Oh Good! More Hatched! - Baby Chick Update

You know, I was so worried last Sunday when only two babies hatched. One chicken and one quail. But guess what?! Over that night, more babies hatched! I was so scared that I was going to have to try to find some playmates for those guys!

7 out of 10 quail eggs hatched. However, 1 wasn’t viable (may not have been fertilized or just failed from the start), and 2 just did not end up emerging from their shells.

Scratch that! So I wrote the above last Tuesday night... Thinking I wouldn’t help those two who did not emerge from their shells on their own. I couldn’t help it. The next morning one was peeping and rocking its egg like crazy! It was showing spunk! So I helped remove a portion of the shell. It climbed out. I also helped the other as it was still alive! So I helped them both. Maybe it wasn’t the best idea to do so, but they showed so much vigor while within their shell. It’s hard for me not to help... I feel like they should at least get the chance to see if they can thrive.

PS. If you don't have to, do not remove eggs from the incubator when they're in the process of hatching! I had to with this one that I was helping out because the shell was not completely broken.

They both seem to have pretty deformed feet. This could be due to being closed up in their eggs for too long after trying to come out on Monday. I’m seeing if they has any promise... they may have to be culled if it's too bad. The below video shows how bad their feet are. One is so bad it's walking on its "ankles".

On Friday I was watching them get around like little zippy guys. Sometimes they get left behind, but really they are keeping up with the little flock! So, I technically had a 100% hatch! They might still benefit from getting boots like the other little quail nugget from last hatch.

Just a couple days ago, I noticed that I wouldn’t even tell which babies had gimpy feet! They have healed on their own in their own time! I am so thankful that I do not have to deal with their teeny tiny feet trying to make them little booties!

Now with all but two at over a week old, everyone seems so happy and healthy and I can't tell who originally had those gimpy little feet! I am so amazed that they have righted themselves.

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While all the quail hatched (that were viable), only 4 of 8 viable chicken eggs hatched. It's sad that only two eggs from the 6 that I bought from a gal hatched, but that's what happens when you have a broody hen that fails to complete her task! I won't completely blame her... But I do. Haha. I should have two Easter Eggers and two Olive Eggers. The gal I bought from gave me 4 Olive Egger eggs, and two Black Copper Marans eggs. Unfortunately the only BCM egg that hatched had to be culled as it had deformed legs.

All in all, everyone is happy and healthy a little over a week old and growing like crazy! One thing I have had to be on the lookout for is poopy butts. One of the Easter Egger chicks had poopy butt two days in a row.

It's easy enough to take care of, a small bowl of hot water and a cotton ball, and gently wet the crusty butt poop to get it off. You don't want to pull it, it will pull out their little tush feathers and might cause some serious damage if you're not careful.

Crusty Poopy Butt (also called pasty butt) can happen in all chicks. Sometimes it can be a sign of Coccidia but often times it's due to their environment. This was all me because I didn't realize I had it too hot in their brooders! So be sure to keep the temperature correct, and not too hot! If poopy butt is persistent I will get them some baking soda water (1/4 teaspoon to one quart of water) and that clears it up pretty quickly! It's good for their tummies also.

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As always @farmstead here blogging from FarmsteadSmith!

Photos by me using my iPhone 8+, unless stated otherwise!

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