chameleon
Chirping
My hen had 11 eggs that started hatching yesterday morning. By the end of this morning all but two were fully hatched and looking healthy. The last two didn't appear to have anything wrong with them and they had started hatching (one almost fully out of the shell and the other pipped), but the hen seemed to have decided it was time to leave the nest and abandoned them while she took the other chicks out to explore. I put her back in the nest, with some food for the older chicks and she moved the two late-comers back under her and started encouraging the other chicks to eat.
When I went back 15 minutes later she was off the nest again. I watched her for a while and she went in and out of the nest a few times, but now she was scratching the now fully hatched but still damp chick and half hatched egg out of the way and sitting on all the older chicks.
The two late chicks were getting colder and weaker, so the next time she left the nest I removed them to see if I could help them get their strength up and put them back when they could keep up with the others. They are both fully hatched now, but the one that got kicked around in the nest was looking very weak still, so I tried feeding it some egg yolk. They are both looking stronger and happier now.
The one that got kicked around seems to be a bit swollen all over and on the patches of bare skin (it's a naked neck cross) seems to have lots of tiny scratches. The swelling seems to be watery. Is the swelling a defect or possibly infection (it is now mid afternoon so they haven't had much time to be exposed to anything) or is it from being kicked around? I want to know what the chances are of these chicks recovering.
PS. this is my first hatch, I rescued the hen and her eggs about a week ago. She is semi wild and had her nest out in a field and was getting wet in a storm.
These photos are of her head, but she has swelling like that all over her body as far as I can tell, there's just too much fluff to get a good picture.
When I went back 15 minutes later she was off the nest again. I watched her for a while and she went in and out of the nest a few times, but now she was scratching the now fully hatched but still damp chick and half hatched egg out of the way and sitting on all the older chicks.
The two late chicks were getting colder and weaker, so the next time she left the nest I removed them to see if I could help them get their strength up and put them back when they could keep up with the others. They are both fully hatched now, but the one that got kicked around in the nest was looking very weak still, so I tried feeding it some egg yolk. They are both looking stronger and happier now.
The one that got kicked around seems to be a bit swollen all over and on the patches of bare skin (it's a naked neck cross) seems to have lots of tiny scratches. The swelling seems to be watery. Is the swelling a defect or possibly infection (it is now mid afternoon so they haven't had much time to be exposed to anything) or is it from being kicked around? I want to know what the chances are of these chicks recovering.
PS. this is my first hatch, I rescued the hen and her eggs about a week ago. She is semi wild and had her nest out in a field and was getting wet in a storm.
These photos are of her head, but she has swelling like that all over her body as far as I can tell, there's just too much fluff to get a good picture.
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