not know why he got it again. I did give them all some smashed up hard boiled egg, which they loved, as I thought it would help little #5. He is still very small, much smaller than the others, his wings just look way too big for such a small body. At times it looks like his whole body is moving when he breathes, other times it does not. Sometimes he looks sickly, other times he is a normal all over the place into everything chick. I kept #5, the other little dark one we call Falcon(because of the markings) and the last little yellow chick that hatched. The rest I gave to my friend who was starting their own flock. The chicks all have really nice feathers coming in, have learned to roost, dust bathe and scratch up everything they can get their little feet on! In hindsight I think that maybe Thyme rejected #5 for a reason, and maybe it was wrong to intervene. Next time I hatch any chicks it will be done from start to finish in an incubator. I will however keep trying everything I can to help him survive, I love #5 very very much!
 

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