alexandracathlin
In the Brooder
- May 24, 2021
- 2
- 0
- 10
Hi, all. Thank you in advance for any that might be able to offer some insight and guidance with these issues.
One of our Bantam hens went broody and she has hatched a number of chicks and a duck over the last few weeks. The first five that hatched a few weeks ago are doing great and are growing rapidly. I wasn't sure if I should add yesterday's newborns to their pen or not, seeing as the first round are right at almost a month old. So, I opted to put them alongside them in another little pen. Last night when I was ushering in the birds and closing down the coop for the evening, I found that three new chicks hatched, along with a surprise duck (We have a few Khaki Campbell ducks.). While I have raised baby chicks before - I would def. say that I am still learning - this is only my second season with them, and my first time dealing with a a broody hen. The baby duck and one of the chicks are doing great and running around, eating and drinking. I have them set-up in a little tote in our greenhouse with a heat lamp.
Here's a bit of background about what I am doing thus far to try to remedy this situation. I have mixed one egg yolk, with a dash of electrolytes, some water and bit of maple syrup to try to help them regain their energy so they can, hopefully, begin to move about, eat and drink on their own. While they are both still pretty lethargic, they both seem to have a bit more energy now, than what they did this morning when I woke up to find they had worsened over night. I have been feeding them with a little syringe the egg yolk mixture every hour or so since this morning. They haven't been eating much, but we have successfully gotten them to eat small amounts - a few ml or so each feeding. The baby that was the weakest - and seemed nearly dead this morning - seems like she has a little more energy now. This morning, she was not even able to chirp or really move at all, but she is now chirping and moving around a good bit more when she is awake (Considering how bad a shape she was in this morning.). She is still pretty weak, and mostly just sleeping, as is the other one (She is pictured below, resting in my hand - one with her head down and the other with her head up.).
I have them both wrapped in a towel with a heating pad beneath it, and inside the house away from the rest of the babies. While I feel like they seem to be doing a bit better, I want to make sure there isn't something more I should/could be doing for this situation. The second one that was not as lethargic as the first, now seems like she could be getting worse (She is pictured with her little rear and then a fully body shot of her, showing her vent). I was inspecting her to see how she was doing and I noticed that she has what looks like an umbilical cord or maybe it is poop that doesn't want to come out and it seems like it is swollen to me. I tried gently pulling on it to see if perhaps she was constipated, but it didn't seem like it wanted to come out/off. So, not really knowing exactly what it is, I backed off and decided to see if I could get some feedback in the BackYard community.
My pressing questions are these:
* Is there anything more I can/should be doing for these little ones?
* Is this an umbilical cord that is still on this newborn?
* Should it be swollen like this? Is there anything I can do to help clear this situation up?
* Should I be trying to also make sure they eat a little bit of chick feed as well, or just continue focusing on making sure they eat/drink more of the egg yolk/water mixture for the time-being?
* How long should I do this for - until they are able to move about on their own and regain their strength?
* At what point can I integrate the newest borns to the first round of hatchlings (one month old chicks) - after they are a few weeks old or wait longer?
* How long should I wait until I start working to reintegrate them into the flock with all the momma and other chickens/ducks. (We currently have 3 roosters - So, that's what I am worried about when it comes to reintroducing them back into the flock. A few hatchlings have already died/been killed before I was able to get the babes safely into the brooder. I suspect the roosters may have killed them, but it was also a pretty cold and rainy day when that first batch was discovered to be hatched.)
One of our Bantam hens went broody and she has hatched a number of chicks and a duck over the last few weeks. The first five that hatched a few weeks ago are doing great and are growing rapidly. I wasn't sure if I should add yesterday's newborns to their pen or not, seeing as the first round are right at almost a month old. So, I opted to put them alongside them in another little pen. Last night when I was ushering in the birds and closing down the coop for the evening, I found that three new chicks hatched, along with a surprise duck (We have a few Khaki Campbell ducks.). While I have raised baby chicks before - I would def. say that I am still learning - this is only my second season with them, and my first time dealing with a a broody hen. The baby duck and one of the chicks are doing great and running around, eating and drinking. I have them set-up in a little tote in our greenhouse with a heat lamp.
Here's a bit of background about what I am doing thus far to try to remedy this situation. I have mixed one egg yolk, with a dash of electrolytes, some water and bit of maple syrup to try to help them regain their energy so they can, hopefully, begin to move about, eat and drink on their own. While they are both still pretty lethargic, they both seem to have a bit more energy now, than what they did this morning when I woke up to find they had worsened over night. I have been feeding them with a little syringe the egg yolk mixture every hour or so since this morning. They haven't been eating much, but we have successfully gotten them to eat small amounts - a few ml or so each feeding. The baby that was the weakest - and seemed nearly dead this morning - seems like she has a little more energy now. This morning, she was not even able to chirp or really move at all, but she is now chirping and moving around a good bit more when she is awake (Considering how bad a shape she was in this morning.). She is still pretty weak, and mostly just sleeping, as is the other one (She is pictured below, resting in my hand - one with her head down and the other with her head up.).
I have them both wrapped in a towel with a heating pad beneath it, and inside the house away from the rest of the babies. While I feel like they seem to be doing a bit better, I want to make sure there isn't something more I should/could be doing for this situation. The second one that was not as lethargic as the first, now seems like she could be getting worse (She is pictured with her little rear and then a fully body shot of her, showing her vent). I was inspecting her to see how she was doing and I noticed that she has what looks like an umbilical cord or maybe it is poop that doesn't want to come out and it seems like it is swollen to me. I tried gently pulling on it to see if perhaps she was constipated, but it didn't seem like it wanted to come out/off. So, not really knowing exactly what it is, I backed off and decided to see if I could get some feedback in the BackYard community.
My pressing questions are these:
* Is there anything more I can/should be doing for these little ones?
* Is this an umbilical cord that is still on this newborn?
* Should it be swollen like this? Is there anything I can do to help clear this situation up?
* Should I be trying to also make sure they eat a little bit of chick feed as well, or just continue focusing on making sure they eat/drink more of the egg yolk/water mixture for the time-being?
* How long should I do this for - until they are able to move about on their own and regain their strength?
* At what point can I integrate the newest borns to the first round of hatchlings (one month old chicks) - after they are a few weeks old or wait longer?
* How long should I wait until I start working to reintegrate them into the flock with all the momma and other chickens/ducks. (We currently have 3 roosters - So, that's what I am worried about when it comes to reintroducing them back into the flock. A few hatchlings have already died/been killed before I was able to get the babes safely into the brooder. I suspect the roosters may have killed them, but it was also a pretty cold and rainy day when that first batch was discovered to be hatched.)
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