Spitzhaubens

[SueT]

Last night I put the 5 that had hatched into the brooder, some were already 1 1/2 days old. One Spitz and 4 Sprights. There were 3 pipped Spitz eggs when I went to bed. One hatched early morning and one after I got up. These would be a day late. The Sprights were a day early. Edited to add, I see the third pipped egg is enlarging its hole... So the late Spitzes are 2 days behind the Sprights.
It is hard, in the 5, to see which is the Spitzhauben. Some of the Sprights seem just as big and look very similar. Some are smaller and have stripes.

Here are 3 of the Sprights learning to drink from the nipple bottles.

 

[SueT]

Update: All 3 of the remaining Spitzhauben eggs have hatched. (day 22)
Thus we have 4 Spitzhauben and 4 Sprights.
That last egg took 5 hours to unzip. I wanted to reach in and help, but I sat on my hands and let it make it on its own. Which it did. The others that I happened to observe, took only minutes.

 

[SueT]

The first 5, only one is a Spitzhauben, which one? Maybe the one you can't see its beak...

rear view of 4

 

[SueT]

Today's pics
Most of them

2 Sprights

 

[Faraday40]

@SueT
So hard to tell the Spright from Spitzes. What kind of combs do the Sprights have? Rose? Do they have the big nares? It looks like that light one does. (top pic from post 1414)

Going to be fun to see what kind of feather pattern they get.

 

[SueT]

@SueT
So hard to tell the Spright from Spitzes. What kind of combs do the Sprights have? Rose? Do they have the big nares? It looks like that light one does. (top pic from post 1414)

Going to be fun to see what kind of feather pattern they get.

I'll get some photos tomorrow, I've turned off the lights and they've all gone to sleep. But now that they all have wing feathers, it's easy to see who is who. The Spitzes have white wing feathers, and all the Sprights have black lacing on each white feather, which creates stripes. They are very zippy, darting around, the first to figure out each new thing. The Spitzes are larger, and mellower, a little clumsier.
One Spitz had pronounced splay leg and is isolated, with a hobble made of vet wrap. This was the last to hatch and it took forever, hours to zip. So for the 1st two days of its life, it has been apart. I take off the hobble, and it still splays out some. We'll see tomorrow. Here it is in its box with its mirror friend. On that first day, I used a bandaid for the hobble, you can see in the reflection. Before the hobble, it couldn't stand. This is my first chick w splay leg.
Do any of you have any experience with splay leg?

 

[Faraday40]

Do any of you have any experience with splay leg?

I bought Penciled Rock (Shipped eggs), so besides a low hatch rate, I got 2 males and a female with with leg/feet issues.

I used a small rubber band with a piece of drinking straw in between. I also had to make a bootie for crooked toes. She was walking perfectly by 1 week.

 

[SueT]

I bought Penciled Rock (Shipped eggs), so besides a low hatch rate, I got 2 males and a female with with leg/feet issues.

I used a small rubber band with a piece of drinking straw in between. I also had to make a bootie for crooked toes. She was walking perfectly by 1 week.

That's good to know that it could take a week. Thanks! I was really stressed thinking it wasn't working. Meanwhile, Moonshine's chicks are on day 18. I am really wondering "what was I thinking...."
Here are some pics from this morning--we're on our way to Lowes to get wood. DH is building me an extra coop!

 

[Faraday40]

@SueT
There's always hope.
The younger the chick, the better / faster it works.

Here was my pathetic penciled rock chick:

I had to prop her upright for the pic and just couldn't get her to stand. Her legs were odd and the toes were crooked. I put vitamins (infant polyvisol) and electrolytes (Save-a-chick) in her water.

A few days later she could stand but the toes were still crooked.

about 3 weeks, no signs of issues

normal adult

 

[SueT]

Today's pic. Some of the Sprights are petite, some larger.
They will all be different. I wonder if the larger Sprights, and the larger Spitzes are the males.

They have a brooder cage that is 2' X 4'. Right now that's luxury for them. They don't even use half of it. They have a box that is warmed by a CHE (reptile bulb). That's their bedroom. Everywhere else, it's ambient basement temp, which is in the 60's and they are not fazed. They spend a lot of time not in their box.
I will move food further away later and encourage them to go to the far side, which has a wire mesh bottom and will be the designated eating area. They seem to enjoy drinking from the vertical nipples.

DH is building an extra coop. We realize these babies will quickly outgrow this brooder.
Meanwhile, Moonshine is on Day 19. Since the incubator Sprights hatched on day 20, I have everything ready now. It may be tomorrow. But she has 1 Spitz egg too. I am hoping it isn't too much later.