[The Shire] Our growing flock!

[newchickychick]

Poor Peanut didn’t make it. </3 I’m exceedingly grateful 46/47 Bantams are wildly active and healthy, especially after how many were in rough shape yesterday, but ugh. I sat with little Peanut for hours and hours trying to bring it back, but it just so quickly deteriorated. :[ I got to hold it and talk to it through the end but I wonder if there’s something I could’ve done better. I know shipping is super hard on chicks, especially Bantams, but bah. Peanut was a Porcelain D’uccle.

I do think it’s time we start naming everyone. I’m tired of calling them “the smaller rhode island red” or “one of the yokohamas.” Even if they end up not being permanent flock members, definitely giving them names so they at least can have their little chicken identification among us.

So far we’ve only named a few. My son picked Einstein for our Blue Polish and I gave him the homework of researching brilliant female scientists if it ends up a female instead for a different name. Brutus is the redeemed bully Gold Lace Polish. Toblerone is our Tolbunt Polish (named in honor of my favorite chocolate bars of all time). Gadget is one of the Americanas as she sticks her neck out suuuper far when she’s curious about something (‘go go gadget neck’). Gizmo is one of the other Americanas who’s usually around Gadget that looks similar but is missing her comically “angry eyebrows” marking.
That leaves us with a bunch more names to make happen. I’ll be trying to take glamour shots along with selecting names tomorrow.

Sad note to end the night off with, but going to try harder next time to be able to bring a bad off baby back from the brink. Will start tomorrow off right with some really nice pics, and hopefully some cute names to boot.

 

[newchickychick]

There’s another chick who’s slightly smaller than all the rest like Peanut was who’s making me nervous. I got it to eat a good bit of egg yolk yesterday from a syringe and gave it vitamins and water. Going to try that again today.
Had a silkie (the patridge one!) make me really nervous yesterday too. Gave it the same treatment and another drop of vitamins this morning, and it’s gone from scary lethargic to running around and eating and drinking with the others! I’m so relieved. I will be so upset with myself if we lose two of them from the three Bantam batches we got. </3 So very thankful it’s not looking like three any more.

I’m noticing a running theme with chicks who end up accidentally hopping down into the feeders: Americanas. We’ve had the Lakenvelder get in there once, but it absolutely did NOT like being rescued by the sky hand and proceeded to run around in a panic and warn its brethren once it was delicately placed back into the brooder that they were all in danger.
The Americanas I’ve had to rescue (Gadget, Gizmo, and now ???) though are all super grateful and Gizmo and this other baby now ended up being sweet towards me once they were free. I think Americanas/EEs might be an easy favorite for me as most so far seem to be easiest to warm up. But I’m still in love with the skittish babies. They’re doing their best.

 

[newchickychick]

Baby town! Silkie that had me worried was eating and drinking with everyone else this morning but seemed so so low energy after that. I made it eat some egg yolk and gave it a drop of nutridrench. I cleaned up its butt (had a little pasty butt) and then it pooped shortly after. It almost seemed like it was having trouble but it was a rather large poop. It still seems a little sleepy but I’m doing frequent checks to see how I can help. I think honestly it pooping seemed to help it. I wonder if it was backed up even though the pasty butt had to have been from early early am to now?

The other chick, the pale red chipmunky one, has been really scaring me since yesterday. I made it eat egg yolk and gave it water through the syringe and a drop of nutridrench. I feel awful, I think I gave it too much at once because it seemed like it was choking (looked like what one of the original chicks right out of the box on the first shipment was doing). I massaged its crop gently and helped shift it around gently (I know to not turn a choking bird upside down, thankfully!) and soon, it was cheeping! It was just about silent yesterday, so I was really happy it was mad at me. After a little bit of being back with the others… it DRANK ON ITS OWN! It wouldn’t hardly do that yesterday. I know they are unlikely out of the woods yet, but the progress really makes me feel like I’m not totally failing them.

They all love running on the wood shavings. I tried them out on it when we moved them to a bigger space, and they all got the zoomies! Their little leggies are so strong now. No more wobbles! I had never had chicks wobble before that first shipped order. Scary! They zoom from end to end, and go back to the lamp when they want to warm up and play outside of it happily. They’re so precious.

Rumor has it the diggy-hole crew is trying to get to the center of the earth. They heard the lava is really egg yolk. They intend to report back once they have reached the center.

The supervisor did not appreciate being called “precious sweet baby” while making sure the crew kept on task.

Drinking all on its own! Grow baby, grow! (Hubby had to run to get actual marbles so I’m supervising. The ones we had, were more like shiny aquarium stones and didn’t do much to help prevent drowning - hence why none in waterer for a little longer while I’m out here)

Snapped this pic before clearing out the waterer as this baby is RARELY ever still. It’s the “bald face” baby’s feathers coming in! Maybe it IS a sex link? But the barring doesn’t seem to really match what it looks like on one’s I’ve seen. Curious!
This is its baby pic! (Complete with a little bit of poop it stepped in and so kindly made sure got on my finger)

 

[newchickychick]

Absolutely heart broken. The patridge silkie that was worrying me has passed way, and another that I was not expecting. It had constant pasty butt despite it not being an issue past shipping day for any of the others. (I keep a close eye on temperature and they’ve got more than enough space). But I kept it clear, put a little vaseline on it to make sure it wouldn’t stick overnight, even tried a little olive oil as I’ve read to do.
Heartbroken that I’m really failing these babies.

Pistachio (named by my son), the OEGB that had been curled up on its back and struggling to breathe and had me so worried, STILL has me anxious but I have managed to keep it eating and drinking. It is no longer struggling to breathe from being so weak. It’s even taking a few steps at a time. I’m going to keep trying my best to save it. I really don’t want to lose 4 out of our 47. Ugh. I feel like an absolutely bad chick parent. Out of our many chicks, this is by far the most we’ve lost in one batch let alone so close together. It’s definitely my fault as we got them Thursday and Friday from being shipped.

Going to see if cat food will be a welcome little change for the baby. So far it’s only taken to egg yolk with a bit of nutridrench out of a syringe. I’m hoping I can encourage it to eat by itself. But it was HUNGRY this morning which gives me hope. Instead of closing its eyes and just occasionally swallowing what was given, it was eyes open and eagerly eating and drinking. Maybe I can still turn this around.

I adore these babies so much. I am determined to lose no more.