Aloha,
Long story short, I've got two 2 week old chicks that I've adopted after their feral bantam mother was killed, and I need some guidance.
When these chicks were less than a week old their mother was killed, and I had grown really attached to her. She was a very pretty bantam that had become quite tame around me and came by every morning and afternoon for some snacks. She brought her brood over the day they hatched and allowed me to pick them up and feed them. Naturally, when I found two of them without her I caught them and secured them in a cardboard box, but had no luck catching the surviving other 3.
I suffered through dealing with a make-shift brooder directly on my cement floors for a week+, until today a hutch from Amazon arrived. Probably a total waste of money, but it keeps them secure and my life easier until I can get something better built.
My current big concerns:
Their health; do they need vaccinations? A vet trip? Both are drinking and eating like champs, and exhibiting great chick behavior. Lots of "happy-flaps" and scratching and cheeping. One however seems to have some heavy breathing that they've had with no change better or worse since I found them.
Missing mom; It takes me quite a while every night to get them settled down. Around 7-8 at night they start to cry for mom, and I have to bundle them in and snuggle them to sleep, and tonight I was able to hunker them down in their coop with a heat pad and some feathers (sterilized- saved for an art project) from a feral roo which has helped tremendously to comfort them. The big issue is, they don't seem to be a big fan of me, and fight and fuss about it until they conk out for the night. I'm hoping the new hutch will make it easier for them for get used to me being around, and make it easier for me to handle them and interact with them, bit is there anything I can do to help comfort them and get them more relaxed with me?
Sexing; From ally research there isn't much I can do bit wait and see, but is there anything to look at and consider to determine if they will be a hen or a roo?
Size; The father(s) is a standard feral rooster, so not a big bird, and the mom was a bantam, so any determination of what size they may end up growing to? Not sure how the genetics work, if I should expect small birds, standard birds, or something in between?
What am I doing?!; Am I completely out of my mind for feeling like I need to help these chicks?!
Sharing a pic of Momma and her full brood the day (or day after) they hatched. I have the lightest one and (I think) the darkest one of her chicks.
Long story short, I've got two 2 week old chicks that I've adopted after their feral bantam mother was killed, and I need some guidance.
When these chicks were less than a week old their mother was killed, and I had grown really attached to her. She was a very pretty bantam that had become quite tame around me and came by every morning and afternoon for some snacks. She brought her brood over the day they hatched and allowed me to pick them up and feed them. Naturally, when I found two of them without her I caught them and secured them in a cardboard box, but had no luck catching the surviving other 3.
I suffered through dealing with a make-shift brooder directly on my cement floors for a week+, until today a hutch from Amazon arrived. Probably a total waste of money, but it keeps them secure and my life easier until I can get something better built.
My current big concerns:
Their health; do they need vaccinations? A vet trip? Both are drinking and eating like champs, and exhibiting great chick behavior. Lots of "happy-flaps" and scratching and cheeping. One however seems to have some heavy breathing that they've had with no change better or worse since I found them.
Missing mom; It takes me quite a while every night to get them settled down. Around 7-8 at night they start to cry for mom, and I have to bundle them in and snuggle them to sleep, and tonight I was able to hunker them down in their coop with a heat pad and some feathers (sterilized- saved for an art project) from a feral roo which has helped tremendously to comfort them. The big issue is, they don't seem to be a big fan of me, and fight and fuss about it until they conk out for the night. I'm hoping the new hutch will make it easier for them for get used to me being around, and make it easier for me to handle them and interact with them, bit is there anything I can do to help comfort them and get them more relaxed with me?
Sexing; From ally research there isn't much I can do bit wait and see, but is there anything to look at and consider to determine if they will be a hen or a roo?
Size; The father(s) is a standard feral rooster, so not a big bird, and the mom was a bantam, so any determination of what size they may end up growing to? Not sure how the genetics work, if I should expect small birds, standard birds, or something in between?
What am I doing?!; Am I completely out of my mind for feeling like I need to help these chicks?!
Sharing a pic of Momma and her full brood the day (or day after) they hatched. I have the lightest one and (I think) the darkest one of her chicks.
