...And Early Chick Comes into the World!

Early in the afternoon I excitedly tipped toed outside to check on the progress EE 1 egg was making. When I felt underneath Lemon, I knew something was different, I couldn't find the egg! So I lifted Lemon up slightly and saw a little round fluffy butt huddled underneath chirping. I gently scooped the precious chick up from the nest and put him on eye level and made a regular chicken cluck, then hid him under my shirt and brought him inside. 

I quickly prepared a brooder and placed the chickie inside with a fleece blanket for snuggling (I'll be taking care of the chick for now, when the other eggs hatch I may leave two or one with Lemon if she doesn't attack them). It took me a while to name the little gut. My cousin really wanted the name Earl but to me the name didn't exactly fit. We created a large list of names, but in the end I settled with the name Early. The name made sense because chickie was the first born out of the eggs and he did come out earlier than I had expected, so Early he was!

Just look at those adorable fuzzy cheeks!! I've always wanted an Easter Egger with muffs!

Tired after a while night zipping outta that shell!

I managed to dig out the remains of the hatching from Lemon's nest. You can from the recceeded veins that Early had a healthy hatch, where all the blood has already been absorbed before coming out of the shell. Also notice that yellowish spongy stuff in the back, that's where the waste that the chick produces while inside the egg is stored and left behind when they pop out of their shells.

We all assume that Early isa "he" because of the large comb he bears from birth. I hope he's not a rooster because if he is, then I will probably sadly have to re-home him. 

Here in this picture down below, you can see that Early does have a pretty big comb at such a young age. So far, I believe there is still hope that he is just a pullet born with a big comb. I will wait and see.

It was pretty easy for me to teach him how to drink, but for him to start eating, I had to cluck and tap the chick feed repeatedly until Early understood my message.

In the meanwhile, the rest of the eggs under Lemon and in the incubator have around 3 more days until lock down. I hope the seramas hatch this time!

Pip!

Quite a few things have happened. . .

I went back to Common Ground and got 6 new eggs. I put 3 under Lemon and 3 in my incubator, the one blue egg in my incubator was not fertile and two brown eggs underneath Lemon were discarded as well, leaving 2 eggs with Lemon (including an older EE egg which I call "EE 1" and the new Easter Egger egg, "Blue Egg 2") and two brown eggs in my bator.

The last 2 blue eggs together (Lemon's taking a break outside).

EE 1 is older than the rest of the Common Ground eggs by a week and today is day 21 for "it". And the egg has started pipping though the shell and is chirping!

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Yesterday when I candled/checked on the egg and put it to my ear, I could hear tapping. Surprised, I tapped back, and the chick inside replied by tapping. After candling I also found out that it had already pipped internally! The chick had started getting to work and in a few hours later the chick started chirping inside the egg. 

This morning around 7:30 a.m., I saw the external pip for the first time.

Day 20- chick has already internally pipped and is chirping and pecking its way out of the egg 

Day 21 (around 7:30 a.m.)- The chick has pipped externally!

The Passing of a Our Dear Fluff

When I came home today, I was told that Mellow had passed away.

It was a very windy and cold day. And the large wooden nesting box outside in the chicken enclosure had fallen on Mellow; either while she was inside it, or walking near the box. By the time someone had found her it was too late, she was already gone.

Here lies Mellow after she was buried.

Mellow spent a short 8 months with us, and it will be an 8 months that I will treasure and look back to. She enjoyed her time and always lived life happily fighting for scraps, bossing around the 4 other "young ones", and (when she was younger) always enjoyed a good neck rub. 

Her death was unexpected, and it made me realize again that life is full of surprises. Some good, others unwanted or bad. So treasure your time with your flock, because you never know when it will be the last time you see them all together. Here some memories in honor of our dearest Mellow:

This is how Mellow looked when I first met her, she was about  3-5 weeks old. 

Foraging in the long grass.

A while ago, when Mellow was still banned from the baby chicks due to her anger issues.

Accompanying the chicks outside.

Stretching out her neck to enjoy a soothing neck rub.

Hawk in sight!

Top and Bottom: This was a day in the late summer when Mellow was babysitting the chicks, such a tiring job.

Mellow in the sky!

New Baby Chicks!

On July 16th my mail ordered baby chickens arrived! The original order was 1 Partridge Cochin, 1 Jersey Giant, 1 Sicilian Buttercup, and 1 assorted rare chick. But because of the bad hatching, my order was changed and the Jersey Giant and Partridge Cochin were replaced by 2 White Leghorns.

When I arrived back home I instantly went to check and see if there were any casualties (which luckily everyone was fine ). When I had gotten them settled in their brooder, they didn't know where to find water so I dipped their beaks into the waterer. After the chicks ate their fill I started naming them; the 2 White Leghorns almost looked the same but one of them had a yellower head then the other, this baby chicken was named Lemon the one that was less yellow was Lime. Spice the Buttercup was named that way because of her spotted appearance. And apparently the assorted rare chick (which I searched on My Pet Chicken, the website I ordered from) was a Blue Andalusian, named Charcoal for her hazy gray coloring complemented by a yellowish white under belly.

One Day Old

Chubby lil Spice. 

Charcoal is a bit sleepy after their long journey.

This is Lime because when she was day old she had a red spot on her beak (which eventually fell off).

Lemon has a yellower head which you cannot see from this picture.

Will you be my pillow. (top: Lemon, bottom: Lime)

Top and bottom: The little chicks playing outside of their brooder.

I also introduced the baby chicks to fluffy little Mellow. Whenever Mellow catches sight of them he makes weird clucking noises and if they come to close he pecks at them, so when they're near each other I have to watch closely. I you show Mellow a chick and draw your hand back, he follows it like an angry rooster about to attack.

Lime and Mellow are having a stare down.

Soon in a few days their personalities were unraveled and Spice I discovered was a brave and fearless lass, standing up to the foreign object while her sisters ran away in fear therefore deeming her leader of the flock. Lime was a quiet chick who liked to be near people and was not as easily frightened of hands as the others, but I see her very often confronting Spice trying to take her place on the throne (I think that she's second in status). Lemon likes to sleep in the brooder and is less adventurous than the others, she's usually the last to leave the box. Last but least, Charcoal the smallest of all loves being in high places and flies up onto the top of the brooder a lot.

2 Week Old

Top and bottom: Spice the proud flock leader.

Charcoal and Lime.

Synchronized preening.

Lemon with Spice.

Top and bottom: Curious little chickens.