A Dryer, Fluffier Ruby

Good morning, good morning, good morning!

Ruby's leg seems to be correcting itself and coming back around the way it is supposed to be, which is excellent news! She is using it and it seems strong.

One thing that amazes me about these little Serama chicks is how fast they are ready to eat and drink and trying to walk. They seem to get on their feet a lot faster than normal size chicks.

Here is Ruby this morning. Yes, that is a stuffed Llama in there with her. It is extremely soft and I use it with new babies when they are by themselves and need the to snuggle and not feel so alone. It seems to work. She is very content.

 

Ohhh Ruby is so sleepy...babies cant stay awake for more than a few minutes at a time.

Time to snuggle my llama mama...

 

A few questions to answer this morning....

How did I know that Ruby was upside down?

Well, when you put an egg in the incubator you always put the small end down, just like you would in an egg carton. When the baby develops the feet are supposed to be at the bottom and the head at the top, more or less. They always have their wing over their face like you saw yesterday...I had JUST taken her out of the shell. They are curled up in there, but the feet are supposed to be at the bottom...Ruby started pecking out, but I could tell the pip was too far towards the bottom of the egg. Normally when they hatch out on their own they move, scoot, and peck, scoot and peck, til the top of the egg pops off like a cap. There would have been no way for her to be able to do that being upside down. So I helped her on out.

Bethe...now your gonna have to catch up...lol. I dont talk about my extended family or friends too much on here as it can be stressful...but the main two you might hear of are my husband Ian, and my daughter Shelby. Only good stuff comes from those two names as they are my life. :)

Most others are roosters and hens. Hank, Alan, Tim, Faith...you can see that I name a lot of them after country singers...unless Shelby gets them named right out of the egg like Ruby! LOL

I was asked can you hold a chick this young. Yes, but not for too long as they need to stay warm. When they hatch out of that egg they are in exactly 100 degree surroundings. When in the brooder the first week they need to stay at 95 degrees. You drop the temperature in the brooder five degrees every week til it is not necessary to have the heat from the lamp anymore. Sometimes I will leave the heat lamp in there anyway though, they like it even though they dont need it.

I was using red flood lights, 85 watt. Red is soothing, will let the babies sleep. Imagine if you had a regular light bulb in your face all the time, you would stress out and not be able to sleep as well. I switched to two 60 watt black lights because the cheap flood lamps at Walmart are just that. They cost too much and I have had them blow in a matter of days...makes me so mad I could spit. The black lights actually seem to be better.

How to correct a chicks leg?

Well, sometimes chicks develop what is called splay leg. If you catch it early it can be corrected as they grow. This may seem a bit uncomfortable for the chick, but it is necessary or they will never be able to walk.

You take a bandaid, a small one for tiny chicks, after they are able to start walking some, and you wrap each end around each leg, hobbling them in a way...but they can still get around to the food and water, trust me. This makes the legs stay in front and straight so as they grow it will grow properly instead of out to the sides.

It is hard to visualize..maybe I should go find a picture of the procedure and if I find it I will post it on the next post.

A new baby has just come out with my help. Was BIG in the shell, filled up the whole shell so it was hard for it to turn around in there to peck its way out...this one is strong! Long legged baby...all blonde, pictures to follow later today!

One more to go...I think the fourth egg has died in the shell, not fully developing over the 21 days...will know for sure in a day or so.

I came back, had to add, chickens dont stink! Their poo does, but what poo doesnt? Kept in clean conditions they are clean animals. Good clean quality pine shaving litter changed often, clean food and water dishes.

Yes, outside, when it rains, it can smell. In the chicken house and in the pens if kept dry and on litter (pine shavings) and or hay (wheat straw) it will keep the smell down. Maintenance is they key.

I have said it before, and I will say it again. I love to put my nose into those fluffy neck feathers when Phoenix first gets up out of his pillows and blankets in the morning. He smells like a stuffed animal...I cant describe it really..but it is a good smell...not a smelly poo smell.