Chicks with Issues

So last night one of our chicks died. We are not sure why; she was just lying on her side, quite stiff, when I went in to feed/water/clean this morning. The other chicks didn’t seem too bothered by the carcass.

From what I’ve read the likely cause of death is either a genetic one (most likely) or due to dehydration. There were no signs of disease – although we are certainly not experts at diagnosing baby chickens.

So we do a routine check of the remaining 6 and found that one of the Americaunas had pasty butt. Pasty butt is actually deadly because it prevents a chick from being able to eliminate waste which they seem to need to do every 30 seconds or so. It can be caused for a variety of reasons (usually eating sawdust or stress from being in too small a space); this particular chick has a very fuzzy bum and we’re thinking that (unless we install a bidet) she might have this issue again. We soaked off the mess and gave her a little trim. She seems otherwise healthy.

I am boiling some eggs to give the babies a little extra protein (also recommended for preventing pasty butt). Normally we have fresh yogurt from our herdshare but I ate it all (with honey, yum). Sorry, chicks because with the probiotics and the protein that would have been very good for you.

The first family I lived with in the Republic of Georgia fed their newborn chicks ‘matzoni’ which is fresh yogurt from unpasteurized milk. For that family matzoni was a luxury but worth it for the chicks & they definitely raised tasty chickens (who also laid tasty eggs)…so i’m a believer.