Thursday, February 2

*2 out of 19 ain't bad!

If these adorable little chicks were being raised by a hen, she would make sure they didn't get pasty butt. She would, gulp, peck it off. Now that is true love!  Pasty butt, as  you probably know can be very deadly to a little chick.  This morning when I was cleaning out their brooder I noticed that only two of the nineteen had pasty butt. By the time I got them back in the brooder only one had pasty butt. I am not sure if one of the other chicks pecked it off (thinking it was food- they will peck at anything that is dark, crumbly looking).  I carefully cleaned the little on up and she was on her way. I am sure she is in their releasing right now.  Cleaning up her vent was life giving to her, I am sure she appreciates it.


I am not sure why, but the moment I saw this picture in my Picasa album, I immediately thought of me and my best friend, Franziska. This picture reminds me of us. Even down to the fact that their is some poop laying on the "ground" (my quilt!!! YIKES!) around us.  That is what dear friends are for, to walk you through the crap that life sometimes throws at 'cha, side by side we shall be.

These two light colored chicks are the Buff Orppington and the Buff Brahma, Henry has claimed one of them and named her Gwen.

Psst. Psst. Do you see that little girl there, the black and yellow one with her sweet little head sort of pointing sideways downward? Well, the dear man at the hatchery, "threw" her in for free. She is a Black Copper Maran and she is challenged to say the least.  I am happy to have her in the mix and pray she is able to adapt to her differences as she grows.


 I am working on a name for her, she will be easy to recognize in the mix.  We had added two Welsummers, three Black Copper Marans, a Buff Orppington, a Buff Braham, an Americauna, a Yellow Comet, and the 9 mixed "back yard" chickens from our hen. We will be able to determine what their mother was as they get their pin feathers later this month.   Like I said, 2 out of 19 chicks with pasty butt isn't bad.  This will be the worst week for pasty butt then we will be on to bigger and better things!

13 comments:

  1. Your chicks are just adorable to the extreme...and my favorite is the little girl chick that you said is "challenged" Is it becaus she can't lift her head up? I'm not sure why she's challenged, but she sure is a cutey pie... :) :) Love and hugs from the ocean shores of California, Heather :)

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    1. Thanks Heather! She is mine too actually. If you will notice Lisa down below left a comment regarding her possible condition. She will be getting vitamins this week, I hope her situation improves. I can't imagine seeing the world upside down, but of course to her it is all she has know in her 6 days since hatch date.

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  2. The "challenged" chick looks like she has wry neck. I've dealt with it a few times in my Silkies. I found in mine that giving them vitamins and making sure that they do eat and drink helped tremendously. They usually were back to normal within a week.

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    1. Lisa, Thanks so much! I had no idea this was a condition. As much as I have read about this I didn't know it was a condition that baby chicks get. I will be at the grocer buying liquid baby vitamins tomorrow!

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  3. Too cute :) And such a sweet tribute to your friendship.

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    1. Thanks Tammy. My friendship with my bff means the world to me. I am so very grateful for her.

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  4. So sweet...I am pondering if I am up for raising chicks this yr...probably not unless one of the hens goes broody then I will let her have at it...I got my hands full with the 3yr old child and trying to retrain a new (to us)2yr old Guardian Blue Heeler....Next spring maybe

    Thank you for sharing your peeps.

    Blessings Kelsie

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    1. yeh, sometimes the desire is there but the timing is off. Hoping that with all you have going on that your hen does not go broody. lol.

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  5. I love brahmas! I have 7 light brahmas hens that I call my "Brahma Mamma's" Very jealous of the Marans, I love the deep brown color of the eggs!

    about the little one, I had a silkie with 'crooked neck' but it didn't start until he was about a month old before it showed up. We had him for about 4 months before we gave him to a friend with a fenced yard (we don't have a fence and I didn't trust him not to get lost in the hay-fields around our house)

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    1. I love the light brahmas too! Although I wish I had a dark brahma as well.

      The little crook neck chick died today.. so sad. I had been giving her Polyvisol and I think I may have given her too much. :(

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  6. How gorgeous Lynnie! I want to thank you so much for linking up each week to my "Thriving on Thursdays" linky party. The party will be starting again in just over 12 hours so if you get a chance, I'd love to see what you've been up to this week.

    Anne @ Domesblissity xx

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