The Sleeping Babies Awaken
The Chickendads have been busy setting up pens for the Older Babies so the New Babies can run and play. Mrs. Chickendad thought the Sleeping Babies would wake up on Sunday, and she became concerned that maybe some of them had slept too long, but she started seeing little pips on Monday. By Tuesday, all were hatched but one. He was peeping frantically, so Mrs. Chickendad inspected him closely and realized he was stuck. She got her chicken forceps and delivered the Peeping Baby. The baby seemed very tired and plopped out onto the incubator floor to dry out. The other babies had tried to help the Peeping Baby by pecking from the other side of the shell. It helped a little, but the baby on the inside could not get any rest between struggles with all the other little beaks poking into his house.
Mrs. Chickendad took the older babies out because they kept walking on top of the Last Baby and waking him up again. She put them into the big aquarium brooder where they can see out and talk to anyone passing by. One climbed into the sock nest and went to sleep.
After a while, Mrs. Chickendad went to check on all the Babies. The Last Baby was struggling to learn to walk, but was having a time of it since his wing on one side was glued to his back with chickie goo. It is so hard to be little!
Time for your first bath, said Mrs. Chickendad. She held the baby in the sink and ran warm water over him. The Baby was quiet. It felt so good! He got a gentle massage to remove the goo, followed by a beauty salon treatment with the hair dryer. The babies in the other brooder looked out their TV window at what was going on. They were learning how to be normal chicken busy bodies.
She put him in the aquarium with the others. They tasted him to see if it was really the one they had helped earlier. Satisfied that it was, they all ran down to the feeder for a snack. Then they all ran back to the heat lamp and collapsed in a heap. Life is such an adventure when you are little!
The Last Baby (a bantam cochin) next to his big brother (probably!!) a BLRW:
I noticed her limping yesterday and gave her a look over and didn't see anything visibly wrong with her. She was eating and going poop so I thought that maybe she twisted her leg or something. I am so sad. For some reason I just had this feeling yesterday, so I stuck her egg from yesterday in the incubator....yes and she was even laying. I hope it is fertilized. I only have one chance at this. Common baby grow!
