Photospam; Hatch day + Day After

[Zinjifrah]

So, out of 18 eggs I only got 4 little Serama chicks... but here they are.

Chick #1, One hour after hatching;



Chick #2, about a half hour after hatching;



And here those two are, today;



Chick #3, about a half hour after hatching;



Chick #4, about five minutes after hatching;



Here's #4 today;



And here's a group shot. #3 was napping, and not interested in moving for a photo!
Clockwise, from front middle; #2, #4, #1, #3.



The mess on the floor is food, scattered for them to investigate. All are eating and drinking, pooping and sleeping like little chicks should. They're about the size of golf balls.

Edited to add a gratuitous butt shot.

 

[Jetblack2004]

 

[N F C]

Congrats on getting your 4 little fuzz butts, they are cute!

 

[drumstick diva]

I've heard seramas are difficult to hatch.

 

[Zinjifrah]

I've heard seramas are difficult to hatch.

They're the first eggs of any kind that I've ever hatched - so I can't say if they're more difficult or not! If so, trust me to cut my teeth on a tough egg, as it were. Wish me luck... I just ordered another 16+ eggs, from a different breeder (I like genetic diversity). A few things I learned the first time around that should be useful for the next batch - like marking sides BEFORE the eggs have been in the incubator a few days, and looking for floating air pockets to administer some special TLC. I think I trust my incubator a lot more, as well, now that I've gotten live and healthy chicks from it.

Three days old, and doing great! I snuck a quick group photo. They're on an old terry-cloth towel, so you can see the loop size in comparison to them, and all four fit into one of my hands with room to spare. So tiny! From left to right, in hatching order: 2, 4, 3, 1. Two yellows that I'm assuming will be whites, a little brown puffball, and I have no idea what to call #1 other than 'tortie', since that's what I'd call that color in a kitten, and even less idea what it's going to look like when it feathers in, but I like it. Purely for my own curiosity I tried following directions for feather sexing, and by both methods I found, they should be all girls. Don't worry - I know that it's highly questionable how accurate that is! I'm happy with whatever I get.

 

[N F C]

Beautiful chicks!

 

[Zinjifrah]

Update; day 5 and all's well, for the most part. I had it get much too warm in the brooder room - aka my office - unexpectedly, and had a little bit of stuck feces as a result, so I cleaned everybody up whether they needed it or not and applied a little dab of bag balm to their bums to ensure there wouldn't be any problem. These little things grow fast! Wings are coming in nicely, and they're already getting tail pinfeathers, aka butt-sparklers!

Group shot; #2 on the left, #1, #3, and #4 from front to back on the right.

#1:
#2:
#3:
#4:

Sorry for dark pictures, my camera is on its last clicks.

 

[theoldchick]

I am so amazed at what comes out of eggs and how nature made everything to go so well. Handsome crew you have there.