Updates on our 31 chicks & new pics! [Pic Heavy!]

[JLS]

Beautiful babies! I hope the EE pulls through. I have learned, by experience, not to force feed liquids via an eye dropper (a well intention person suggested that I do it for one of my weak babies). They little ones aspirate and will die. My vet suggested mixing the fortified drinking water with the starter feed, making it into a mash. Then she told me to offer it to the weak one, just like you do when you first get them in the mail. It worked for me. I'll be waiting to hear an update on the little bugger

 

[ParrotsNPullets]

Thanks for all of the support!

The EE's eye is very swollen but has much less discharge, he's still not eating but drinking lots of water and preening instead of just wiping the eye-goo on his wing. Unfortunately the little runt Sultan is deteriorating rapidly and I've been trying to save him now too. He has a patch of poo dried to his umbilical cord which the other chicks picked at and I could see a little under his skin.

I put antibiotics around the area, put a little bandage around his mid-belly region to keep him from accidentally breaking that off and opening himself up even more. He's asleep now, and I'm hoping the eating/drinking he did earlier will hold him over until that scabs over and he feels like walking again. At least the EE and the Sultan have one another to snuggle against in the 'hospital box'.

I'm really trying not to let this taint my experience of getting my first batch of 1day old chicks. There are so many that don't hatch, die hatching, and are born with something not quite right that statistically I was bound to lose 1 or 2... I'm just trying my best to save my little guys. I figure the best I can do for them is give them a fighting chance!

 

[ParrotsNPullets]

We lost the little runt Sultan overnight, but I'm very glad he was able to give our EE some companionship before he died. Because... our EE is EATING!! On its own! And the eye is partially open now!

I'm so thankful I still had some antibiotic (Tobramycin) eye drops sitting around. I know they aren't meant for animals, but if the guy was dying anyways might as well give it a shot- and it worked! He ingested a tiny bit of the drop that slid down from the eye so I don't know if that cured any sour crop he might have had, or maybe his eye is just feeling good enough he can have an appetite again. He's peeping up a storm because he's alone in the box again, but he's 10x better than yesterday.

 

[froggie71]

Sorry to hear you lost your Sultan

but great news about your EE

Great job hanging in there with the little one.

 

[ParrotsNPullets]

Update- We lost 2 chicks total, the runt Sultan and a very tiny all black Easter Egger that started getting severe seizures every 5 minutes or so. The rest are all healthy bundles of fluff! Even our Chipmunky Easter Egger chick is doing very well- his eyes still gunk up every once in a while but he is eating and drinking and very active!

The pictures here are all a week old... I've been really busy so I haven't been able to post them until now. It's way too much work to repost all of my new pictures here as well so I'm linking to my BYC page! I posted pictures of 1 of each kind from our photo-shoot, there are way too many to post at one time.

Chick Page! - https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=33810-chicks


I am a little nervous about my Marans though... they are maybe 2.5-3 weeks and I think I have 2 roos...! Any suggestions based on these pics?
Money Penny

Penguin

Mocha

I realize it's a bit harder to tell in these older photos, I'll have to get some more recent ones... but the first two have bright yellow and prominent combs, are quite gangly & stand really erect compared to the other one. They mock fight constantly and smoosh other chicks almost like they're dominating or play mating? The other Maran's comb is dark, less prominent, and she's much more calm.

Anywhoo, regardless of who are boys/girls we're loving them all. I don' think I'll ever get this many at once again, though. It's too hard to try to enjoy them all individually!