meet the newest group of pet chickens of mine, only or a week or so old at the moment.
they are a very rare japanese breed called cochins,and they are all blue or part blue [their mum and dad were both pure blues].
they will grow up with a huge pair of feathery trousers on them,they were born with feathery legs! they are a very cute breed.
they are very inteligent and are ahead of the first group of chicks had incubated in various stuff.
unfortunately due to humidity problems in the incubator it had caused a problem in all the eggs called shrink wrapping,this is when the jelly like membrane wraps tightly on the chick and stops it from being able to move to peck its way out naturaly.
so even though other people were saying if they are healthy they will peck their way out,had known something wasnt right and checked it out.
looked up videos and how tos on assisting a hatch,and got straight to it.
had to carefuly deshell the entire egg in tiny bits without ripping any blood vessel,then peel off the outer papery style membrane again without ripping any blood vessel,then very very carefuly slide the jelly like membrane over the chicks head and down which was then disconnected by cutting the placenta.
...had to do this with six eggs no less.
this was an egg done at almost half way there,if look carefuly in the slit in the middle of the egg,its the chicks beak poking through,poor chick was unable to move anything else.
many chick owners will not assist a hatch as there is the belief that if chicks dont make their own way out there is something wrong with them, however shrink wrapping is not a health problem it is a human error that can be fixed by assisting a hatch.
just incase anything was wrong with the chickies,had read on how to safely and very humanely PTS chicks with carbon dioxide-anyone who assists a hatch has to prepare for that in case there is something so severely wrong.
have known many people PTS chicks for deformities which are fine to live with though,one of the maran cockrels of mine;lorna has a deformed toe and he is a bit mental both possibly due to inbreeding,he has a great life and niether of those things affect him negatively.
enough text,heres some more photos of the current chickies;
this is jimbo,taken today,this photo does not do his furry trousers justice but he was only in the mood for a cuddle tonight.
he is named after the old cartoon jimbo the jetset btw,because he is really bad at flying like jimbo in the credits of the cartoon.
jimbo likes to spend time arm surfing whilst mum is on laptop surfing the net.
one of the other cuties,still havent named them yet.
jimbo and another chickie posing some days ago.
hows this for a pose?
bromance! nothing like keeping it in the family.
jimbo face planting the crotch of their favourite snuggly teddybear,for some reason its always the crotch they faceplant.
