More Emus and Four Kids

So, we have ended up with 4 emu chicks!  The first one, who was so weak, did die.  We were sad, but in all of the excitement of having a chick, we didn't even realize until later that he hatched after only a mere four weeks in his egg instead of the expected eight.  No wonder he was weak and had to be handfed!!

Meanwhile, our surviving four seem to be growing like weeds, only they are cuter.  So...the chicks that survive were hatched on March 9, March 12, April 1, and April 3.  What a difference three weeks can make in size!

 



Emu chick hatched April 1 and Emu chick hatched March 9

If you notice on the April 1st emu chick, there is purple Vet Wrap on his legs.  While his splayed or spaddled legs were not as bad as our first little guy, he did seem to have trouble walking.  After a long search, I found a website by Kathy Shea Mormino, the Chicken Chick® with information about how she wraps her chicks' legs.  Voila!  It has helped a lot!  I'm sorry I didn't find Kathy's site for my first little guy -- maybe it would have helped.


You can see from this rear view (his head is down), that his legs go out to the sides instead of being straight up and down. He is actually much better than he was -- he likes to have his legs rubbed between wrappings.  Maybe the wrap is like a cast and his legs get itchy.



Here he is with his legs vet wrapped and a connecting piece of Vet Wrap going between his legs to hold them in the right position.  He walks pretty well with this set-up!

We are looking for warmer weather so they can be moved outside.  Sadly, unlike my goose, the emu chicks aren't as imprinted on me as I would like.  Maybe I'll have to carry one around in my pocket next year, though they are considerably bigger than a gosling!

Then, on April 10, I went out to find that Zipporah, my Nubian cross, had two kids!  The father is an Angora buck.  The little boy already has wavy fiber, but the little girl doesn't. 

Zip with her new kids!  The boy on the left and the girl on the right.

Finally, Monday morning, April 15, I went out and Zarahemla had had twins, too.  With the same father, they look remarkably like Zipporah's kids!  Surprisingly white is a dominant color in the sheep and goat world!  (Zip's girl is a very light tan, and a couple of others have a little dark color running through the white -- but none look like their mothers!)

And, as if four kids aren't enough, Martha, our Saanen, should be having one or two more in late May or early June!  We will have milk in abundance this summer!