# some questions about new babies. (long post)



## mmh (Apr 24, 2009)

Today i am the proud parent of two tiny balls of fluff. My female laid 3 eggs, 2 of which have hatched. The first egg they laid didn't hatch and upon examination looked to have died around the 15th day of development (following chicken development pictures). After the first baby hatched i was a little concerned because the mom was not sitting on it, i figured she was a little stressed out so i turned off the light and let her alone. I spyed on her with some binoculars LOL and within 10 minutes she was feeding the baby and keeping it warm. The next thing that concerned me was that my adults had pulled all of the paper towels out of the box (yes, they laid them in a cardboard box) and i was worrying about spay legs. I called a local breeder to inquire about touching the chick to put some paper towels in and (to make a strange conversation short) was told not to worry about it because all my babies would die anyway. But then, thanks to the pictures i remembered seeing on this board, i remembered that i've seen pics of very young birds being held.....so i picked up Qe'Tesh and then the baby and the eggs and put some paper towels in and there were no problems. Qe'Tesh immediately fed the baby and sat on it. Socar (the father ) was a little concerned about the strange, noisy things that were in the nest box but after last night seems to be getting the hang of it. He feeds them but he's very messy about it.....feeding them big globs of seed that stick all over their heads LOL...althought he does pick them off. One thing he does that i'm not sure about is that he sometimes picks them up by their beaks while feeding them. Is this something i should keep an eye on? Also, at what age can i begin to hold them and socialize them. I have made the decision not to hand feed them, but when can i start to interact with them? 
Thank you, 
Melissa.


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## atvchick95 (Sep 17, 2007)

first - wow on the breeder why in the world would one even tell you not to worry about it they'll just die???? 

ok now that that is out of my system. 

I've always handled my babies from day one But only to check make sure they have all limbs, etc.(With freshly washed hands of course) 

then I leave them be just take a sneak peek a couple times a day - but I don't touch unless i need to 

then at day 9 - when I band them, I start interacting with them - at this time just for a couple seconds a few times a day (they're still pretty much bald) then once they started feather out i made the me & birdy time longer. and longer the more they grow


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## xxxSpikexxx (Jul 30, 2007)

Do you have any aspen woodshavings? I would think that they would provide more support for the baby birds than paper towels. For handling them I would wait until they have enough feathers to keep them warm. Then you can handle them for a few minutes at a time throughout the day.


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## sweetrsue (Jul 8, 2008)

Pine works just as well if you can't find aspen. I agree they need a bedding. Not kaving something under their feet can in some cases result in splayed legs. Good luck with your fluff balls! handling is fine. Atv has a good timetable there for you.


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## Jen144 (Nov 24, 2008)

I can't really help but I just wanted to say I loove your birds names!!


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## mmh (Apr 24, 2009)

atvchick95....i'm going to assume she was having a bad day  LOL

jen 144....thank you.

xxxSpikexxx and sweetrsue........I have bags and bags of shredded aspen shavings but was under the impression that using this product in the nest box could lead to impaction. If this is indeed false i will add some aspen immediately. There are 2 types of aspen, the shredded (which looks like pulled pork)and is soft or the chipped which is more barklike. Which of these would be the best to use with the babies?


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

The shredded aspen should be fine. As to an impaction...how this occurs with little chicks is food can be left on the babies head and feathers, beeding etc. can get stuck it it. The next time a parent feds it is accidentally shoved in the chicks mouth when the baby is being fed.

That is good that you have parents that don't mind you handling the chicks. I either check on or handle the babies from day one with the parents that I would like to wean out a baby.

Below is an illus. of what you do not want to see, since you mentioned the sloppy feedings....
-----------------------------------------


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## mmh (Apr 24, 2009)

ty srtiels. In fact my parents are pretty laid back most of the time. Both yesterday and today they both came out of the cage at "Playtime". I was wondering.......should i eliminate playtime or if i let them out how long can they stay out without endangering the chicks (hypothermia)? I'm going to give the chicks a quick once over and check for any problems........ty for ur wonderful illustrations........and then add some aspen.


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

What you can do to tell if your chicks are maintaining body heat is to hold the palm of your hand about an inch or two above their bodies and you should feel heat radiating from them. If you feel heat they are fine.

Yes when they are little you can check them a couple times a day. I make it a habit to always check mouths to make sure they look nice, pink and healthy. Clean faces as needed. Check legs that they appear straight and not flexible looking.

when you add your bedding put in 2-3 inches deep. Make it a bowl shape...meaning lowest point is the center where the chicks will be, and the highest point is the edge against the nestbox wall. The reason why you do this is because when the chicks poop they scoot themselves backwards away from where they sleep. When the nest is bowl shaped it is easier to get back to the center. When bedding is uneven and lower at the outside edges chicks can get disorientated, and get chilled, and if chilled too long die. The parents will not roll them back.

That is so great that your parent birds are so layed back. Use your hand over the babies as a quide to guage body temps when the parents leave the box, and to feel if there are any changes (how long this is) to know how long to have the parents out. When in doubt you can have one parent out at a time. Once the chicks are pinfeathered you can even have the chicks out for a short time with the parents.

Oh...and in your 1st post you mentioned that the daddy bird picks them up while feeding. They pump/regurgitate food into them and have to stretch or hold the chicks neck upright while feeding...so you'll see the chick on it's tippy-toes.

Susanne


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## mmh (Apr 24, 2009)

I put the aspen in and so far have not had any problems with it and the babies feet seem better because instead of being on something flat their little toes can sink into and grip the aspen. Socar seems to have cleaned up his act and is much better at feeding the babies in a neat, clean manner. Is it normal to be able to see the seeds in the crop? On a different note, Qe'Tesh's personality seems to be changing........she is much more affectionate and is now somewhat demanding of having time with me. She wants to sit on my shoulder or hand and interact with me a lot more then she has in the past. I don't know why this is, but it is nice that she is becoming even more friendly.


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## sweetrsue (Jul 8, 2008)

I've never had problems with either pine or aspen shavings in the nest box.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

> I was wondering.......should i eliminate playtime or if i let them out how long can they stay out without endangering the chicks (hypothermia)


My parent birds stop brooding the chicks when the oldest is about a week old. The chicks keep each other warm at that point, although Buster and Shodu have never had a clutch smaller than four and more chicks = more heat. Personally I think a little playtime is healthy for the parents. As the chicks get older the parents will have to put more and more time and effort into feeding them, so I let them take a break while they still can.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Speaking of aspen shavings... I'm not normally a fan of Kaytee but I just found out that their aspen shavings are greatly superior to at least one other brand. I had to buy litter recently and the store didn't have Kaytee so I got Premier Pet instead. I'm going to return it because of all the dust in it. It left my hands feeling dirty and it was kind of hard to breathe when I poured some out. Kaytee is much cleaner.


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