Today was a difficult day.
I was working late because the secretary I assist had a lot that needed done. Well, the chicks had begun hatching this morning so I went out to check on them when I got home, joking that I would find them dead. Turns out, I got it right. When was headless on the ground, another was alive but had been scalped (we had to put it down as its skull could be felt and seen) and now a completely unrelated chick, April from my "April HAL" hatch, is showing signs of paralysis just like Amber did. Amber is the whole reason I joined BYC, but she ended up dying anyways. I'm so worried he won't get better and that more chicks will die at the hands of hens trying to lay in another's nest box. No, it wasn't a predator, it was just the hens fighting for space that led to this. Wicked little creatures they can be.
By the way, April (who is a boy I'm almost sure) is up in my room, playing in the pen with Lee and Aviator. He is sitting on the log, eating as much as he can (including vitamin rich scrambled eggs). He is good at gripping the log, but his legs keep wobbling and he has to lean over. I'm hoping the paralysis is just due to rapid growth without enough vitamins, because that can be treated. He's far larger than Aviator (he is a little older). Aviator and Lee seem to like the company, but April keeps calling for his mother and siblings, who are very angry that I took him away and now run whenever they see me. If only they knew that I was only trying to help.
I was working late because the secretary I assist had a lot that needed done. Well, the chicks had begun hatching this morning so I went out to check on them when I got home, joking that I would find them dead. Turns out, I got it right. When was headless on the ground, another was alive but had been scalped (we had to put it down as its skull could be felt and seen) and now a completely unrelated chick, April from my "April HAL" hatch, is showing signs of paralysis just like Amber did. Amber is the whole reason I joined BYC, but she ended up dying anyways. I'm so worried he won't get better and that more chicks will die at the hands of hens trying to lay in another's nest box. No, it wasn't a predator, it was just the hens fighting for space that led to this. Wicked little creatures they can be.
By the way, April (who is a boy I'm almost sure) is up in my room, playing in the pen with Lee and Aviator. He is sitting on the log, eating as much as he can (including vitamin rich scrambled eggs). He is good at gripping the log, but his legs keep wobbling and he has to lean over. I'm hoping the paralysis is just due to rapid growth without enough vitamins, because that can be treated. He's far larger than Aviator (he is a little older). Aviator and Lee seem to like the company, but April keeps calling for his mother and siblings, who are very angry that I took him away and now run whenever they see me. If only they knew that I was only trying to help.
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